# How do you make a kids video of The Ant and the Grasshopper?

Canonical page: https://www.veedio.co/stories/the-ant-and-the-grasshopper
Updated: 2026-10-30

Use the seasons as your scene plan: summer play, ants carrying food, the grasshopper laughing at them, autumn leaves, snow, the hungry grasshopper knocking, and the ants' answer. For young children, end with the ants sharing and the grasshopper promising to help next year, so the lesson is planning ahead, not punishment. Eight scenes, about 80 seconds, in a cheerful toy-brick look.

Key facts:
- The Vernon Jones translation on Project Gutenberg titles it “The Grasshopper and the Ants”; The Aesop for Children calls it “The Ants and the Grasshopper”.
- Toy bricks is a Veedio visual style that builds every scene from plastic-brick shapes.
- An 8-scene short in Veedio costs 19 credits with stills or 107 with AI motion.
- Captions are word-timed and burned in, in styles such as Karaoke, Highlight and Bounce.

## Script by season: The Ant and the Grasshopper (about 80 seconds)

Runtime: about 80 seconds.

**Scene 1**
- Voiceover: Summer had come to the meadow. The sun was warm, the flowers were tall, and a grasshopper named Gus played his fiddle all day long.
- Visual: Toy-brick style scene of a bright green brick meadow with stacked-brick flowers and a round yellow brick sun, a green grasshopper minifigure-like character with a tiny fiddle dancing on a leaf.
- On screen: Summer

**Scene 2**
- Voiceover: Nearby, a line of ants marched past, each carrying a seed or a crumb of corn. At the front was Anya, the busiest ant of all.
- Visual: Toy-brick scene of a neat line of small red brick ants carrying yellow corn-kernel bricks along a path, the lead ant wearing a tiny orange hard hat.

**Scene 3**
- Voiceover: “Why work on such a lovely day?” laughed Gus. “Come and dance!” Anya smiled. “We are saving food for winter. You should too.”
- Visual: Toy-brick medium shot of the grasshopper mid-dance waving his bow, facing the lead ant who holds a corn brick on her head, friendly expressions on both.

**Scene 4**
- Voiceover: But Gus just kept playing. “Winter is ages away,” he said. Day after day, the ants worked and Gus sang.
- Visual: Toy-brick time-passing shot: the sun brick moving across a blue brick sky while the ants' storehouse pile grows and the grasshopper lies on a leaf with his fiddle.

**Scene 5**
- Voiceover: Then the leaves turned orange and red, and the wind grew chilly. Gus shivered a little, but he still did not gather any food.
- Visual: Toy-brick autumn scene with orange and red leaf bricks tumbling, the grasshopper wrapped in a small knitted brick scarf looking around at bare stalks.
- On screen: Autumn

**Scene 6**
- Voiceover: Soon the meadow was white with snow. Gus was cold and very hungry. He knocked on the door of the ants' cosy home.
- Visual: Toy-brick winter scene of white brick snow covering the meadow, a small door in a brick anthill glowing with warm light, the grasshopper knocking with a thin hand.
- On screen: Winter

**Scene 7**
- Voiceover: Anya opened the door. “What did you do all summer?” she asked. “I played music,” Gus said quietly. “And now I have nothing to eat.”
- Visual: Toy-brick close-up at the warm doorway, the lead ant in an apron looking thoughtful, the grasshopper with his fiddle tucked under his arm, looking down.

**Scene 8**
- Voiceover: The ants shared their food and let him warm up by the fire. In return, Gus played for them every night. And next summer, he worked first and played after. It is wise to prepare today for the days ahead.
- Visual: Toy-brick interior scene of ants eating around a brick fireplace while the grasshopper plays, then a final shot of summer with the grasshopper carrying a seed beside the ants.
- On screen: Work first, then play

## Toy-brick cast prompts

- **Gus the grasshopper** — Fun-loving and talented, not lazy for the sake of it. He learns, and he gives back with his music. Visual prompt: Toy-brick style character, a bright lime-green grasshopper built from glossy plastic bricks, long bent legs, big round eyes, a small brown brick fiddle and bow, a red bow tie, studio lighting, toy photography look.
- **Anya the ant** — Hardworking and kind. She warns Gus in summer and helps him in winter, which keeps the story gentle. Visual prompt: Toy-brick style character, a small glossy red ant built from plastic bricks, three body segments, thin antennae, a tiny orange hard hat, cheerful painted face, toy photography look, soft daylight.
- **The ant colony home** — The warm setting for the winter scenes. Its glowing door is the visual promise of safety. Visual prompt: Toy-brick style anthill built from tan and brown bricks, a little round wooden door with a warm yellow glow, snow bricks on top in winter, toy photography with shallow depth of field.

## Classic ending or kind ending?

Both are faithful to the moral; choose by the age of your audience.

|  | Classic ending | Kind ending (used above) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What happens | The ants refuse and tell him to dance all winter | The ants share; he plays for them and works next summer |
| Lesson children take away | Not preparing has consequences | Prepare ahead, and kindness gives people a second chance |
| Best for | Ages 7 and up, discussion of fairness | Ages 3 to 7, bedtime and preschool |
| Tone at the end | Serious | Warm |

## The moral and a note for grown-ups

Moral: work today for the needs of tomorrow. There is a time for play and a time for work, and planning ahead keeps you safe when hard times come.

Age band: 3 to 8 with the kind ending, 7 and up if you use the classic one.

Parent and teacher note: the grasshopper's music is a good thing, not a vice. The point is balance. A helpful follow-up is to ask children what they “save up” for, such as pocket money, energy before a long walk, or homework before a game. In class, you can pair the video with a simple seasons sorting activity using the four onScreen labels.

## Other versions of the same story

- Bedtime version: close on the ants and grasshopper falling asleep by the fire while snow falls outside. Use the Elli voice, Lo-fi music and Subtle captions at the 90s length.
- Classroom version: keep the season labels large on screen and add a question before scene 8, “What should the ants do?” Let the class vote, then play the ending. The Alice voice suits this.
- Hindi narration: set the language to Hindi and open with “गर्मियों में एक टिड्डा दिन भर गाना गाता था।” (In summer, a grasshopper sang all day.) The tale is known as “Cheenti aur Tidda”.
- Seasons lesson version: slow down scenes 1, 5 and 6 and describe what changes in nature each season. It doubles as a short science clip for early years.

## FAQ

### What is the moral of The Ant and the Grasshopper?

Prepare today for tomorrow. The ants save food in summer, so they are safe in winter; the grasshopper plays all summer and has nothing when the snow comes.

### Do the ants help the grasshopper in the original fable?

In the classic Aesop versions they do not; they send him away. Many modern children's retellings let them share, which keeps the lesson but adds kindness. Choose the ending that fits your audience's age.

### Why use a toy-brick style for this story?

Brick-built scenes make the seasons very easy to show by swapping colours: green summer, orange autumn, white winter. The toy look also feels playful rather than harsh, which helps the winter scenes stay gentle.

### Is the grasshopper lazy?

He is better described as unprepared. He spends his time on music, which is a good thing, but forgets to plan. Framing it this way avoids teaching children that play is bad.

### What grade is this story good for?

It works from preschool through about grade 3. Kindergarten and grade 1 enjoy the seasons and the sharing; grades 2 and 3 can compare the two endings and discuss which is fairer.

### Can I add a song to the video?

Veedio adds a music bed but not sung vocals. You can write the grasshopper's tune as on-screen rhyming captions over an uplifting track, which gives a sing-along feel without singing.

## Sources

- [“The Grasshopper and the Ants”, Aesop's Fables trans. V. S. Vernon Jones, Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/11339/pg11339-images.html#THE_GRASSHOPPER_AND_THE_ANTS) (checked 2026-10-30)
- [“The Ants and the Grasshopper”, The Aesop for Children, Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19994/pg19994-images.html#THE_ANTS_AND_THE_GRASSHOPPER) (checked 2026-10-30)

Make it with Veedio: https://www.veedio.co/tools/toy-brick-video-generator