The Ant and the Grasshopper

An ant and grasshopper lived in the same field. During summer the ant works

all day and night bringing in supplies for the cold winter months ahead.

Meanwhile, the grasshopper hops and sings, eats grass all he wants and

Procreates prolifically.



Winter comes. It gets bitterly cold and the grass dies. The ant is well

supplied and lives comfortably - but the grasshopper has not prepared for

the winter and dies, leaving a whole horde of little grasshoppers without

food or shelter.

The moral of the story is that one should work hard to ensure your comfort

and well-being.



THE AFRICAN VERSION



The above applies but because it now happens in Africa, there are a few

complications.



The starving offspring of the grasshopper demanded to know why the ant

should be allowed to live comfortably while they have to endure such

terrible conditions.



A TV crew promptly arrives and broadcasts footage of the unfortunate

grasshoppers contrasting this footage with that of the ant in his snug

comfortable home.



The public in the neighbouring fields are stunned by what they see.



How can it be that the poor grasshoppers are suffering while the ant lives

in the lap of luxury?



In the blink of an eye the AGU (African Grasshoppers Union) is formed. They

charge the ant with "species bias" and claim that grasshoppers are the

victims of 30 million years of green oppression.



They stage a protest in front of the ant's house and trash the neighbourhood.

When interviewed by the TV crew they state that if their demands are not met

they will be forced into a life of crime and violance. Just to make their point, they

loot the TV crew's luggage and hijack their van.



The TRC (Take and Redistribute Commission) justifies their behaviour by

saying that this is the legacy of the ant's discrimination and oppression of

the grasshoppers for thousands of years.



They demand that the ant apologises to the grasshoppers and make amends for

all the other ants in history that have done the same thing to grasshoppers.



PAGAD (People Against Grasshoppers Abuse and Distress) states that they are

starting a holy war against ants.



The President appears on the 8 o'clock news guaranteeing aid for all

grasshoppers that have been denied the prosperity by those who have

benefited unfairly during the summer from the fare so richly provided by nature for all to enjoy.



THE GOVERNMENT drafts the EEGAD Act (Economic Equity for Greens and

Disadvantaged) retroactive to the beginning of the summer.



The ant is fined heavily for failing to employ a proportionate number of

green insects, and having nothing left to pay his income tax, his home is

confiscated by the government for redistribution.



The story ends as we see the grasshoppers finishing off the last of the

ant's food while living in their new government house (which just happens to

be the ant's old house) and the house also ends up crumbling around them due

to their laziness, lack of skill and general lack of inclination to maintain infrastructure.



The TV crew films the President standing before a group of wildly singing

and dancing grasshoppers, announcing that a new era of "equality" has dawned

on the field.



The ant, meantime, is not allowed to work because, historically, he has

benefited from the field. In his place, ten grasshoppers, who only work two

hours a day, stash half of what they actually harvest for resale on the quiet for personal gain.



When winter comes again and not enough food has been stored, they strike and

demand 150% wage increase so they can buy more food, which now has to be

imported.



The ant packs his things and migrates to another field, where he starts a

highly successful food company and again becomes a millionaire by selling

food to the grasshoppers in the field from where he came.