The Ant and The Grasshopper

ts’um’ts’uyii ’i’ ha’putiil’

by Ruby Peter ’utl’ Sti’tum’at

(1)	sxwi’em’ ’u thu ts’um’ts’uyii ’i’ ha’putiil’.
	This is a story about Ant and Grasshopper.
	ha-a-ay ’ul’ ’uy’ skweyul ni’ ’u tthu tum’kw’e’lus.
	It was summertime and it was a very beautiful day.
	’a’mut tthu ha’putiil’ ni’ ’u tthu kwumsuli’qw,
	Grasshopper was sitting on a mushroom,
	kwun’etus thu fiddle suw’ t’it’ulum’.
	playing his fiddle and singing.

(2)	wulh m’i tetsul thu ts’um’ts’uyii yu’i’mush tun’ni’ ’u thu she’shlh.
	Then along came Ant walking down the path.
	suw’ putum’s ha’putiil’, “’i ch ’a’lu tsukwsta’mut?”
	So Grasshopper asked, “What are you doing?”
	suw’ hwtulquns ts’um’ts’uyii, “’i tsun yaay’us, kwun’et tthu hwit, yuhunum’ustuhw ’u lhunu lelum’.”
	And Ant answers, “I am working. I am carrying wheat to my house.”
	“hey’ewulh!”
	“Goodbye.”

(3)	suw’ sht’eewun’ ha’putiil’, “lemut thu skwati ts’um’ts’uyii.
	So grasshopper thought, “Look at that silly ant.
	tl’umqun kwsus yaay’us.
	All day long she works hard
	’uwu kws ’i’yasthuts ’u thu sum’shathut.
	She never enjoys the sunshine.”
	huyun’yun’tus thu ts’um’ts’uyii, suw’ hwi’ qul’et t’ilum.
	He was laughing at Ant, and then he went back to singing.

(4)	ni’ wulh yu’eeye’q tthu skweyul yuxay’tl’thut.
	The days changed and it was getting colder.
	’i’ hay thu ts’um’ts’uyii hay ’uw’ ’a’luxut tthu s’ulhtuns suw’ hul’ushus ni’ ’u thu lelum’s.
	Ant continued to gather food and store it in her house.
	’i’ ’uw’ ’eey’ t’it’ulum’ tthu ha’putiil’.
	Grasshopper continued to sing.

(5)	wulh m’i tetsulh thu tum’xuytl’.
	Then winter came.
	tl’lim’ hay ’ul’ ’uw’ xuytl’ thu spuhels.
	The wind blew hard.
	’i’ wulh hwu sme’muqe’ tthu spulhxun st’e ’ukw’ plhet p’uq’ luxwtun.
	Snow covered the meadow like a thick white blanket.
	sis ’uw’ t’a’thut tthu ha’putiil’ suw’q’tus kw’ s’ulhtuns ’i’ ’uwu te’.
	The grasshopper tried to find food, but there was none.

(6)	’uwu ni’us hiths ’i’ ni’ wulh nem’ kwuhwtsum tthu ha’putiil’ ’u tthu shelh ’utl’ ts’um’ts’uyii.
	It didn’t take long for the grasshopper to knock on the ant’s door.
	suw’ thut ha’putiil’, “tth’ihwum, tth’ihwum ’i’ ts’ewutham’sh. ’uwu te’ stem nu s’ulhtun. tstamut tsun kwu’elh? ’i tsun wulh kw’ey’.”
	Grasshopper said, “Please help me! I have nothing to eat! What should I do now? I’m hungry.”

(7)	thut-s ts’um’ts’uyii, “’aa si’em’ ha’putiil’, sht’es kwusulh tum’kw’e’lus kwunus ’iilh yaay’us ’a’luxut tthunu s’ulhtun.
	Ant said, “My dear Mr. Grasshopper, all summer long I worked hard carrying food to my home.
	skw’ey kw’unus hwt’uqw’lhnenum ’utl’ nuwu. nan ch ’uw’ s’um’mut.”
	I can’t share with you when you are so lazy?”

(8)	thut-s ha’putiil’, “’iilh tsun stitiya’xw t’it’ulum’ ’u lhu hay ’ul’ ’uy’uy’mut st’ilum.”
	Grasshopper said: “I was busy singing a very beautiful song.”
	hwqwel’qwul’i'wun’ thu ts’um’ts’uyii suw’ thut…
	“qw’uyilush ch p’e’ ’i’ nilh tse’ nu suw’ hwt’uqw’lhnenum ’ukw’ ’uhwin’ ’utl’ nuwu.

(9)	ni’us tse’ qul’et tum’kw’e’lus ’i’ yaays ch yuw’en’ ’i’ yelh ’un’s huw’a’lum’.”
	But next time you have to work first before you play.”
	suw’ ’aanlh hwtulqun ha’putiil’. nilh ni’ shnexun’s tthu sxwi’em’.
	So the Grasshopper agreed. And that’s the end of the story.
	ni’ hay. hay tseep q’a’.
	The End. Thank you.

Note

ha’putiil’ is the word for “cricket”, but for the purposes of this story, it is used to refer to “grasshopper”

Credits

Hul’q’umi’num’ version by:

Sti’tum’at (Ruby Peter)	Translator, Editor
Sp’aqw’um’ultunaat (Donna Gerdts)	Editor
Quwqumalwut (Joan Brown)	Project Coordinator

Funding provided by: Canada Heritage, Coast Salish Employment & Training Society, First Peoples’ Cultural Council, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Thank you to Strong Nations for the story-line and for producing the picture book version.

Revised 2015-02-03 11:02:51.