Theme: Respect, work

The Ant and the Cicada

Once upon a time there was a very hardworking ant. In the morning she left the house, walked a lot in search of food and carried leaves and heavy grains, sometimes even bigger than she was. Every day she did this and everything went well like that.

In a tree, near the ant's house, lived a cicada. Her way of life was totally different from her neighbor's. She looked for food only when she was hungry. She wasn't fetching and storing food all the time. The most important thing for her was singing.

The cicada filled the day with her songs. She had a powerful and tuned voice that was heard by all the animals around.

Since she was a little girl, the cicada's family had taught her to sing. She was a good singer and felt that this was what life had led her towards and what she should do. But the ant found the cicada's way of being strange. She found her careless and even lazy.

They met frequently and every time they talked, the cicada felt undervalued, realized that the ant thought she was better than her and was very upset. Until one day the ant said:

- Good morning, cicada! And then? Are you going to sing again? What a quiet life, huh? I wish I have this life!

It was the last straw for the cicada. Nervous, she replied:

- Look here, ant! I know you think it's easy to be a singer. So how about we switch? I'll get us food all day and you'll have to sing, all around. What do you think? It's your chance to have the easy life you think I have.

Feeling provoked, the ant replied without thinking:

- Wow, of course I will. I'm going to take a well-deserved vacation.

One then quickly explained to the other what they should do.

The tasks didn't seem difficult to be performed and the two agreed to start that same day.

The cicada just needed to walk, walk a lot. And carrying weight, a lot of weight. But, as she wanted to prove that she was a hard worker, she started with all the energy.

For the ant, getting started was more difficult. She couldn't play any instruments or read sheet music. She could only remember the choruses of the songs.

But she wanted to prove that the cicada's song wasn't so much. So, she made an effort and managed, reading the lyrics, to sing, even with a weak voice, two whole songs, which she kept repeating all day.

At the end of the afternoon, the cicada returned home and found the ant there. Neither of them wanted to talk about the difficulties they had, on the contrary.

- Today I already found some food, but this was my first day. I am sure that every day I will gain more experience and my performance will improve - said the cicada.

- Everything worked out for me too, and I will certainly sing better and better. Goodnight! See you tomorrow! - said the ant.

Arriving at their homes, the two went running to rest. The cicada, exhausted, with the whole-body aching. The hoarse ant, almost without a voice, upset to know that she had not done well and without the slightest desire to study new songs.

Already on the first day they saw that that exchange, made in a moment of irritation, had not been a good idea.

The next day the performance of the two was even worse.

Every day they were more regretful. They worked a little, as they could, but with the conviction that it wasn't for them. The cicada didn't think it was so important to live just to store food. The ant found no motivation to dedicate itself so much, with rehearsals and more rehearsals, learning notes and chords, playing instruments, just to perform for the neighborhood.

But they didn't know what to do. How could they give up? It would be a humiliation to assume that they couldn't do each other's work.

Thus, a few days passed until the animals in the neighborhood began to comment that they missed the voice of the cicada. They wanted her to come back. One day, they went talking to them.

- Friends, what do you think about going back doing what you did so well before? The cicada cheered everyone up with her joy, with the emotion with which she sang! Even from afar we could hear it. It was so good! And you, ant, were an example of a workforce. An inspiration for all of us to carry out our tasks with commitment too!

Ah... it was a relief for both of them to hear that. It was a great reason for them to immediately undo the trade. And they were so relieved that they even hugged like friends.

The next day everything was back to normal. But it came back even better because the ant had understood that the cicada's task was a specialized and important service. She ended up even admitting that she also liked to work listening to the cicada sing. And the cicada also came to respect the neighbor's hard work, which demanded, in addition to a lot of physical strength, a lot of determination and character.

The two understood that each one has their role to play and must take advantage of the opportunity that God has given them, respecting their own work, but also of others.

Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com