Third Grade
Worksheets
The Ant and the Grasshopper
Summer is often vacation time for boys and girls. For insects, it's the busy season. They have so much work to do! One vital task is to gather food for the winter.
Ants are very good at hard work. They march in lines to a food source. Each ant picks up a piece of food. They carry the food back to the nest inside the ant hill. They save it for winter.
One summer as the ants collected food, a grasshopper spotted them. The grasshopper was not spending his summer working. He lived for fun! He laughed at the ants for working so hard.
The grasshopper called to one little ant. "Why are you working on this sunny day?"
The ant paused. "I've got to pick up food and store it in the ant hill," he said. "That's what sunny days are for."
"Silly ant, summer days are for fun!" the grasshopper said. "You can stockpile food another day. Why don't you come with me? We can sing and dance!"
The ant told the grasshopper that now was not the time to sing and dance. "In fact, you would be wise to prepare for the future," the ant said. "Before we know it, winter will be here."
The grasshopper shook his head. Winter was far away. One day of playing would not hurt, but he could not convince the ant to stop and play with him. The grasshopper hopped away, looking for a fun spot where he could relax and play his music.
