螞蟻與蚱蜢
All summer long, a grasshopper sat in the sunshine, chirping and singing without a care in the world. Nearby, an ant was hard at work. Day after day, she carried grains of wheat and corn back to her nest.
"Why don't you stop and have some fun?" the grasshopper asked. "It's a beautiful day. Come and sing with me."
"I'm storing food for the winter," said the ant. "You should do the same."
The grasshopper laughed. "Winter? That's ages away. There's plenty of food around."
So the ant kept working, and the grasshopper kept singing.
Then the days grew shorter and colder. The leaves fell from the trees, and snow covered the fields. The grasshopper couldn't find anything to eat, and he grew weaker and weaker. At last he knocked on the ant's door.
"Please," he said, "could you spare a little food? I'm starving."
The ant looked at him. "What were you doing all summer?" she asked.
"I was singing," said the grasshopper.
"Well then," said the ant, "perhaps you can dance all winter."
Work hard today, and you will be glad of it tomorrow.
整個夏天，蚱蜢都坐在陽光下，唧唧地唱著歌，無憂無慮。不遠處，一隻螞蟻正忙個不停。牠每天都把一粒粒小麥和玉米搬回自己的窩。
「你幹麼不停下來玩一玩？」蚱蜢問，「天氣這麼好，過來跟我一起唱歌吧。」
「我在替冬天儲存糧食，」螞蟻說，「你也應該這麼做。」
蚱蜢笑了：「冬天？還早得很呢。到處都是吃的。」
於是，螞蟻繼續工作，蚱蜢繼續唱歌。
後來，白天越來越短，天氣越來越冷。樹葉紛紛掉落，大雪蓋住了田野。蚱蜢什麼吃的都找不到，身體越來越虛弱。最後，牠敲了螞蟻家的門。
「拜託，」牠說，「能不能分我一點吃的？我快餓死了。」
螞蟻看著牠，問：「整個夏天你都在做什麼？」
「我在唱歌。」蚱蜢說。
「那好吧，」螞蟻說，「也許你整個冬天都可以跳舞了。」
今天努力，明天才不會後悔。