The Cicada and the Ant

Fable by Jean De La Fontaine Collection The FablesThemes InsectsPeriod 17th century

The Cicada, having sung
All summer long,
Found herself quite destitute
When the cold wind came:
Not a single little morsel
Of fly or tiny worm.
She went to cry famine
At her neighbor the Ant’s,
Begging her to lend
Some grain to survive
Until the new season.
“I will pay you back, she told her,
Before the harvest, on an animal’s honor,
Interest and principal.”
The Ant is not a lender:
That is her least fault.
What were you doing in the warm weather?
She said to this borrower.
– Night and day to anyone who came
I sang, if you don’t mind.
– You sang? I am very glad.
Well then! dance now.

Jean de La Fontaine

Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.

Text published on Poésies 123: https://www.poesies123.com/en/fable-la-cigale-et-la-fourmi-jean-de-la-fontaine-2/