第1章 螞蟻和螞蚱
炎熱的夏日，一隻螞蚱在草莖間跳來跳去，他一邊練習蹦跳、飛躍和旋轉，一邊這兒吸一點汁液，那兒吸一點汁液。他發現草莖下面滿是灰塵的地面上有一隻螞蟻，她正費力地拖著一粒谷物。
螞蚱跳落到螞蟻旁邊。“你看到我優美的一躍了嗎？”他問。
“沒有，我沒有看見，”螞蟻說，“如果我低著頭，伸直脊背，搬運東西的時候會容易一些。”
“可是為什麼要搬運東西呢？”螞蚱問，“看起來這是一件又熱又髒的活兒。”
“我必須幫助我的姐妹們儲存過鼕的食物。”螞蟻一邊回答，一邊匆匆前進。
聽到螞蟻這麼說，螞蚱笑個不停。鼕天還有好幾個月纔來呢。如果任由美麗的夏天過去，不在這時候飛躍、蹦跳、玩耍，那是多麼傻啊！
螞蚱每天都會看到螞蟻搬運谷物、種子和人們扔掉的面包屑。看起來，這種事情螞蚱是永遠也不會樂意做的。他隻是一天到晚跳舞，什麼時候餓了，就吸食青草的汁液。
有一天，螞蚱跳躍到松脆的褐色落葉堆上。這時，一些雪白的、濕漉漉的東西正好落在他的頭上。下雪了！
“鼕天來了，”螞蚱驚道，“我必須收集食物了！”他蹦來跳去，轉來轉去，但是在白雪下面，已經找不到綠色的青草了。
*後，螞蚱爬進一條木頭縫裡，瑟瑟發抖。“螞蟻是對的，”他喃喃自語道，“日子好過的時候要早做準備，纔能度過艱難的日子。”
Chapter 1 The Ant and the Grasshopper
On a warm summer day, a grasshopper jumped from stem to stem, nibbling a bit here and there as he practiced his jumps and leaps and spins. He spotted an ant far below on the dusty ground, lugging a kernel of corn.
The grasshopper jumped down and landed close to the ant. “Did you see that wonderful leap?” he asked.
“No, I missed it,” the ant said. “It’s easier to carry if I keep my head down and my back straight.”
“But why carry at all?” the grasshopper asked. “It looks like hot, dusty business.”
“I must help my sisters put away food for the winter,” the ant said as she hurried along.
At that, the grasshopper laughed and laughed. Winter was months and months away. How silly to let the beautiful summer pass without leaping and hopping and playing.
Every day the grasshopper would see the ant carrying corn and seeds and bits of crust dropped by people. It never looked like something the grasshopper would enjoy at all. Instead he danced the days away, nibbling grass whenever he wanted.
One day he was jumping and leaping in the crispy brown leaves when something white and wet fell right on his head. Snow!
“Winter is here,” the grasshopper gasped. “I must gather!” He hopped and leaped and spun, but he could find no green grass under the snow.
Finally the grasshopper crawled into a crack in a log, shivering. “The ant was right,” he chattered. “Save in the good times to help in the bad.”
