Week 5 Story: The Frogs and the Kitten

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There once was a small little peaceful pond just beyond some trees. Three little frogs lived there. The three siblings loved to cross the pond by jumping on lily pads as they floated across the water. They loved racing across the water by waiting for the pads to line up and hopping across them. One day they encountered a friendly little kitten by their pond. This kitten had played all the games around his home and mastered them all. His name was Chester. Chester was the most athletic kitten of his home and needed new games and competition to occupy his time and test his skills. He noticed the young frogs playing their lily pad game and approached them casually.

"Hello there frogs," Chester said politely. "What is it that you're playing?"

The frogs responded, "We are racing across the pond on these lily pads to see which of us is the fastest! Would you like to try?"

Of course Chester wanted to try! He wanted to be the fastest to cross the pond!

So the frogs showed him how it was done. They had to jump on a lily pad, wait for the next one to float by, then jump on it and wait to repeat the process. "It's a game of patience, speed, skill, and agility!" The frogs said excitedly.

"I am fast, skillful, and agile!" The kitten responded as he was practicing. "I think I'm ready to beat you three!"

"Are you sure you're ready? We have been doing this for a while. Are you sure you don't want more practice?" The frogs said. "The pond can be dangerous if you were to fall in. Can you swim?"

"I don't need to swim!" Replied the kitten. "I am going to win without touching a single drop!"

So the four of them lined up on the bank of the pond eager to race to see who was the best. At the start of the race, the kitten pulled ahead. He was faster than the frogs, so he was able to quickly hop across the lily pads that were grouped together. As they reached the middle of the pond, the lily pads grew farther and farther apart. The kitten had to wait on the pads to come closer, but the frogs could jump farther and reach the pads before they were close enough for the kitten to reach. By this point, one frog pulled ahead of the kitten. The kitten was doing all he could to catch up, but with the spacing of the lily pads, the frog's lead grew. The kitten started making riskier and riskier jumps to catch the frog.

"Be careful Chester," the frogs said, "those jumps are dangerous. Please don't fall in."

"Don't worry," Chester replied, " just a little more!"

Chester was gaining on the lead frog, but the finish line was coming up fast.

Chester made one last risky jump to retake the lead, but the lily pad wasn't quite close enough. He fell in the pond. Chester paddled and splashed, but he kept sinking lower into the water. The frogs jumped in after him, but they were not strong enough to save poor Chester.

Chester, the kitten, was just too competitive. He couldn't stand to lose, and he didn't have the patience to wait for the lily pads to come closer to him. His mistakes cost him the ultimate price.

The frog and lily pads

Author's Note:
I got the inspiration to write this story from the Talking Turtle and the Geese. In that story, the turtle always had to get a word in. He annoyed may of the creatures around him, but he made friends with the geese. The geese knew how much the turtle loved to talk, so they offered to carry a stick to the mountains where the turtle could talk to his heart's content. The turtle could bite the stick and live out his talkative days in the mountains. Unfortunately, the turtle could not keep his mouth shut, and he released the branch and fell to his death on the journey. I added my own twist, but still taught a lesson at the end of the story.

From Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt