La Cigale et La Fourmi
(The Cricket and The Ant)
The cricket, having sung all summer long,
found her foods too few when the north wind blew
Nowhere could she spy a single morsel - worm or fly.
She thought her neighbor, the ant, might help,
and begged her for a bit of grain till summer came back again.
"By next harvest, I'll repay interest and principal both,"
she swore on the animal's oath.
Now, the ant may admit to a fault or two,
But lending is not something she will ever do.
So she asked, "What did you do when the weather was warm?"
"By night and day, to all who came, I sang at every chance."
"You sang, did you? How very nice. Now go and dance."
