The Ant and the Grasshopper

Real facts

Sometimes we sometimes forget how amazing our world is. Let's find out what we didn't know!

A prince is riding his horse. He sees the forest. He can see towers behind the trees. "What’s that in the forest?" he asks a farmer. "There is a kingdom in the forest. Everybody in the kingdom is sleeping," says the farmer. The farmer tells the prince the story about the bad fairy and the beautiful princess. "We call the princess Sleeping Beauty," says the farmer. "One day, a prince will kiss her and she will wake up." The prince is curious. He wants to see Sleeping Beauty. The prince goes into the forest. He cuts the trees with his sword. He cuts and cuts. He’s very tired. The good fairy is hiding in the forest. She helps the prince. She waves her magic wand and the trees move. Now the prince can find the kingdom. The prince goes into the palace. It’s very quiet! The people and the animals are sleeping. The prince is looking for Sleeping Beauty. He sees some stairs. He goes up the stairs and he finds her in the tallest tower. Sleeping Beauty is sleeping on her bed. She’s very beautiful. The prince falls in love with her! The prince kisses Sleeping Beauty. Suddenly, she wakes up! She opens her eyes. She sees the prince and she smiles. The princess falls in love with the prince. "Thank you, handsome prince," she says. Everybody in the kingdom wakes up. The King and Queen wake up. The men and women wake up. The children wake up. The animals wake up. The prince and princess marry. Everybody in the kingdom is happy again.

The End

Everybody in the kingdom is sad. The men and women aren’t singing or dancing. The children aren’t playing. They want to see the princess again. One day, the King goes to the good fairy. He wants her help. "I can’t wake up the princess," says the good fairy. "But I can help you." The good fairy goes to the top of a hill. She looks at the kingdom and she waves her magic wand. Suddenly, everybody in the kingdom falls asleep. The King and Queen fall asleep. The men and the women fall asleep. The children fall asleep. The animals fall asleep. The good fairy waves her magic wand again. Suddenly, a forest grows around the kingdom. The trees are very tall and they hide the kingdom. For one hundred years, nobody goes there.

The princess is a young woman now. She’s beautiful, clever and kind. She can sing and dance. She’s always happy. But she’s also very curious. Today is her birthday. She’s sixteen. The princess is walking in the palace. She sees some stairs. Suddenly, she hears a noise. The princess is curious and she goes up the stairs. The stairs go up a tower. There is a room at the top of the tower. The princess opens the door. She sees an ugly woman. It’s the bad fairy! "Hello. What are you doing?" asks the princess. "I’m spinning. Do you want to try?" says the bad fairy. "Yes. I do," says the princess. The princess sits down at the spinning wheel. Suddenly, she cuts her finger and she falls asleep! The King and Queen find the princess. They put her in her bed. They remember the bad fairy’s words. The King and Queen are crying. "We mustn’t cry," says the King. "Remember the seventh fairy’s present. Our beautiful daughter won’t die. She’s sleeping. She will sleep for one hundred years."

It’s a bad fairy. She is very ugly. Everybody is afraid of her. The bad fairy is angry because the King didn’t ask her to come to the party. "I want to give the princess my present," says the bad fairy. She points to the baby princess and she says. "When she’s sixteen, she’ll cut her finger on a spinning wheel and die!" The bad fairy laughs and leaves. Everybody is very sad. But the seventh fairy can help. "Don’t worry. Here’s my present. The princess won’t die. She will sleep for one hundred years," she says. "Then a prince will kiss her and she will wake up." The King and Queen are afraid. The King wants to hide all the spinning wheels. He sends a messenger to the town. "Hide your spinning wheels. We must save the princess," says the messenger.

One day, a good King and his beautiful Queen have a baby. They are very happy. "Let’s have a party," says the King. The King and Queen invite their friends to the party. They also invite seven good fairies. Today is the party! Everybody gives a present to the baby princess. The fairies also give presents. Their presents are very special. "You will be beautiful," says the first fairy. "You will be clever," says the second fairy. "You will be kind," says the third fairy. "You will sing," says the fourth fairy. "You will dance," says the fifth fairy. "You will always be happy," says the sixth fairy. Suddenly, somebody knocks on the palace door.

One fine evening a young princess put on her bonnet and clogs, and went out to take a walk by herself in a wood; and when she came to a cool spring of water with a rose in the middle of it, she sat herself down to rest a while. Now she had a golden ball in her hand, which was her favourite plaything; and she was always tossing it up into the air, and catching it again as it fell.

After a time she threw it up so high that she missed catching it as it fell; and the ball bounded away, and rolled along on the ground, until at last it fell down into the spring. The princess looked into the spring after her ball, but it was very deep, so deep that she could not see the bottom of it. She began to cry, and said, 'Alas! if I could only get my ball again, I would give all my fine clothes and jewels, and everything that I have in the world.'

Whilst she was speaking, a frog put its head out of the water, and said, 'Princess, why do you weep so bitterly?'

'Alas!' said she, 'what can you do for me, you nasty frog? My golden ball has fallen into the spring.'

The frog said, 'I do not want your pearls, and jewels, and fine clothes; but if you will love me, and let me live with you and eat from off your golden plate, and sleep on your bed, I will bring you your ball again.'

'What nonsense,' thought the princess, 'this silly frog is talking! He can never even get out of the spring to visit me, though he may be able to get my ball for me, and therefore I will tell him he shall have what he asks.'

So she said to the frog, 'Well, if you will bring me my ball, I will do all you ask.'

Then the frog put his head down, and dived deep under the water; and after a little while he came up again, with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the edge of the spring.

As soon as the young princess saw her ball, she ran to pick it up; and she was so overjoyed to have it in her hand again, that she never thought of the frog, but ran home with it as fast as she could.

The frog called after her, 'Stay, princess, and take me with you as you said,'

But she did not stop to hear a word.

The next day, just as the princess had sat down to dinner, she heard a strange noise - tap, tap - plash, plash - as if something was coming up the marble staircase, and soon afterwards there was a gentle knock at the door, and a little voice cried out and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,

Open the door to thy true love here!

And mind the words that thou and I said

By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

Then the princess ran to the door and opened it, and there she saw the frog, whom she had quite forgotten. At this sight she was sadly frightened, and shutting the door as fast as she could came back to her seat.

The king, her father, seeing that something had frightened her, asked her what was the matter.

'There is a nasty frog,' said she, 'at the door, that lifted my ball for me out of the spring this morning. I told him that he should live with me here, thinking that he could never get out of the spring; but there he is at the door, and he wants to come in.'

While she was speaking the frog knocked again at the door, and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,

Open the door to thy true love here!

And mind the words that thou and I said

By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

Then the king said to the young princess, 'As you have given your word you must keep it; so go and let him in.'

She did so, and the frog hopped into the room, and then straight on - tap, tap - plash, plash - from the bottom of the room to the top, till he came up close to the table where the princess sat.

'Pray lift me upon chair,' said he to the princess, 'and let me sit next to you.'

As soon as she had done this, the frog said, 'Put your plate nearer to me, that I may eat out of it.'

This she did, and when he had eaten as much as he could, he said, 'Now I am tired; carry me upstairs, and put me into your bed.' And the princess, though very unwilling, took him up in her han

The Hare was once boasting of his speed before the other animals. "I have never yet been beaten," said he, "when I put forth my full speed. I challenge any one here to race with me."

The Tortoise said quietly, "I accept your challenge."

"That is a good joke," said the Hare; "I could dance round you all the way."

"Keep your boasting till you've won," answered the Tortoise. "Shall we race?"

So a course was fixed and a start was made. The Hare darted almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped and, to show his contempt for the Tortoise, lay down to have a nap. The Tortoise plodded on and plodded on, and when the Hare awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near the winning-post and could not run up in time to save the race.

Then the Tortoise said: "Slow but steady progress wins the race."

A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree.

"That's for me, as I am a Fox," said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree.

"Good day, Mistress Crow," he cried. "How well you are looking today: how glossy your feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds."

The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by Master Fox.

"That will do," said he. "That was all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you a piece of advice for the future: "Do not trust flatterers."

A Wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs. But one day it found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown aside, so it put it on over its own pelt and strolled down among the sheep.

The Lamb that belonged to the sheep whose skin the Wolf was wearing began to follow the Wolf in the Sheep's clothing. So, leading the Lamb a little apart, he soon made a meal off her - and for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying hearty meals.

Appearances are deceptive.