The Two FishermenA Retelling of Aesop’s The Ant and the Grasshopper

Adam Hebert

There once lived two fishermen in a small town in Norway.

(In Norway, fishermen are called fisker.)

One was a very hard working and wise fisker, catching cod all day.

The wise fisker bring the cod home and salt them to keep them fresh.

(In Norway, fishermen would use salt to keep the fish from rotting if he wanted to keep it for later.)

The other was not very wise. He slept almost all day and ate all the fish he

caught.

Often, the lazy fisker would make fun of the

wise fisker. “Why don’t you loosen upand have some mjød with me,” he

would ask.

The wise fisker would just ignore him and continue catching his fish.

Soon, winter came. When the snow began to fall, the lazy fisker saw that he didn’t

have enough food to last all winter.

He began to look for someone who would help him and shelter him. “Aha! That fisker who

worked all day! I’m sure he would help me!”

He went up to the wise fisker and said, “Hello!I’ve run out of food and I need shelter. You have

enough food to share with me, right?”

The wise fisker looked at him and said, “I have been catching and preserving my fish for months

now while you sat around drinking mjød and laughing at me! You should have been preparing for winter instead of drinking! No, I will not give

you any of my food.” And he shut the door.

The lazy fisker learned that day that it is wise to be prepared for tomorrow.

THE END