[1][2][3] The film is based on the classic fable by the same name by the Greek fabulist Aesop as adapted by I. Krylov.

A copy of the film was presented to Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia as a gift.

Though the Russian title literally translates to "The Dragonfly and the Ant", the insect depicted is a grasshopper; the word "стрекоза" was used for both species in the 19th century, when Krylov's adaptation was published.

The Ant is hard at work gathering food on a wheelbarrow, while the Grasshopper does nothing but play the fiddle, dance, and drink with its friend the Stag Beetle.

The Ant closes the door on the Grasshopper, who eventually dies from cold and hunger.