The Ant and the Cricket Summary Class 8 English Honeydew

Key Points of the Poem

• The poem “The Ant and the Cricket” has been adopted from Aesop’s Fables. 
• A fable is a fiction and short story depicting animals, generally conveying a moral. 
• The poem, however, through a teeny-tiny ant, teaches us a significant lesson for life. 
• The lesson pertains not only to the “four-legged” cricket but is also applicable to situations concerning “two-legged crickets”(humans). 

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Detailed Summary

This poem is a work of the famous Greek poet Aesop. The two characters of the poem are a cricket and an ant. There was a young cricket who used to sing and dance during the summers and springs. He was happy and enjoying but was silly. During the summer and spring, there is greenery everywhere. So ample food and water are available. One does not need to store any of these. Thus, the crickets were busy enjoying themselves and did not store any food for the winter. In winter, the ground is covered with snow, and no flower or leaf can be seen.

The cricket passed the time singing and dancing, and soon, the winter season came. Now, he was in trouble as there was not even a crumb in his house to eat, and due to winter, he could not find any food outside. He could thus eat nothing and was starving. He somehow gathered his courage and went to the ant, asking for help. Due to starvation, chilling cold, and rain, the cricket got wet and shivered.

He requested the ant to give him some food and shelter in his house, or else he would die of hunger, sorrow, and chilling cold. He also promised him to repay it.

The ant told the cricket that he thinks himself to be his servant as well as a friend. But, the ants do not borrow, nor do they lend to anyone. He also asked the cricket why he did not gather and store food during the spring and summer. The cricket said that he did not care much about the future and was busy enjoying the pleasant weather. He thought that food and water would always be abundant.

While the cricket was busy enjoying, the ant was storing food for the winter season. The ant, thus annoyed, told him that he should pass the winter also singing and dancing. The ant thus quickly put the conversation to an end and pushed him out of his house.

In the end, the poet concludes by saying that he thinks that this fable is quite true. There are many human beings who do not care about the future. They thus repent when the time is gone.

Theme/Message

This poem conveys a very realistic message. It shows that if one does not think about the future, one is destined to suffer. The cricket in the story represents those human beings who are not wise enough to save for the future. Such poor fellows face very awkward situations, as the cricket team had to. It is a humiliating situation. It makes them weak and morally down. But there are people like the ant who are bold. Their boldness is only due to their planned life. They live happily ever after. It is our real life. We should be like the ant, not the cricket. It makes our life comfortable. 

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Difficult Words

• Accustomed to sing– used to singing; in the habit of singing
• Gay– light-hearted and carefree
• Crumb– a small fragment of bread, cake or biscuit
• Famine– extreme scarcity of food
• Trembling– shaking or quivering, typically as a result of anxiety, excitement or weakness
• Miserly– small 
• Lay nothing by – save nothing
• Quoth– (old english) said 
• Hastily– with excessive speed or urgency; hurriedly
• Lifted the wicket- put an end to the conversation (here)
• Fable– a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral
• Warrant– justify