On the banks of a river lived a large number of frogs. They spent their days catching flies and croaking and hopping around feeling very happy. There were other animals and some birds also near by and the frogs were very friendly with all of them.
One day, when they were chatting with the sparrows, the squirrels, the parrots and the mice, the frogs learnt that each of them had a king. The frogs went home looking very thoughtful.
“Don’t you think we should have a king too?” asked one frog.
“Yes,” said another, “But how does one get a king?”
“I think we’ll have to pray to the Big Chief in the Sky for a King,” suggested an old frog. “Old One, please tell us how to pray and we’ll do that,” croaked all the frogs seriously.
So, they all prayed. The next morning, a log came floating down the stream. The frogs were delighted because they thought this was the king sent by the Big Chief in the Sky. But as they were waiting to go near the log, a swift current swept the log away further down the stream. The frogs watched it float away.
However, they kept praying for a king. One day, a stork happened to fly over the stream. They saw its shadow and looked up. It was a big white bird, and it was coming from the sky! “This must surely have been sent by the Big Chief in the Sky,” they thought. So, all the frogs made a big noise, “The King has come! The King has come!”
Hearing all the frogs croaking, the stork looked down. “Ah! A feast!” he thought, “And they seem to be calling out to me!” The stork flew down and saw that the frogs were all looking very excited.
But suddenly, their excitement turned into panic. They saw that it was not a King but a stork, their natural enemy. “Run!” said the old frog, and the frogs began to leap and hop and dive into the water. The stork ate quite a few of them. The rest managed to hide quickly. After the stork had flown away, the frogs came out and sat on the bank sadly.
The old frog said, “We should have been content with what we had. It’s better to be without a king than to find the wrong one.” The frogs agreed.
Moral: Be content with what you have.
