The Young Frog and The Old Frog
One day a young frog came home and said to his mother, “Oh, Mother, this morning I saw a big animal, much bigger than you.”
“Did he do you any harm, my dear?” his mother asked anxiously.
“No, not at all. He looked so terribly big, so I dared not get close to him.”
At this moment Father Frog came out of his corner.
“What’s going on here?” he asked, pretending not to have heard all they had said.
“Oh Father”, answered the young frog, “I saw a very big animal this morning, much bigger than Mother, and much bigger even than you!”
“That was only Mr Brown’s dog,” said the old frog kindly.
“No, it was not a dog! I know what a dog is like, and this was much bigger than any dog.
“What did it look like?” asked the old frog with awakening interest.
“It’s a bit difficult to describe, but he had hair…
“Oh, interrupted the old frog with a smile, “that would be Mr Brown’s horse.”
The young frog proudly looked up his father as if he was thinking, “Father, you’re really clever. You know everything in the world!”
The old frog, guessing his son’s thought, made up his mind to show that he was not only clever, but also superior. So he added, “He is not so big. I can easily make myself as big as he is. Just watch me!” and started to blow himself out.
“Was he as big as this?” he asked his son a minute later.
“No, much much bigger.”
The old frog blew and blew. Then he asked again, “Well, was he as big as this?”
“No, Father, much bigger!” answered the son seriously.
“Are you sure?” the old frog puffed.
“Yes, Father, I’m quite sure! He was much much bigger!”
Then the old frog started to blog again. At this moment Mother Frog came forward and said, “Please stop blowing out yourself!”
“Don’t worry, dear,” answered Father Frog, “I’ve only just begun.”
But Mother Frog kept on trying to prevent Father Frog. At last Father Frog got angry and said, “Leave me alone, will you, and mind your own business!”
Mother Frog, being afraid of Father Frog went away. Then, turning to his son, Father Frog said as he continued to blow, “I’m sure he was not so big as . . . . . ”
But then suddenly, Father Frog burst! . . . .
Dear Reader, this story teaches us that
we should be more modest and that we should never permit our vanity to lead us to destruction
