Chapter 12
An ox was grazing in a swampy meadow when he accidentally set his foot down on top of a bunch of young frogs and crushed nearly all of them to death. One that managed to escape ran off to tell his mother the dreadful news.
“Mother,” he said, “it was a beast, a big four-footed beast, that did it!”
The mother, who was a vain old thing, thought she could easily make herself as large. “How big? Was it as big as this?” she asked and puffed herself as much as she could.
“Oh,” said the little one, “a great deal bigger than that!”
“Well, was it this big?” she cried, puffing and blowing again with all her might.
“It certainly was Mother” he replied, “and I’m afraid you’d probably burst before you could reach even half its size.”
Provoked by such a disparagement of her powers, the silly old frog made one more try before she did indeed succeed in bursting herself to death.
Not all creatures can become as great as they think.
