There was a Little Frog who lived at the bottom of a deep, dark well.
It was a very old well filled with water. The walls of the well were covered with wet moss, but were stepped. Now, the Little Frog had been living at the bottom of this old well since he was born. He had never been to the outside world. Once in a while he would hop to the edges of the well's wall, but would never venture beyond that point. The outside of the well was covered with thick bushes, blocking the little frog's view from the beautiful horizon. Besides, he never felt the need of exploring the "outside world"! He was very happy and satisfied.
When the Little Frog was thirsty, he drank a little bit of the well water, and when he was hungry, he ate some insects. When he was tired, he lay on a little rock looked up at the sky above him. He was the king of the well. His friend - Mr. Water Strider - had never seen the depths of the well, as he had seen. His fellow frogs were scared to dive to deepest point of the well. They didn't know where to get the finest pebbles of the well. He knew! His fish friends had never felt the softness of the moss. He had! All his friends found him very knowledgeable. They praised him and looked upto him.
Whenever a bird or birds flew by and stopped at the edge of the well, the Little Frog always looked up and bragged, "Hello! why don't you come down here and play with us. It's so pleasant down here. Look, I have cool water to drink and countless insects to eat. Come down!"
Sometimes the birds would tell the Little Frog, "Hi, Little Frog! You see, the outside world is much bigger and nicer. It's many times more beautiful than your well." But the Little Frog would not believe them. "Don't lie to me, I don't believe there is any place that could be better than here! Tell me... do you know the deepest point of this well? Do you know where to get the finest pebbles in this well?"
The birds would obviously have no answer to those questions. And the little frog would say "If you don't know the answer, how can I believe your claim - that the place outside is better?"
Gradually, all the birds began to dislike him. They thought he was too stubborn and stopped talking to him.
The Little Frog could not understand why nobody would like to come down to his nice place. He would tell his friends in the well that the birds are arrogant and ignorant.
One day, a sparrow stopped by at the edge of the well. The Little Frog was so excited, he greeted the sparrow and invited the sparrow eagerly. He bragged as usual, and irritated the sparrow. The sparrow understood that the frog will not realize his ignorance until he sees the outside world. So the sparrow flew to the bottom of the well, picked up the Little Frog on his back, and flew out of the well. The sparrow went beyond the thick bushes and showed him the outside world.
The little frog was impressed!!
By the time the sparrow dropped him back, he had made up his mind - to explore the outside world.
When he informed his friends his decision about departing the well, they were all surprised! After all, how can the "king of the well" - who is so knowledgeable - leave the well! They tried to persuade him to stay back. But the little frog was adamant.
The next day he gave his friends a good-bye hug and left the well. He started exploring the outside world. He liked it a lot, till he felt thirsty. He explored the nearby area for water - till he found another stepped well similar to his, but much smaller and shallower.
He hopped into the well - to meet a spotted frog, who considered himself as the king of that well. He had his set of admirers and friends in that well. The spotted frog was happy to see the visitor. He bragged, "Hello! Nice to see you. Why don't you stay back and play with us. It's so pleasant down here. Look, I have cool water to drink and countless insects to eat!"
The little frog knew he was looking at his old self. He did not say anything to the spotted frog, but just murmured to himself: "I need this well to quench my thirst; till I find a pond or a river"
It was a very old well filled with water. The walls of the well were covered with wet moss, but were stepped. Now, the Little Frog had been living at the bottom of this old well since he was born. He had never been to the outside world. Once in a while he would hop to the edges of the well's wall, but would never venture beyond that point. The outside of the well was covered with thick bushes, blocking the little frog's view from the beautiful horizon. Besides, he never felt the need of exploring the "outside world"! He was very happy and satisfied.
When the Little Frog was thirsty, he drank a little bit of the well water, and when he was hungry, he ate some insects. When he was tired, he lay on a little rock looked up at the sky above him. He was the king of the well. His friend - Mr. Water Strider - had never seen the depths of the well, as he had seen. His fellow frogs were scared to dive to deepest point of the well. They didn't know where to get the finest pebbles of the well. He knew! His fish friends had never felt the softness of the moss. He had! All his friends found him very knowledgeable. They praised him and looked upto him.
Whenever a bird or birds flew by and stopped at the edge of the well, the Little Frog always looked up and bragged, "Hello! why don't you come down here and play with us. It's so pleasant down here. Look, I have cool water to drink and countless insects to eat. Come down!"
Sometimes the birds would tell the Little Frog, "Hi, Little Frog! You see, the outside world is much bigger and nicer. It's many times more beautiful than your well." But the Little Frog would not believe them. "Don't lie to me, I don't believe there is any place that could be better than here! Tell me... do you know the deepest point of this well? Do you know where to get the finest pebbles in this well?"
The birds would obviously have no answer to those questions. And the little frog would say "If you don't know the answer, how can I believe your claim - that the place outside is better?"
Gradually, all the birds began to dislike him. They thought he was too stubborn and stopped talking to him.
The Little Frog could not understand why nobody would like to come down to his nice place. He would tell his friends in the well that the birds are arrogant and ignorant.
One day, a sparrow stopped by at the edge of the well. The Little Frog was so excited, he greeted the sparrow and invited the sparrow eagerly. He bragged as usual, and irritated the sparrow. The sparrow understood that the frog will not realize his ignorance until he sees the outside world. So the sparrow flew to the bottom of the well, picked up the Little Frog on his back, and flew out of the well. The sparrow went beyond the thick bushes and showed him the outside world.
The little frog was impressed!!
By the time the sparrow dropped him back, he had made up his mind - to explore the outside world.
When he informed his friends his decision about departing the well, they were all surprised! After all, how can the "king of the well" - who is so knowledgeable - leave the well! They tried to persuade him to stay back. But the little frog was adamant.
The next day he gave his friends a good-bye hug and left the well. He started exploring the outside world. He liked it a lot, till he felt thirsty. He explored the nearby area for water - till he found another stepped well similar to his, but much smaller and shallower.
He hopped into the well - to meet a spotted frog, who considered himself as the king of that well. He had his set of admirers and friends in that well. The spotted frog was happy to see the visitor. He bragged, "Hello! Nice to see you. Why don't you stay back and play with us. It's so pleasant down here. Look, I have cool water to drink and countless insects to eat!"
The little frog knew he was looking at his old self. He did not say anything to the spotted frog, but just murmured to himself: "I need this well to quench my thirst; till I find a pond or a river"
