In one pond there lived a frog who only knew his pond and a few puddles. But she could tell a wonderful story about where she had been, what she had seen and what she could do. She told it so convincingly that those who did not know her easily believed that she was telling the truth.
Even the mouse heard this frog’s story. She only knew her mouse hole and the small field nearby where she used to go for grain. The frog’s story enchanted her. The mouse was curious about the world around her and would really like to experience some adventure as well.
“You will get to know the world best, my dear,” said the frog, “when you learn to swim. You can get everywhere by water. Trust me, I know it very well. I sail so fast that I can outrun every steamer, and I can swim to the sea when I please.’
“But how could I learn to swim?” thought the mouse.
“I will be very happy to teach you. I taught all the frogs and fish in this pond to swim when they were still tadpoles,” the frog bragged and went on to tell how they would do it.
“Look,” says the frog. “Here’s the string. I will tie you to me and you will swim after me.’
And so the mouse became attached to the frog. The frog jumped into the water, happily diving and swimming. Here she saw another frog.
“Hello Sister! How are you? Have I told you about how I won the diving competition? It was when…”
The frog got into the story and completely forgot about the mouse. She didn’t even notice that the poor thing had drowned. And the frog continued to talk to everyone she met.
Three days have passed. The drowned mouse inflated and floated to the surface of the pond. As she soared, a red kite spotted her from the sky. He caught the mouse for dinner. And since she was still tied to the frog, he caught the frog with the mouse. And so the red kite had a proper lunch. He ate the mouse and the frog because he was already very hungry. He was not at all curious about some croaking frog’s tarradiddles
The frog deserved it, of course, because she had put the mouse in danger with her stupid and carefree behavior. By doing so, she brought danger upon herself. Therefore, let’s treat each other with respect and look out for each other.
