I gotta get a message to you…

“Come on, let’s twist again like we did last summer.
Yeah, let’s twist again like we did last year…”
The grasshopper was having a ball of a time, singing his heart out and dancing away while the ant frowned in disgust and continued her work, saving for a rainy day. Having a good head on her shoulders and never one to rest on her laurels, she knew that time and tide would wait for no man and soon the much dreaded harsh and cold winter would be here. She, of course, had the foresight to make hay while the sun was still shining to prepare for the long freezing months.

“Hey,” said the grasshopper, “this twisting thing is really fun! Good ol’ Chubby Checker sure knows his stuff.” The ant turned a deaf ear and refused to say a word, knowing that it would be like casting pearls to swine. “Don’t be a wet blanket now, girl! Come and let your hair down! Haven’t you heard that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?”

The ant snapped at the insect, “When the ground is blanketed with snow and there is nothing for you to eat, it will be too late for you to cry over spilt milk!” However, the grasshopper ignored her and starting twisting away again like a maniac in a frenzy.
“…and round and round and up and down we go again…”

True enough, in a blink of an eye, the days grew colder and soon the ground was shrouded with thick blankets of snow. The ant was safe in the confines of her warm and cosy home and was getting ready to hibernate and have her well-earned rest when she heard a knock on the door, so feeble and hardly audible against the howling of the icy-cold blizzard outside that for a while, she brushed it aside as a figment of her imagination.

In the end, she decided to go and check, opening the door just a little bit to peep outside. To her horror, she saw the grasshopper sprawling on her doorstep. “Help me,” he pleaded. “I’m not ready yet to join the Heavenly Choir! After all, as they say, a friend in need is a friend indeed.”

The ant gave him a cold stare and reprimanded, “I told you to get ready for these difficult times but I was like a dog barking at the moon. So now, it’s time for you to face the music. As you sow, so shall you reap!” On that note, the ant slammed the door in the grasshopper’s face…

This is an abridged version of my adapted version (using idioms and proverbs) of the well-known Aesop’s fable for children that was featured in one or my SPM English Language 1119 workbooks…and I thought it has a fitting message for everyone in view of the current economic recession. Save all you can, do away with all those unnecessary spending e.g. on fireworks and firecrackers, and avoid being too extravagant in your preparation for the coming Chinese New Year. Moderation is the key.

Have a nice weekend!