Preparing for Winter – The Ant and The Grasshopper

 

Target practice with the bear

Target practice with the bear

 

 

With bow in hand, gazing over the yellow grassy fields and up at the clear blue sky, I began to listen to the silence. It was silent save for the chirping of the grasshoppers…

 

In a field one summer’s day, a grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An ant passed by, bearing along with great toil, an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

“Why not come and chat with me,” said the grasshopper, “instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”

“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the ant, “and recommend you do the same.”

“Why bother about winter,” said the grasshopper, “we have plenty of food at present.”

But the ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the grasshopper had no food, and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from stores they had collected in the summer. Then the grasshopper knew, “It is best to prepare for the days of necessity”.

-Aesop Fable, The Ant and the Grasshopper

 

Closing my eyes, in deep concentration, I continued to listen. Grasshoppers kept chirping and my mind wandered to the thought of the first frost. It will come soon and the grasshoppers will die.

My thoughts drifted and visions of winter preparation filled my mind. Gardens are being harvested, and fruits and vegetables are being preserved. Wheat is being cut and threshed, and firewood is being chopped. Hunting season is in full swing, and wild game will provide meat for the table. Bears are fattening up, and geese are flying south.

Fall has barely arrived, but we know winter is just around the corner.

Peace filled me as I opened my eyes and drew back my bow. “I am one with the bow,” I thought, and let it fly over the yellow grassy fields.

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