You can learn a lot about life by watching insects. Have you ever taken time to watch a colony of ants? They are always busy, working together, doing what needs to be done without complaining. The Greek writer Aesop told a story about the ants and the grasshopper. All summer long the ants worked hard to gather and store food for the winter. Meanwhile, the grasshopper wasted its time, playing and singing in the long grass. In the fall, when the rain came and the cold wind blew, the grasshopper became hungry and asked the ants for something to eat, but by that time the ants only had enough food for themselves. There is an important lesson in this insect story for us. Work is a good thing. It brings a sense of purpose and accomplishment to our lives, and we all need that. And working together with others – like the ants do – makes it possible for us to get more done than we could do by ourselves. There is a time for playing and singing, but there is also a time for working. Always make time in your life for both.

-- Contributed by Scott Thayer
Sequoia Council, California

Bug
Heart of America Council

Personnel: 8 Cub Scouts
Equipment: Each with a poster of a bug

1^st Cub: There was a little bug who had the blues,
And he cried because he had no shoes.
2^nd Cub: He walked around with six bare feet, and hid them when other bugs he would meet.
3^rd Cub: Such a small, sad bug was he, until one day he chanced to see,
4^th Cub: A happy, wiggley worm crawl by, with a smile as big as the sky.
5^th Cub: That really made the bug feel bad, for all the time that he was sad.
6^th Cub: And just because he had no shoes that worm didn't even have feet for shoes!
7^th Cub: The little bug is smiling now, because he finally learned how,
8^th Cub: To always be thankful for what you've got no matter how little, no matter what!

Nature: Everywhere and All the Time
York Adams Council

It is exciting to learn about animals, birds and insects, flowers, and trees, rocks, soil, weather, water and stars!

Nature is everywhere all the time---in cities, in the woods and fields, in the winter, spring, summer and fall.

Nature is not confined by time and place--- it is everywhere.

But where to begin? How to begin? All you need to start is an inquiring mind --- and eyes, ears, nose, and hands. Use all senses to gather information from the world about you. In the beginning we might just as well make up our minds that we are never going to know all there is to know about the subject. Remember that it is not so much knowing the names and identifying everything but the joy in making the discovery that counts.

Nature is something we can enjoy no matter where we go in the world. Nature is something we should enjoy and respect.

Let's step out into the world of nature.