The ants and the grasshopper
One winter a grasshopper, starving and frail, approaches a colony of ants drying out their grain in the sun, to ask for food. “Did you not store up food during the summer?” the ants ask. “No”, says the grasshopper. “I lost track of time, because I was singing and dancing all summer long.” The ants, disgusted, turn away and go back to work. One winter a grasshopper, starving and frail, approaches a colony of ants drying out their grain in the sun, to ask for food. “Did you not store up food during the summer?” the ants ask. “No”, says the grasshopper. “I lost track of time, because I was singing and dancing all summer long.” The ants are sympathetic. “We wish we could help you”, they say, “but it sets up the wrong incentives. We need to conditionalize our phil ant hropy to avoid procrastination like yours leading to a shortfall of food.” And they turn away and go back to their work, with a renewed sense of purpose. ...And they turn away and go back to their work, with a flicker of pride