Three storytellers, three ants,
grasshopper, owls, squirrels and bears.
Characters:

(Stage Directions: the owls, squirrels and bears are in a large semicircle stage right; storytellers are
stage left and the ants are in the centre of the
stage.)

: One hot summer’s day …
Storyteller 2: … there were some ants working
hard.
Storyteller 1
Storyteller 3: They were collecting food for the
winter. (All the ants are miming digging, pulling
and pushing.)
Ant 1: I am so hot.
Ant 2: Me too
Ant 3: This is very hard work.
Storyteller 1: They saw a grasshopper listening to
some music on his iPod. (Grasshopper passes by,
singing and dancing; the ants stop work and look
at him.)
Storyteller 2: He was dancing …
Storyteller 3: … and laughing and enjoying the
lovely weather.
Grasshopper: Ants, you are so silly. You need to
enjoy the sunshine.
(Ants start working again.)
Ant 1: We are working hard.
Ant 2: We want to have food for the winter.
(Grasshopper keeps dancing.)
Storyteller 1: The grasshopper continued enjoying
himself. (The Ants keep working and move stage
right.)
Storyteller 2: Winter started to come and the
weather got colder and colder.
Storyteller 3: The snow began to fall.
Storyteller 1: The grasshopper was cold and
hungry. (Grasshopper rubs his stomach and
shivers. He looks at the owls that start to fly
around the stage.)
Grasshopper: I am cold and hungry; perhaps my
friends the owls will feed me. Owls Owls Will
you please feed me?
Owls: (Owls fly around the grasshopper and stop
centre stage. They stand around the grasshopper.)
Twit Tuhooo Oh no, we will not feed you. (They
fly back to their place in the semicircle.)
Grasshopper: Oh dear I know, I will ask my
friends the bears to feed me. (Grasshopper walks
towards the bears.) Bears Bears Please feed me.
(Bears are asleep so he wakes them up and they
walk to the centre stage.)
Bears: (The bears are very angry that they have
been woken up.) Growl Growl Oh no, we will not
feed you. (The bears go back to their place in the
semicircle.)
Storyteller 1: Then the grasshopper saw some
squirrels. (The squirrels mime eating nuts stage
right.)
Grasshopper: Squirrels Squirrels Please feed me
(They squirrels walk towards him.)
Squirrels: Oh no, we will not feed you. (They hop
back to stage right.)
Storyteller 2: The grasshopper was very cold and
hungry. He didn’t know what to do. (Grasshopper
is shivering and rubbing his stomach.)
Storyteller 3: Then he thought of the ants. (The
ants move to the centre of the stage.)
Grasshopper: Ants Ants Please feed me. (The
ants go into a huddle away from the grasshopper.)
Storyteller 1: The ants thought about it and
decided to give him some food. (All the ants face
the grasshopper.)
Ant 1: You must promise that next year you will
work hard in the summer. (Grasshopper gets
down on his hands and knees.)
Grasshopper: Oh thank you Ants, I promise.
Storyteller 1: That summer the grasshopper kept
his promise and worked hard to collect food for
the next winter. (Grasshopper mimes pushing,
pulling, carrying and digging with all the ants.)
Storyteller 2: The lesson of the story is: fail to
prepare …
Storyteller 3: …prepare to fail.