Welcome dear students! Today we are going to learn about The Ant And The Cricket from Class 6 English_FL. Before we dive into the poem, I want you to sit with your partner and discuss two important ideas from your textbook. Think carefully about why it is so important to do our work at the right time, and why we must avoid being lazy. Take a moment to share your thoughts with each other. These ideas will be the key to understanding the lesson we are about to read. [CHECKPOINT]
Now, let us read the poem together. I will read the first stanza exactly as it appears in your textbook. 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?
Let us understand this part. The poem introduces a young cricket who is in the habit of singing during the pleasant summer and spring seasons. The word gay here means bright and cheerful. When winter arrives, the cricket realizes his cupboard is completely empty. He looks outside and sees snow everywhere, with no flowers or leaves left on the trees. He feels deeply worried and asks what will happen to him. Notice how the poet paints a picture of the harsh winter by showing us the empty, cold landscape. [CHECKPOINT]
Here is the second stanza. 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 would repay it tomorrow; If not, he must die of starvation and sorrow.
This stanza shows the cricket in a desperate situation. Extreme hunger finally gives him the courage to act. He is wet from the rain and shivering from the cold. He decides to visit a stingy ant, hoping the ant will give him shelter and a small amount of food. The cricket does not want charity. He only wants to borrow food, promising to pay it back the very next day. He knows that without help, he will die from hunger and sadness. [CHECKPOINT]
Let us continue with the third stanza. Says the ant to the cricket, I am 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.
Here, the ant responds politely but firmly. The ant calls himself the cricket's servant and friend, but immediately states a strict rule. Ants never borrow, and they never lend. The ant then asks a crucial question. He asks if the cricket saved anything when the weather was warm. The cricket replies honestly. He says he did not save anything at all. His heart was so carefree that he sang continuously because everything in nature looked bright and happy. [CHECKPOINT]
Now, the fourth stanza. 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.
The ant repeats the cricket's words with a tone of mild surprise. He tells the cricket that since he spent his time singing, he should now go and dance through the winter. After saying this, the ant quickly opens his small door, called a wicket, and pushes the poor cricket outside. The ant refuses to help him. [CHECKPOINT]
Finally, the last stanza. Folks call this a fable. I will warrant it true: Some crickets have four legs, and some have two.
The poet concludes by calling this story a fable. A fable is a short story that teaches a moral lesson. The poet declares that this story is certainly true. He adds a clever observation. Some crickets have four legs, referring to the actual insect. But some crickets have two legs, referring to lazy human beings who act just like the cricket. [CHECKPOINT]
Now, let us look at the glossary words from your textbook. I will give you the exact meanings. Accustomed to sing means in the habit of singing. Complain means to speak in an unhappy, annoyed, or dissatisfied way. Famine means having nothing to eat. To see means to find out. Lay nothing by means to save nothing. Quoth is an old English word that means said. Wicket means a small gate or door, which is part of a larger one. Warrant it true means to declare that it is certain.
Let us now answer the comprehension questions together. Question one a asks what the cricket did when the weather was good and what it should have done instead. When the weather was good, the cricket spent his time singing day and night because his heart was light and nature looked cheerful. Instead of just singing, he should have worked hard to gather and store food for the winter. [CHECKPOINT]
Question one b asks what he was unhappy about. The cricket was unhappy because winter had arrived, his cupboard was completely empty, and he had no food to eat. Question one c asks if that is the reason why the poet calls it a silly young cricket. Yes, the poet calls him silly because he failed to plan for the future and wasted the warm months singing instead of preparing for the cold season. Question one d asks how the cricket expressed his feeling of not knowing how to keep himself alive, and asks you to read aloud the words that say there was no food anywhere. He expressed his fear by asking, Oh! what will become of me? The lines that show there was no food anywhere are: Not a crumb to be found on the snow-covered ground. [CHECKPOINT]
Question one e asks when he made bold to go to the ant. He finally gathered the courage to visit the ant only when he was suffering from extreme hunger and starvation. Question one f asks you to rewrite the long sentence in the second stanza as four simple sentences, using the active voice in the first one. Here are the four simple sentences. Starvation and famine made him bold at last. He was dripping with wet. He was trembling with cold. He set off to a miserly ant. Question one g asks if the cricket did not want to beg for food. That is true. He only wanted to borrow food and promised to repay it the next day. [CHECKPOINT]
Question one h asks if the ant was surprised at the cricket’s request. That is true. The ant expressed surprise by asking if the cricket really saved nothing during the warm weather. Question one i asks if the cricket lied to the ant. That is not true. The cricket honestly admitted that he saved nothing because he was too busy singing. Question one j asks what advice was given by the ant and if the cricket could dance in the cold winter. The ant advised the cricket to go and dance the winter away. No, the cricket could not dance in the cold winter because he was weak, starving, and freezing. Question one k asks what you think the cricket did in the winter. The cricket likely suffered greatly from hunger and cold, and he probably learned a hard lesson about the importance of planning and hard work. [CHECKPOINT]
Now, let us move to the writing exercise. Question two asks who the words and some have two refer to, and asks you to write six to eight sentences on the moral the poem teaches us. The words and some have two refer to lazy human beings who waste their time instead of working. The moral of the poem is very important for our daily lives. We must always use our time wisely and complete our responsibilities when the opportunity is available. If we are lazy and only enjoy ourselves, we will face difficulties later. Hard work and planning for the future protect us from unexpected hardships. We should never depend on others to solve problems that we could have avoided. By being responsible today, we ensure a secure and peaceful tomorrow. [CHECKPOINT]
Next, we will read the passage and fill in the blanks. Listen carefully as I read the complete passage with the correct words filled in. What do animals do when they are hungry? The carnivorous animals hunt for food. The herbivorous animals move from place to place in search of grass and plants. Ants store food for winter. In stories animals do many things to get their food. They grab, steal, beg, cheat, tell lies. In this poem a cricket did not do any of these things. It did something unusual.
Now, let us look at the final section, where we discuss what we like in this poem. Point three a explains that the rhyme scheme is regular in the first two stanzas. The pattern is aa, bb, cc, ddd. This means the first two lines rhyme with each other, the next two lines rhyme with each other, and so on. This regular rhyme makes the poem musical and easy to remember. [CHECKPOINT]
Point three b tells us that the cricket is personified. It has a home and a cupboard. The ant is also personified. It has a house with a wicket door. Personification means giving human qualities to animals or objects. Point three c asks if the ant was the cricket’s servant or friend. The ant says he is a servant and friend, but his actions show he is neither. He refuses to help because he follows strict rules about borrowing and lending. Point three d highlights the word play. The ant makes a joke on the cricket’s word sang. Since the cricket spent his time singing, the ant sarcastically tells him to dance through the winter. This cleverly highlights the cricket's foolishness.
We have now covered every part of this beautiful poem, from the pre-reading discussion to the complete text, the glossary, all comprehension questions, the writing task, the passage exercise, and our analysis of the poem's literary features. Remember, the lesson of this poem is to work hard, plan ahead, and never be lazy. Keep these values in mind as you study and grow.
Thank you for listening! Keep revising and practicing. Goodbye! [CHAPTER_COMPLETE]