The Ant and The Cricket Poem Summary and Notes | CBSE Class 8 English Honeydew

Summary of The Ant and the Cricket

CBSE Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 1 from the poetry section is “The Ant and the Cricket”. It is one of the pieces of writing from Aesop’s Fables, which is a collection of fables credited to Aesop. Here, students can find the explanation and summary of the CBSE Class 8 English Honeydew, The Ant and The Cricket Poem. They can use CBSE Class 8 English Notes to prepare for their English exam. Studying it will help in fetching more marks. Also, students can refer to CBSE notes for quick revision during the exam.

Students who want to increase their scores in the writing section of the English paper must practice the CBSE Essays on various topics which are most likely to be asked in the exam.

CBSE Class 8 English Honeydew The Ant and The Cricket Poem Summary

In this poem, there are two characters, an ant and a cricket. The cricket sings songs and dances during the summer and spring seasons. He enjoys his life and never cares for the future. He has not stored any food for the winter season. So, when the winter arrived, he had nothing to eat. He was dying of hunger. So, he went to the ant and asked to lend him some food. He also requested shelter at the ant’s home. However, the ant refused to help him and told him to go out of his house. The poet conveys a beautiful message that we should think about our future and plan things accordingly. If we are aware of our future needs, then we should start working towards it at the earliest. We should not be careless and should not neglect important things.

CBSE Class 8 English Honeydew The Ant and The Cricket Poem Explanation Notes

Students can have a look at the poem and its detailed explanation below. It will help them in their English exam preparation.

The Ant and The Cricket Poem and Explanation

A silly young cricket, accustomed to sing

Through the warm, sunny months of gay summer and spring,

Began to complain when he found that, at home,

His cupboard was empty, and winter was come.

Not a crumb to be found

On the snow-covered ground;

Not a flower could he see,

Not a leaf on a tree.

“Oh! what will become,” says the cricket, “of me?”

At last by starvation and famine made bold,

All dripping with wet, and all trembling with cold,

Away he set off to a miserly ant,

To see if, to keep him alive, he would grant

Him shelter from rain,

And a mouthful of grain.

He wished only to borrow;

He’d repay it tomorrow;

If not, he must die of starvation and sorrow.

Says the ant to the cricket,

“I’m your servant and friend,

But we ants never borrow;

we ants never lend.

But tell me, dear cricket,

did you lay nothing by

When the weather was warm?”

Quoth the cricket,

“Not I!

My heart was so light

That I sang day and night,

For all nature looked gay.”

“You sang, Sir, you say?

Go then,” says the ant, “and dance the winter away.”

Thus ending, he hastily lifted the wicket,

And out of the door turned the poor little cricket.

Folks call this a fable. I’ll warrant it true:

Some crickets have four legs, and some have two.

Adapted from Aesop’s Fables

In the first stanza, the poet describes the character of the cricket. He says that the silly young cricket was fun-loving. He used to sing all through the warm and sunny months of summer and spring. He was busy enjoying these days and did not bother to store food for the winter season. The season of winter arrived, and he had not saved anything for the cold winter days.

He could not find food to eat, not even a small dry piece of bread. During winters, the earth got covered with snow, and he could not even see a flower or a leaf on the trees. Seeing this, he got worried and wondered what would happen to him. The sign of starvation could be seen on his face.

He was dying of hunger, and he could not find any food around him to eat. The tiny drops of snow made him wet, and he was shivering with the cold. So, he decided to go to the miserly ant to ask for some help from him. He hoped he might give him something to help him survive. He requested the ant to provide him with some food and shelter in his home so that he could save himself from the rain. He also made it clear to the ant that he would repay the grains. He said he needed this help; otherwise, he would die of starvation and sorrow.

After listening to the cricket, the ant said he thinks of himself as his servant and a friend. But ants neither borrow nor lend anything. Further, the ant asked why he had never thought of storing food for the winter season.

The cricket replied to him that he had never thought of the future. He was busy enjoying the pleasant days and did not imagine that he would face such difficulty during the winter season. He sang songs days and nights and spent the summer and winter seasons enjoying them and having fun. The ant then told him to go from his home and sing and dance all through the winter.

The ant thus put an end to the conversation and pushed the poor cricket out of his home. The poet says that people call this a story, but it happens in reality. Many humans spend their life similar to cricket and do not prepare for their future.

We hope students must have found this information in CBSE Class 8 English Honeydew The Ant and The Cricket Poem summary and notes useful for their exam preparation. They can also boost the writing section of the English paper by going through the essay on republic day and the essay on the constitution of India.