Resources for Teachers

Using Bugs to Tell a Story

It is interesting that for thousands and thousands of years we as humans have learnt from bugs and we are still learning.

• The early prophets (including Isiah and Moses) studied the behavior of ants, bees and other bugs. They saw in the bugs an analogy (sameness) of how we as people can live and work better and happier together.

• Ancient Greek philosopher Aesop (535BC) told of the grasshopper and the ant as an example of an irresponsible and foolish person (grasshopper) and a responsible person (ant). Compare this to the parable of the rich man in Luke 12:13-21.

• Humans have learnt from watching bugs how to make and use glue.

• From understanding the life cycle of a moth, we have leant to unravel the silk from a cocoon to make thread and weave it into a beautiful silk dress or a silk shirt.

• We teach our young children about the stages of life through story books, such as Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar".

• Scientists have learnt how to make spider silk to use in bullet proof vests and super strong ropes.

• Architects and builders have learnt about air-conditioning of buildings from the study of Honeybee hives and Termite nests.

Aesop's Fable "The Grasshopper and the Ant"

One beautiful summer day, a lazy grasshopper was chirping and sitting and playing games, just as he did every day. A hard-working ant passed by, carrying a huge leaf that he was taking back to the ant’s nest.

The grasshopper said to the ant,

“All you ants do is work all day.
You should be more like me and play, play, play!”

The ant replied,

“I’m storing food for the winter season.
You should be working, for just the same reason.
What will you eat when the weather gets cold?
How will you feed your hungry household?”

The grasshopper laughed, and said,

“All you ants do is work and worry.
Slow down, don’t be in such a hurry.
Just look around, there’s plenty of food,
Don’t give me advice, that’s just plain rude.”

The ant kept working, the grasshopper kept playing, and winter soon came.

The ant had prepared for the winter and had just enough food stored in the nest to last through the cold, harsh weather.

Now that winter had arrived, the grasshopper couldn’t find any food, and soon became very hungry. But he soon remembered the hard-working ant he had made fun of during the summer.

The grasshopper went to the ant’s nest and asked for food. Grasshopper said,

“I sang and I played in the summer breeze,

Help me, help me, help me please

or I will die in winters freeze”

The ant, who was still busy keeping the food clean and dry, replied,

“I toiled to save food for the winter freeze,
while you spent the summer playing in ease.
I stored just enough food for the winter, it’s true,
But I can’t feed you all winter, or I’ll starve too.”

The ant gave the grasshopper a few crumbs, but the grasshopper was cold, miserable, and hungry all winter.

The next summer, the grasshopper worked hard to store food for the upcoming winter. That next winter, grasshopper was well fed and happy!

He had learned to think ahead and plan for the future.

And that is the end of the story.

The moral of the story:
PREPARE TODAY FOR THE NEEDS THAT YOU WILL HAVE TOMORROW.

Note that the ant in the fable only stores what it needs, unlike the rich man who foolish gathered more than he needed as told in the parable -- Luke 12:13-21

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Acknowledgement