Without further research

The bee and the ant had the exact same idea one morning: they were fed up with always being busy. No more collecting honey, no more hauling crumbs. They were exhausted and wanted some fun, just like the crickets, frogs, birds, and grasshoppers, which were like the ducks, swans, and the cat that played or strolled all day and still had food. They had to get away, and right now.

The bee buzzed over to the ant. “You know what it is,” she said, “the two of us. We’re the only ones who always work. And we’ve never had a vacation, or even a single day off.”

“A vacation?” The ant looked at her as if she were joking. “We don’t take holidays. We are work.”

“Not today,” said the bee. “Today, we’re going to do something with no purpose. No baggage. No plan, without further research we go. Leave that duster at home.”

The ant thought for a moment. She had never done anything without a reason let alone spontanious. But the idea sounded pleasant. In her mind, she had often celebrated, just like the crickets. “All right,” she said. “But where shall we go?”

“Somewhere new,” said the bee. “Nothing dangerous, nothing wild. Just… something we don’t know yet.”

Together they left the farmyard and the meadow and went into the woods. They left flowers and blossoms untouched, the bee knew those and avoided the picnic spots where the ant always found all the crumbs and carcasses too. They kept taking the path they would normally ignore.

After a while, they came to a clearing where there was nothing to do. No work, no task, no hustle and bustle. Just space. The bee lay down in the sand. The ant sat down beside her.

“Is this it?” the ant said.

“Yes,” buzzed the bee. “This is it. Nothing. That’s exactly what we were looking for.”

The ant looked around. “It feels strange.”

“That’s because it’s new,” said the bee. “And new doesn’t have to be exciting. Sometimes it’s just… different.”

They stayed there for a long time. They did nothing. They thought nothing. They were just present.

When they finally decided to go back, the ant felt lighter. “Maybe,” she said, “we should do this more often.”

“Definitely,” agreed the bee. “Fun is just about taking it easy and doing nothing.”

And from that day on, they planned holiday after holiday, each time to a different place: something unknown that resembled nothing else, where they did nothing and could be as bored as they liked. And where it always, above all, felt good.

_{14-5-2026
Prompt: see title
The original fable is Dutch
The photo is mine.}