The Fool as Grasshopper in a new spin on Aesop

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 08 Jan 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

dangerdork	08 Jan 2003
Once upon a time, there was a grasshopper merrily singing, dancing and leaping about a country meadow. The grasshopper spotted an ant carrying a piece of dirt and said, "Why are you working on such a lovely day? Come sing and dance and play with me instead!" “Oh no,” said the ant, “I must dig a new tunnel to store the grain.” “Maybe another time then?” asked the grasshopper, but the ant had gone back to ground. A few days later, the grasshopper was leaping for the pure joy of it when she saw the ant again at the edge of the meadow. “Hey ant,” cried the grasshopper, “You want a ride?” "I'm collecting food for the winter," said the ant, "and I suggest you do the same." And off she went, helping the other ants to carry food to their store. The grasshopper carried on dancing and singing. That fall, there were very heavy rains. A dam broke upstream and the entire meadow was flooded. The ant was washed out of her tunnel and somehow struggled to the surface and pulled herself up onto a floating leaf. Clinging to the other side of the leaf was the grasshopper. As they looked around and saw nothing but water all around them and snow clouds in the sky, they realized it was only a matter of time before they would drown or freeze or starve. "So tell me, grasshopper," said the ant, "What's it like to dance?"

firemaiden	10 Jan 2003
Oh my god! that's fantastic. I'll have to translate a copy into French to send to Monsieur de la Fontaine in heaven.

Trogon	11 Jan 2003
Extremely good Dangerdork! Loved this! Thought provoking, appropriate (to the card) and humerous.

Khatruman	11 Jan 2003
Hmmm, and I wonder if anyone ever thought of an Aesop's tarot... could use fables to represent different cards. There are enough of them to, I am sure, enlighten the theme of most every card. Anyway, great work, dangerdork.. BTW, if the grasshopper is the fool, who would you see the ant as?

Cerulean	11 Jan 2003
There's a Mitelli deck of engravings--the subject seems like Aesop Fables on www.Trigomo.com. I could see someone doing a 22 Re-Telling Tarot:Spins from the 21st Century...interesting. The old Aesop tale seems to be from a time and place that translated Hesoid and the down-on-the-farm mentality. Whereas the operettas had a more grasshopper-gypsy allure... And Dangerdork, I think you've got a GREAT Fractured FairyTale (reruns are good to me-Rocky and Bullwinkle) or let's just say, a great modern satirical storytelling wit...or retelling style. I'd say the Ant was Great-Auntie Four of Pentacles in the worst case? Mari H.

The The Fool as Grasshopper in a new spin on Aesop thread was originally posted on 08 Jan 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.