"The Ant and the Grasshopper." Somerset Maugham.

One-minute review: Remember the old fable? The ant works all summer and stores up provisions for winter. The grasshopper does nothing but sing all summer and stores up nothing for winter. When the winter comes, the grasshopper begs for a little food from the ant who tells him to go dancing after reminding him that he has done nothing to prepare for winter. The author comments that he is in favor of the grasshopper.

Two brothers. George works hard. Tom is in one scrape after another, often bailed out by George. George retires on a small sum. Tom marries a wealthy woman, old enough to be his mother, who dies and leaves Tom not only well off, but wealthy. George is fit to be tied. The grasshopper triumphs.

75 Short Masterpieces: Stories from the World’s Literature. Ed. Roger B. Goodman. New York: Bantam Books. 1961. These summaries do not do justice to the vividness of the stories. RayS.