Frog and Lightning
Once upon a time, there was a frog who lived on a lily pad in the middle of a stream. He enjoyed his life there, and he never was fearful. However, one night a huge storm hit and something hit the lily pad. Frog had no idea what happened, but he found himself in the water, gasping for air. I need to find someone to help me, thought the frog.
Frog hopped to the forest next to the stream. "Who will help me?"
A squirrel came down the tree. "I will."
"Can you swim? Please swim across this stream," demanded the Frog.
The squirrel could not make it. "I am a land animal. I don't belong in the water. I can't help you."
"Who will help me?" the Frog asked again. "Please, anyone!"
A few moments later, a dog approached Frog. "I can help. I love to help!" said the dog, panting hysterically.
"Can you swim?"
"Of course, I am a Labrador Retriever!" replied the dog. "I love to swim."
The dog swam circles around the stream.
"I appreciate your help, but you are much too big to fit on my lily pad. Thanks anyways," said Frog.
Frog thought for sure he should give up. Nobody will be able to help me, Frog thought.
Until he noticed something slithering before him. A snake came out from under the rock. "I can definitely help you, Frog. What do you need?"
"I need someone to watch what happens to my lily pad during storms. You would be the perfect fit for that job!" exclaimed Frog.
"I would love to. A storm is coming tonight."
The snake curled up next to Frog on the lily pad and they waited for the storm to come. Once it began, it only took a few moments for them to determine what the cause of Frog's fear was. Lightning struck the lily pad and both Frog and the snake fell off. All this time, it was lightning striking the lily pad and throwing Frog off of it. When they came out from the water, Frog new exactly what to do.
"Thank you very much for your help," Frog said to snake. "I know just what I have to do."
Ever since that day Frog has stayed on land when there was a lightning storm, only returning to his lily pad when he knew it was safe.
Frog on his lily pad. Web source.
Author's Note:
This story, called Turtle and Thunder, began with a turtle who lived in a lake and he was always hit by something, but when he came outside, nothing was there. So he went searching for someone that would help him. The deer broke his horns too quickly, the bear was too clumsy, and finally, several little turtles said they would help him. So the turtle took them back to where he lived, but a little while later, a huge stone fell upon all of the little turtles and killed them. The turtle went to see what happened, asked his neighbor, and figured out that it was a Thunder Bird. Since then, the turtle stays in the water when there is a thunderstorm.
For my story, I decided to keep the same story line but to change the characters. I chose a frog, since they also spend a lot of time in the water. I decided to change the ending to make it more upbeat as well, so I made sure the helper did not die.
Bibliography:
Turtle and Thunder from Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).
Comments
Post a Comment