There were two frogs who lived in a pond on a farm. They were called Croak and Dunk. They were great friends. They chatted for hours every day, caught insects and flies together and often went to the farm and looked for something to eat.
One day, they went off hunting for food as usual at the farm. They looked around and did not find anything very tasty to eat. Then Croak sniffed at a wooden pail and pointed excitedly to Dunk.
“What?” asked Dunk.
“There’s something inside this,” said Croak.
There were metal grips around the wooden pail, so the frogs found it easy to clamber up after jumping a few times. They peered over the edge of the pail and found it was about three quarters full of milk. This was really a feast!
Both the frogs dived into the rich creamy milk and had a wonderful time lapping up as much as they could. When they were full, they lay on their backs and swam happily around in the pail. Then it was time to go home.
They jumped up a few times but couldn’t reach the edge of the pail. The pail was slippery inside with all the milk.
“What shall we do now, Dunk?” asked Croak in utter panic.
“Let me think! I’m sure we can get out if we don’t get frightened,” said Dunk.
“I know!” he said suddenly, “Let’s keep swimming. Do you remember the milkmaid churning the milk in the yard? I am sure we’ll find a way if we keep on swimming.”
So, they began swimming around and around the pail. Croak topped every few minutes to grumble. “What is the use of swimming around like this?” he asked.
“Oh, Dunk, I’m getting tired!” said Croak.
“Don’t stop now, Croak,” encouraged Dunk, puffing away as he swam.
But Croak was getting more and more irritated and tired. He stopped swimming and slowly sank into the milk. Very soon, he was drowned. Dunk was very tired too. But he just kept swimming, and swimming and swimming. Suddenly, his feet touched something that was not watery. It seemed to be a little thick.
He began swimming more and more energetically and found he had churned up the butter in the milk. Suddenly, there was enough for him to stand on!
He gave a mighty leap and PLOP! He came right out of the pail and fell on the grass outside. He looked sadly at the pail and hopped off to the pond.
Moral: Never give up.
