It was a beautiful pond, surrounded by the trees of the forest. It had lilies growing in it. Many creatures lived in it. Among them were three friends, two fishes and a frog. The fish were very beautiful and intelligent. The frog was an ugly but wise fellow. They met every day to share stories about their life.
One day, as the three friends sat conversing happily, they saw some fishermen passing by. They were carrying baskets of fish and were tired, so they stopped to rest. They saw that the pond was full of fish. “I say, friends, this pond has lots of fish. We should come fishing here tomorrow,” suggested one of them. The rest agreed. The fishermen then picked up their baskets and nets and went away.
The two fishes and the frog had heard this and were very disturbed. They began to discuss this new problem.
“Hey! This is terrible! What are we going to do,” said the frog, who was worried and frightened, “Perhaps it will be best if we go away from here.”
But the fish were very confident that they could handle all kinds of problems because they were so bright.
“Rubbish!” said the first one, “This is just a lot of talk. You will see. They are not going to come here at all.”
“You know how talented I am, Froggy. I can outwit anyone! So, I am not afraid. I will use my wits and save myself and my family. I can defend all the fish and you too. So, just don’t worry,” comforted the second fish.
The frog thought this over and replied, “Well, you may be right. But either, you see, I am so as bright as both of you. I don’t have your intelligence or your talents. So I think the best thing for me to do is to collect my family and shift them to another pond. I’ll come and see you all later.”
They said goodbye and the frog went home. He told his family all that he had heard. Quickly, they got together their little home and moved to another pond in the forest.
The next morning, the fishermen arrived with their nets. They cast them in the pond and soon all the water creatures were caught. The two fishes and their families struggled in the net along with crabs and tortoises and frogs, but there was no way to escape!
The frog was sitting in his new home when he saw the fishermen walking by at midday. One of them carried his friends and their families. He looked sadly at them. “I wish they listened to my common sense,” he told his wife, “All their wit and talent could not save them!”
