A Brief Introduction to the Ant and Cricket Poem
The poem “The Ant and The Cricket” is a fable. A fable is a long-established story that gives us moral lessons. This poem is about a cricket (insect), who found himself in problems as the winter season begins. He found he had nothing to eat, neither had he cared to make a protection for himself.
Aesop is an ancient figure, the author of a collection of Greek fables, including those manufactured by Demetrius Phalareus in the 4th century. Ancient figure Aesop is assumed to have been born around 600 B.C. and is the supposed author of a collection of Greek fables. The Ant and the Cricket is a poem that leaves us with an important moral and the poet of this poem is Aesop. To know what it is, read ahead!
Ant and Cricket
The Theme of the Poem
The theme of the poem 'the ant and the cricket' is that ” if we enjoy today then we will surely suffer tomorrow” in the poem the cricket suffers from hunger in winter because he enjoyed summer and spring and didn’t save anything for the cold. but the ants did work day and night in summer for winter. Thus, the theme of hard work and planning for the future is shown in the poem.
The Poem
A silly young cricket, accustomed to sing
Through the warm, sunny months of gay summer and spring,
Began to complain when he found that, at home,
His cupboard was empty, and winter has come.
Not a crumb to be found
On the snow-covered ground;
Not a flower could he see,
Not a leaf on a tree.
“Oh! what will become," says the cricket, “of me?"
At last by starvation and famine made boldly,
All dripping with wet, and all trembling with cold,
Away he set off to a miserly ant,
To see if, to keep him alive, he would grant
His shelter from the rain,
And a mouthful of grain.
He wished only to borrow;
He’d repay it tomorrow;
If not, he must die of starvation and sorrow.
Says the ant to the
cricket, “I’m your servant
and friend,
But we ants never
borrow; we ants never lend.
But tell me, dear cricket,
did you lay nothing by
When the weather was
warm?" Quoth the cricket,
“Not I!
Ant and Cricket
My heart was so light
That I sang day and night,
For all nature looked gay."
“You sang, Sir, you say?
Go then," says the ant, “and dance the winter away."
Thus ending, he hastily lifted the wicket,
And out of the door turned the poor little cricket.
Folks call this a fable. I’ll warrant it true:
Some crickets have four legs, and some have two.
The Explanation of the Poem
The poem tells us the story of a forgetful cricket. There was a foolish young cricket who used to sing through the sunny and cheerful seasons of summer and spring. He was so busy with his singing that he hardly found time to get food for winter. He never did anything for the future and was very sincere in his hard work. As a result in winter, he found himself extremely hungry for food. In the chilly weather almost without any food, he went to the ant for help. He thought he could borrow some livelihood and food. The ant, completely self-organised, mocked him for wasting time singing as an alternative for collecting food for winter. The ant lived with self-respect even in the bad time while the cricket had to beg and could not survive winter. The lazy cricket left with a lesson.
In this poem, the poet explains the results of hard work and pre-planning that is important for every work. According to the poet, the four-legged cricket enjoyed the good times but never planned for the tough times in life, the poet compares cricket with human beings and said the two-legged crickets are human beings as they use to do the same, waste time when they have the opportunity and never do work on time. He wants such people to work hard and plan the future.
Moral of the Poem
We should work hard for our purpose and in times of problems. Moreover, always remember that today’s savings are tomorrow’s income.
Summary
In this article, we studied the poem “ant and cricket” which is a fable story. Ant and cricket are totally different characters from each other. One is the ‘Ant’ who is hardworking, plans for the future, and doesn’t believe in wasting time. But another is ‘Cricket’ who wants to enjoy only the present time, he never thinks about the future and is also not hard working. Thus, in the end, cricket searched for food in winter whereas ant has food because ant saved it in spring. Hence, the poet gives the message to do hard work and plan for the future on time through this poem.
FAQs on A Fun Ant and Cricket Poem for Kids in English
1. What did the young cricket normally do?
The young cricket used to sing all day long and he enjoyed good times. The cricket is called "foolish" in the poem as it shows an absence of judgement and common sense. He was a young cricket who had sung in the bright, happy summer and spring months and searched for food in winter.
2. The cricket says, “Oh! What will become of me?” When does he say it, and why?
The cricket said the given sentence when he understood that his cupboard was vacant and winter had come. He couldn't find a single bite to eat on the snow-covered ground, and there were no flowers or leaves on the tree. It thought about what would become of it, for it was getting cold and since there was nothing to eat it would hunger and die. The ant told the cricket to "dance away" the winter as it "sang" all summer long, and didn't bother to save food for the winter.
3. What was the problem with the cricket?
The cricket spent his summer singing and enjoying the warm weather and when the winter season arrived, he started complaining that he had no food to eat. Hence, the poet calls cricket silly and lazy.
