In a sunny meadow, where the sun always seemed to be smiling, there lived a dog named Dizzy. The meadow was a lovely place, full of tall green grass and flowers of every color. It was surrounded by trees, perfect for resting in the shade, and the whole place buzzed with happy sounds. Birds chirped, insects hummed, and animals played, always busy at work or play.
Dizzy, however, had a different idea. He loved to snooze more than anything else in the world! All day long, it didn’t matter how hot or cool it was, he always found a shady spot beneath a tree and there he would lie: first on one side with his head resting on his paws, then on his other side with his tail curled over his nose. And there would he still be when the sun began to set and all the birds were flying back home. This made him very unpopular with the other animals, who couldn’t get him to help them when they most wanted it.
“Dizzy! Dizzy!” they’d cry. “Come and help us with this! Come and help us with that!”
But all that Dizzy did was wag his tail, raise his head for a moment, and then go to sleep again. Once all the rabbits got together to plant wheat before the rain came. They cried, “Come and help, Dizzy!” But all that Dizzy did was raise his ears. Then one rabbit exclaimed, “Oh, let him sleep! He’ll be sorry for himself one day, I’m sure!” And they hastened away.
Every day the other animals would call out, “Dizzy, come and help us!” But Dizzy would only wag his tail and go to sleep again. At last the day came when a terrible storm arose. The wind howled and roared, the trees creaked and groaned, and the rain fell in torrents! The meadow was seen no more, only a raging sea of water! Dizzy was soon awake now and frightened too, for the rain dashed against the ground and the roof of his stead so furiously! All he could do was to lie trembling at the entrance, vainly looking for a dry place.
But what of the other animal friends? They had made preparations against the storm. They had worked hard as the busy bees and had roofs over their heads. They were dry and warm in their little homes, while Dizzy was getting more wet every moment. A voice from a tree cried, “Dizzy, what are you doing there? Come and get in here.”
“Oh! please, please let me come in!” cried Dizzy. “I will do all you want hereafter; I will not sleep all day long as I have done!”
But the door was shut, and Dizzy had to stay out in the pouring rain.
“Hard work can be soft work,” said they to themselves. “When you do your work on sunny days, you will not have to do hard work, all wet and miserable on stormy ones.”
Moral of the story: Hard work pays off in times of need.