It is summer. The sun is shining brightly. The Grasshopper (蚂蚱) is playing here and there. He has a good time. The Ants (蚂蚁) are busy doing something. The Grasshopper thinks it is crazy (疯狂的) of the ants to work hard on such a hot day.

The big ant is busy carrying food home. The Grasshopper doesn’t understand why he is working so hard.

“Why not come and chat with me?” says the Grasshopper, “Don’t work so hard.”

“I am working to save (储蓄) up food for the winter.” says one of the Ants, “I think you should do the same.”

“Winter is far away. There is lots of food everywhere. Stop working. Come sing and dance with me.” says the Grasshopper. The Ant doesn’t stop and goes on with hard work.

When winter comes, the Grasshopper looks around for food in the cold. He is very cold and hungry. He is going to die (死) because of having no food. He suddenly thinks of the Ants.

The Grasshopper comes to the Ants’ house for food. But he sees the Ants are having a good time with a lot of food.

—Taken from Aesop’s Fables

A miser（守财奴）buried（埋）his gold in his garden. Every day he went to the place, dug up the treasure and counted it to make sure it was all there. A man followed him several days. One night, he quietly dug up the treasure and left with it.

When the miser found his gold was lost, he was sad and cried. A stranger heard his cries and asked what had happened.

“My gold! Oh, my gold!” cried the miser wildly. “It was stolen（被偷）.”

“Your gold! There in that hole? Why did you put it there? Why didn’t you put it in the house so that you could easily get it when you wanted to buy things?”

“Buy!” shouted the miser angrily. “Why? I never touched the gold. I couldn’t think of spending any of it.”

The stranger threw a stone into the hole and said, “Cover up that stone. It is worth just as much to you as the treasure you lost!”

A possession（财产） is worth nothing if you don’t use it.

Long ago a kind farmer with the name of Fred lived in a small old house happily together with his wife, Doris, who couldn’t see anything at the age of five.

One cold winter night, the Luck Fairy visited them while they were eating some bread in the poor light.

“You’re so kind, so I’d like to give you a wish.” said the Luck Fairy. “A wish ?” Fred and Doris asked, standing hand in hand and smiling at each other. Then Fred answered, “Thanks, Luck Fairy. We are living a happy life. We are no longer young, but we still work in the field from morning to night every day. We enjoy ourselves.” said Doris.

“You work very hard but you make so little money. Would you like some gold coins to buy a comfortable house?” asked the Luck Fairy. “Oh no, my dear Luck Fairy. We love our small old house. We have lived here for a long time.” answered Fred, without a moment’s hesitation (犹豫). “We are happy to work and live together all the time. That’s enough.” Doris agreed.

The farmer and his wife were quite different from other people the Luck Fairy had ever met.

She disappeared, saying, “I wish you a happy life forever.”

Many years later, the couple lived happily as usual. It seemed to others that they were the happiest in the world.

Satisfaction (满足) is a kind of feeling that needs to be experienced from inside. It’s very important to be satisfied with what you’ve got. If you enjoy the pleasure of the simple life, good luck will follow you.