The Ants and the Grasshopper and Pa Ingalls

 My 1^st grade students recently learned the fable The Ants and the Grasshopper. The ants worked hard all summer to gather grain while the grasshopper was making music on his fiddle. When winter comes, the ants have plenty to eat, but the grasshopper is sent away starving. The moral of the story is, “There’s a time for work, and a time for play.”

I had also read Little House in the Big Woods to my students and we recognized Pa Ingalls as the perfect foil to the grasshopper. “In the summer evenings Pa did not tell stories or play the fiddle. Summer days were long and he was tired after he had worked hard all day in the fields.” Though Pa certainly worked hard, he also was first in merry making when it is time for play. Laura thought the “best time of all” was on winter nights after supper when Pa would get out his fiddle and tell wonderful tales, true and imaginary. As much as the little family enjoyed the time of play in the winter, what if Pa played his fiddle all summer too like the grasshopper? The outcome would have been bleak for the pioneer family.

The moral was unmistakable, but some of my students were concerned about the rather harsh way the ants dismiss the grasshopper. The ants are not…nice. Does that mean the fable is a bad story?

Other stories come to mind with unsavory characters or unsatisfying resolutions, even biblical stories. In Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable about an unrighteous judge who keeps putting off a poor widow’s request for justice. Eventually, her persistence annoys him so much that he does what she wants so he will not be battered down. The judge is a very reluctant provider of justice. Why would Jesus tell this story? Why not stick with the illustration He uses in other sermons about the child asking the loving father for something they need? He tells this story because he is trying to make a specific point. He plainly says the message of the story is that we should pray without losing heart. He uses a flawed human example to illustrate His point from the lessor to the greater. Even an unrighteous human will eventually give in to persistence. How much more will a loving God grant our earnest requests?

So what do we do with these stories that have a good point, but are not completely nice? I would argue that the intention of the story matters. Not all examples are meant to be followed. Acknowledge storytelling as a powerful tool, but also admit its limitations. For The Ants and the Grasshopper, my students and I talked about how the ants set a positive example of hard work and enjoyment of rest at the proper times. However, “Making music, were you? Very well, now dance!” was not the gracious response to someone who had been unwise. The ants are exemplary in their industry (the main point of the story), but not necessarily in kindness.

In the strange reversal of seasons that has taken place in the last 100 years or so, summer is now the time for play. Today was the last day of school. I am so thankful to have been in person all school year, and so relieved summer break is here. I will fill my “play” days with music, dancing, stories, and art, but I also know I will be happy in August when it is time for work once more.

Photo by Polina Rytova on Unsplash