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A fable is a story, often with animals as characters, that conveys a moral. This poem about an ant and a cricket contains an idea of far-reaching significance, which is as true of a four-legged cricket as of a ‘two-legged one’. Surely, you have seen a cricket that has two legs!
Fables are fictional stories with morals, usually involving animals as characters. It is a literary genre that is used to create stories to make morals easily reachable to all, especially children.
This poem "The Ant and the Cricket" is adapted from the famous book "Aesop's Fables". Aesop is believed to be a storyteller who lived in Greece between \(620\)-\(524 BC\). Aesop's Fables became so famous that it was translated into many languages and sold a million copies worldwide. It has been \(2000\) years, and till date, the meanings of the stories hold true.
Cricket is an insect similar to a grasshopper that feeds on plants, leaves, vegetables and other insects.
In this poem, the cricket has been portrayed as a lazy insect that enjoys good times without thinking about the future; whereas ant, the usually active insect has been portrayed as a hardworking insect that saves resources for the future. The poet says there are four-legged and two-legged crickets in this world. Clearly, crickets are four-legged beings. To whom does he refer to as two-legged crickets? Does he refer to humans who do not think about the future and spend the present time carelessly? Let's get into the poem to know the answers.
Reference:
National Council of Educational Research and Training (2008). Honeydew. The Ant and the Cricket - adapted from Aesop's Fables (pp. 21-23). Published at the Publication Division by the Secretary, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi.
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