English Original
One fine winter day, some ants were busy drying their store of corn, which had grown damp after a long spell of rain. Presently, a grasshopper came up and begged them for a few grains. "For," she said, "I'm simply starving."
The ants stopped work for a moment, though this was against their principles. "May we ask," they said, "what you were doing all last summer? Why didn't you collect a store of food for the winter?"
"The fact is," replied the grasshopper, "I was so busy singing that I hadn't the time."
"If you spent the summer singing," replied the ants, "you can't do better than spend the winter dancing." And they chuckled and went on with their work.
中文翻译
一个晴朗的冬日，一些蚂蚁正忙着晒干它们储存的谷物。经过长时间的雨水，这些谷物已经变得潮湿了。这时，一只蚂蚱走过来，向它们乞讨一些谷粒。“因为，”它说，“我简直要饿死了。”
蚂蚁们停下了工作，尽管这违背了它们的原则。“我们能问一下吗？”它们说，“你整个夏天都在做什么呢？为什么不为冬天储存一些食物呢？”
“事实上，”蚂蚱回答道，“我忙着唱歌，根本没时间。”
“如果你整个夏天都在唱歌，”蚂蚁们回答道，“那你最好整个冬天都跳舞吧。”它们咯咯地笑着，继续干起活来。