Work, no one likes it, right? Even if work seems boring, it is essential to life today. Work can be balanced with play, if you plan accordingly. In the fable The Ant and the Grasshopper, the grasshopper portrays a bad routine. The Ant saved up and worked all summer to get food. Most would see this as boring, working all summer to get food for only winter. The Grasshopper plays all summer and has no food for the winter. The Ant turns away from the Grasshopper for the ant is mad about how she worked and now she has to share. Both characters take work and play to extremes, and one has to pay for it. The Grasshoppers way of life is very bad, while the Ant’s way also has drawbacks.                                                     

A better example is the modern fable, The Richer, the Poorer. Lottie saves up all her life, much like the ant and lives a hard life. Bess, on the other hand lives a playful life, and like the grasshopper comes to Lottie for help.  Much like the Ant and the Grasshopper, Lottie is mad that she must share with Bess. How work and play can be balanced is shown near the end of the story. Bess tells of exciting stories of her life, while Lottie sums up her life in a few sentences. Lottie finally realizes that the best times went by without her noticing. Soon, she realizes that she should focus more on her life now, and not her years ahead. Though both stories demonstrate a view on work and play, the second shows the balance better. Work and play can be balanced accordingly and can both work out. Cramming for a test the morning before places stress and is not fun. This shows how all play will lead to a downfall. Work is not all good, for you need time to relax and spend quality time with others. Even though play might pay off now and work might pay off in the future, work and play combined will pay off forever.