Chapter 10 Ten ants and grasshoppers

I was taught to read La Fontaine when I was still a child. ], and explained to me the moral meaning of each fable.Among the language stories I have read, there is one called "The Ant and the Grasshopper", which is intended to remind young people of such a useful lesson: In this imperfect world, hard work will be rewarded, and idleness will be rewarded. receive punishment.This fascinating fable (though not all of it is known in detail, but in general; I am sorry to repeat it here) says that the ants work hard each summer to stockpile winter food, while the grasshopper sits on a blade of grass and sings to the sun all summer long.When the severe winter comes, the ants are well prepared for their livelihood, and they are very pleased, but the grasshopper's nest is empty.It had no choice but to go to the ant and beg for some food, to which the ant famously replied.

what have you been doing all summer Ashamed, I was singing all day and all night. You sing, all right, then go dance again! For me, I don't want to make this fable the opposite of the truth, but I feel that it is very inconsistent with my childhood experience.This parable is morally weak, so I myself have never listened to it.I sympathize with grasshoppers, and for a while, I would step on ant when I saw one.I have tried in this simple way to show that I do not subscribe at all to such prudence or common sense of social life. I saw George in a restaurant not long ago.Ramsay at lunch, when I couldn't help thinking of the fable.I have never seen anyone so sad and depressed as he was.His eyes were glazed over, and it seemed as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders alone.I feel sorry for him.I immediately suspected that it must be his unprofessional younger brother who caused some trouble again.I walked over to him and held out my hand.

hello?I asked him. I'm not in the mood for elation.he replied. What's the matter, is Tom making trouble again? He sighed: Oh, it's Tom again. Then why don't you cut ties with him?You have done your best for him.You should understand by now that he is incurable! I think there are black sheep in every family.For twenty years Tom had been George's thorn in the side.In the beginning, Tom was a good character. He had a job, got a family, and had two children.The Ramsays were pretty decent, in every way, and people always thought Tom.Ramsey is bound to have a decent future.One day, however, Tom declared without saying hello to anyone that he didn't like his job, that he wasn't fit for married life, and that he wanted to be alone.He listened to no one's advice, abandoned his wife, and left his job.He had a little savings, and used the money to live happily in some European cities for two years.Stories about what he did during that time periodically reached the ears of relatives, who were horrified.Of course, he had a great time there.The relatives shook their heads and sighed, thinking: What should I do when he runs out of money?Soon, they discovered that Tom was living on borrowed money.

He's so resourceful and has no scruples that it's hard not to lend him money.I've never met a man who was constantly borrowing money from friends who were so good at making friends.Besides, he always said that money was useless in necessities of life, and only in pleasures and pleasures.In this he relied on his brother George.George was an honest man, and he did not see through his brother's smooth talk.George was very respectable, and once or twice he took his brother's promise of conversion, and gave Tom a handsome sum of money for the return of his prodigal son.With the money, Tom bought a car and some jewelry.However, after a few times like this, George soon found that his brother would no longer be content with himself, so he decided to let it go.At this time, Tom continued to rip off his brother without any scruples.In the restaurants he frequented, George sometimes saw his younger brother working as a cocktail bartender in the bar; at the door of the Lawyers Club, he sometimes saw his younger brother driving a taxi; sometimes he even saw his younger brother doing odd jobs around.As a face-saving lawyer, George felt that this was disgraceful.Tom told George that a pub boy or a taxi driver would be fine jobs; but he would have given up such occupations for the family's honor, if George would give him two hundred pounds.

Once, Tom nearly went to jail for fraud.George was very upset.Tom has done something shameful.Indeed, this guy is too outrageous.Though Tom had always been capricious, reckless, and selfish, it seemed to George that he had never done any harm before, that is to say, had not broken the law.If he is prosecuted this time, he will be convicted.However, you can't watch your only brother go to jail!The man Tom had deceived was called Gronshaw, and he threatened revenge. Gronshaw decided to take the matter to court, saying that Tom was a villain and deserved to be punished.The matter caused so much trouble to George that at last he paid Granshaw five hundred pounds to settle the matter.Later, when George heard that Tom and Granshaw had cashed the check together, they went to Monte Carlo [Note: A city in Monaco, famous for its casino. 】It's been a good month.George was furious about this, he was really heartbroken that time!

For twenty years Tom has raced, gambled, danced, hang out with the most beautiful girls, eat and drink in the most luxurious restaurants, wear the most beautiful clothes, and he is always well-dressed!Although he is over forty-six years old, but because he is well maintained, he looks like he is only about thirty-five years old.He was a very agreeable company; though you knew he was mean, you could not but enjoy his company.He's always in high spirits, richly dressed, and incredibly magical.He regularly asked me for the necessities of life, and as an old friend of his brother's I always gave.I always felt sorry and indebted to him every time I lent him fifty pounds.Tom.Ramsay knew a lot of people, and a lot of people knew him.You may not admire him, but you can't help liking him.

Poor George, though he was only a year older than his brother, looked to be in his sixties.For twenty-five years, he has never had more than two weeks of vacation in a year. He works in his office at nine o'clock in the morning every day. He is honest, hardworking and respected.He was a good wife, to whom George was never unfaithful in action or in thought; to whom he had four daughters, George was a kind and good father, to whom he gave a third of his After saving his income, he plans to retire at the age of fifty-five. At that time, he plans to go to a small house in the country, plant flowers there, play golf, and support his old age.George's life was spotless, and he was getting old, but he was happy because Tom was getting old too!He rubbed his hands and said:

Life was good when Tom was young and pretty.However, he is only one year younger than me, and he will be fifty in four years. At that time, he will not be so happy.When I was fifty I had £30,000 in savings.For twenty-five years I have said that Tom will end his life in the slums.Let's see how he feels about that ending!We'll see if it's the hard workers or the lazy ones who get paid well! Poor George, I pity him!Now, as I sat beside him, I reckoned Tom must have done something disgraceful again, and George was evidently disturbed by him! Do you know what happened?he ask me. I wouldn't be surprised if the worst happened.I guess, Tom got caught by the police?George was so excited that he could barely speak.

I've worked hard all my life, behaved, respected, frank, and you won't deny it.I have worked hard for half my life, hoping to get a pension after retirement.I have always done my best to live up to the One who gave me life. Indeed. You will not deny that Tom has been idle, mean, dissolute, and a shameless rascal.If it is true that evil comes with evil, he should live in an asylum. indeed George's face flushed with excitement. A few weeks earlier he had become engaged to a woman old enough to be his mother.Now the woman died suddenly and left him everything: half a million pounds, a yacht, a house in London, an estate in the country.

George clenched his fist and slammed it on the table. It's so unfair, really, so unfair!Damn, it's so unfair! I can't explain it either.Seeing George's angry look, I laughed out loud. I sat on the chair, bent over laughing, and nearly hit my head on the ground laughing.For this matter, George has not forgiven me so far!But Tom, he now often invites me to taste delicious food in his high-end apartment.If he still borrows some money from me now and then, it is entirely out of habit, and never more than twenty shillings each time!