A bright summer noon. A field full of golden paddy sways in the breeze. A line of ants — Pilu and his friends — carry grains of rice on their backs toward the nest, one step… another step… one step… another step. And up on a blade of grass, Jhumjhum the grasshopper plays his leaf-fiddle — tung-tang, tung-tang! “Ah, what a lovely day!”
Pilu was dragging a grain, dripping with sweat. Jhumjhum called out with a laugh — “Hey, brother Pilu! Why work yourself ragged in this sun? Come, sing with me!” Pilu set down the grain and said — “Winter's coming, Jhumjhum. There'll be no grain in the field then. Let's store it now.” Jhumjhum just shrugged — “Pff! Winter's ages away.”
Slowly, autumn arrived. The leaves turned yellow, then red — falling with a dry rustle. Pilu's ants carried in the last grains and sealed the mouth of the nest. Pilu called once more — “Jhumjhum, the cold is closing in — store some food!” Jhumjhum rolled over laughing — “You lot toil, I'll sing!” and hopped away with a flick.
Then came the biting cold. Overnight, everything turned white with snow — the field bare, not a single grain left. Jhumjhum shivers and shivers, huddled up with his wings wrapped tight. Hunger gnaws inside his belly. He said to himself — “Oh, if only I'd listened to Pilu!”
Night grew deep. On the snow-covered field, under a bare twig, Jhumjhum sat all alone — quiet, still. A cold moon overhead, and not a sound anywhere. Cold and hunger drew him into a tiny ball. Do you feel sad for Jhumjhum? And just then — look, far off, a little light flickers, glowing.
Why, the light was the mouth of Pilu's nest! Pushing through the snow, Jhumjhum came and stood at the door, his two front legs pressed together — “Brother Pilu, will you give me a little room inside? All summer long I did nothing but sing…” Pilu looked at him a moment, then said gently — “Come in, brother. We don't leave anyone out in cold like this.”
Inside the nest, a cosy warmth. All around, paddy and broken rice stacked in neat rows. They gave Jhumjhum warm food and sat him down beside them. Between bites, Jhumjhum said — “When winter's over, I'll work alongside you too — I promise.” Pilu smiled — “Fun in the time for fun, work in the time for work — keep both.” Outside the snow falls; inside, everyone laughs together.