29 THE FOOLISH FROG

Once an ox came to a pond to get a drink of water. Some little frogs were playing on the bank of the pond. They had never seen an ox before, and they were very much frightened.

So they ran to their mother and said, “Oh, Mother, we have seen such a big animal, drinking all the water out of our pond! ”

Now, the mother was a proud old frog who thought that she could puff herself up and make herself as big as the strange animal was.

“How big was this wonderful beast that you saw? Was it as big as this? ”she asked, blowing and puffing herself out.

“Oh, it was much bigger than that, Mother, ”said the young frogs.

Then puffing and blowing with all her might, she asked them, “Was this strange animal as big as I am now? ”

“Oh, Mother, ”answered the little frogs, “if you were to try till you burst, you would not be half as big as the beast that we saw drinking in the pond.”

The silly old frog was so proud that she tried again and again to puff herself out still more.

But each time the little frogs told her that the strange beast was bigger than she was. At last she puffed so hard that she burst herself.

How foolish it is to try to do something that we cannot do.

(Retold from a Fable by Æsop)

Word list

ox: a large domestic animal similar to a cow

burst: to break from blowing up too much

silly: acting in a strange and immature way

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) Why were the little frogs frightened?

2) Why did Mother Frog keep trying to puff herself up?

3) Who is the beast in the story?

4) What finally happens to Mother Frog as she puffs herself up?

5) What can we learn from this story?

B) Let's rhyme: What are two words that rhyme with each of these words from the story?

1) ox ______________ ______________

2) pond ______________ ______________

3) out ______________ ______________

4) our ______________ ______________

5) not ______________ ______________

C) What's the word? Using the clues, write the correct words from the story.

1) a place with a lot of plants and grass: f _ _ _ _

2) the surface of the earth: g _ _ _ _ _

3) wanting food: h _ _ _ _ _

4) another word for dinner: s _ _ _ _ _

5) not able to move much: s _ _ _ _