October 4th

It was our turn to give the Family Home Evening lesson to the senior missionaries. Dad first had me read the story of the Ants and the Grasshopper. He then had the missionaries rewrite the story from the Grasshopper's point of view. Then I read my poem that I had written on that subject and some of the missionaries read their stories. Then Dad talked about the various points of view of the ants and the grasshoppers in various other pieces of literature and in the scriptures. He told about working with a woman in the Church who felt like she was a Grasshopper among Ants in regards to the other women in the Relief Society. We had a great discussion about balance in life and how all kinds of people are needed for their various gifts. He did an excellent job and I think everyone enjoyed it. I gave each one one of these dishcloths that I have been knitting in my tv watching time. I told them they were made by Ants.

We ended up by eating Grasshopper pie!

The Grasshopper and the Ants
　
In a field one summer's day a grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. A group of ants walked by, grunting as they struggled to carry plump kernels of corn.
"Where are you going with those heavy things?" asked the grasshopper.
Without stopping, the first ant replied, "To our ant hill. This is the third kernel I've delivered today."
"Why not come and sing with me," teased the grasshopper, "instead of working so hard?"
"We are helping to store food for the winter," said the ant, "and think you should do the same."
"Winter is far away and it is a glorious day to play," sang the grasshopper.
But the ants went on their way and continued their hard work.
The weather soon turned cold. All the food lying in the field was covered with a thick white blanket of snow that even the grasshopper could not dig through. Soon the grasshopper found itself dying of hunger.
He staggered to the ants' hill and saw them handing out corn from the stores they had collected in the summer. He begged them for something to eat.
"What!" cried the ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"
"I didn't have time to store any food," complained the grasshopper; "I was so busy playing music that before I knew it the summer was gone."
The ants shook their heads in disgust, turned their backs on the grasshopper and went on with their work.
　
Don't forget -- there is a time for work and a time for play!

Fable by Aesop

The Grasshopper’s Point of View

Old Aesop told us fables with a moral in the tale,
He always left a message in the stories he’d regale.
In one, he made a hero of a little bitty ant,
But after hearing this retort, Old Aesop may recant!
Why should the little ant be praised for working all the day,
While the grasshopper’s the villain who doesn’t get his say.
Let’s listen to his reasoning, let’s hear the other side
It’s the grasshopper’s turn to maybe, really turn the tide.
The summer days are long and hot with food for one and all,
The rain comes down to fill the pond and make the grass grow tall.
I sing and dance and play my songs all day until the night,
The ant enjoys my music and whistles with the tune,
It makes the time seem shorter in the long hot days of June.
And in July, I hop and jump and entertain all day,
My antics seem to bring some joy to all who come my way.
In August, still I leap and dance and wile away the time,
The summer seems to never end and everything’s sublime.
Then comes September and I know my days are soon to end,
Though food is scarce and it is cold, the ant will be my friend!
I’ve filled his days with happiness and brought him lots of cheer,
I’m sure he’ll share his bounty now that wintertime is near.
I’m sure he’ll gladly pay me back for all the joy I’ve brought,
All summer long, I entertained and not a penny sought.
But when I ask for food and warmth, he shuts the door on me,
It seems my songs were worthless though they eased his drudgery.
The ant claims that I was lazy and didn’t plan and work,
And he says he won’t reward me when all I did was shirk.
So I guess an entertainer should ask for pay up front,
He should expect some sort of pay for every song and stunt.
But I’m glad my life was carefree and free from pain and strife,
The ant enjoyed my gifts but was selfish throughout his life.
In the end, it mattered not that the ant had planned ahead,
For when the snow and ice arrived, both of us turned up dead!

MORAL – Don’t be an ant OR a grasshopper!
Poem by Grandma