CBSE Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 11: The Ant and The Cricket NCERT Solutions

The cricket utters the line "Oh! What will become of me?" when winter has fully set in. He says this because he discovers that his cupboard is completely empty, with not a single crumb of food to be found. The ground is covered in snow, and there are no flowers or leaves left on the trees. Facing starvation and the harsh cold, the cricket is filled with despair and wonders how he will survive.

(i) The lines in the poem that convey the same meaning as Shakespeare's famous quote "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" are: "But we ants never borrow; we ants never lend." This directly states the ant's principle of self-reliance.

(ii) The ant's principle of never borrowing or lending is based on self-sufficiency and planning for the future. While it's commendable to be prepared and not rely on others, completely refusing to help someone in distress, especially if you know them, can seem harsh. A balanced approach, where one helps others in need while also ensuring their own preparedness, might be more compassionate. However, the ant's stance highlights the importance of not being a burden on others and taking responsibility for one's own actions and future.

The ant's suggestion for the cricket to "dance the winter away" is a sarcastic response. When the ant asked the cricket what it did during the summer, the cricket replied that it "sang" through the warm months. The ant, in turn, implies that since the cricket spent its summer singing and not storing food, it should now spend the winter dancing, just as it sang. The word 'dance' is appropriate here because it highlights the cricket's frivolous and irresponsible nature. It suggests that the cricket should continue its carefree, unproductive behaviour, even though it will lead to suffering, mirroring how it wasted the productive summer months.

(i) The lines in the poem that express the poet's comment are: "Folks call this a fable. I'll warrant it true."

(ii) In my own words, the poet is saying that this story, like many others involving animals that teach a lesson, is indeed a fable. He asserts that the moral of the story is undoubtedly true and applicable to life. The poet uses the fable of the ant and the cricket to illustrate a real-life principle: those who are lazy and do not prepare for the future (like the cricket who sang all summer) will suffer when difficult times arrive (like winter), while those who work hard and plan ahead (like the ant who stored food) will be secure. The poet vouches for the truthfulness of this moral lesson.