The Fly and the Ant

The fly and the ant were arguing over their worth.

"Great Jupiter," said the fly, "Must self-esteem blind the minds in such an odious way that a vile and rampant creature dares to claim equality with a flying damsel? I haunt palaces; at your table, I sit. If an ox is sacrificed, I taste it before you. While this puny and miserable one lives three days on a bit of chaff that she drags home. But tell me, my sweet, do you ever alight on a king's head, an emperor, or a beautiful girl? I do, and I kiss a lovely breast at will. I buzz while playing through her hair, heightening her usually pale complexion. The final touch added to the beauty of a lady going out to conquer is an adjustment borrowed from us.

Well, my head is aching with your lofty claims—did you say?" the housewife replied.

"You do haunt palaces, but you are hated there. As far as being the first to taste what is served to these gods, do you believe it to be better? If you enter everywhere, so do laymen. Upon kings' heads and donkeys too, you alight, and that I won’t deny. I know, too, that a prompt death is often the punishment for your importunities. Certain primping, you say, beautifies; I grant it: it is as black as you and I. It is called 'fly'—is that a reason for you to sing your praises so? Aren't flies also known as parasites?

So stop your vain babble. Think no more of those haughty thoughts. Court flies are chased out; spies hang high, and so will you die of hunger, of cold, languishing and miserable. When Phoebus reigns on another hemisphere, then I shall enjoy the fruit of my labor. I will not go up hill and down dale to expose myself to wind and rain; then I shall live trouble-free. Having taken precautions will exempt me from worry. Thus, I shall teach you there the meaning of false or true glory. Farewell, I am wasting time—let me work. Neither my loft nor my cupboard are stocked by idle chatter."

Work steadily and always plan for lean times.