Friday, March 22, 2013

What do they teach them in schools these days?



Once upon a time, some frogs who lived in a pond called out to the god Zeus and begged him to send them a king. Zeus, knowing the frogs well, threw down a log that made a great splash and then bobbed gently in the water. At first the frogs were terrified of their new king, and obediently gave it honour. But after a while, they found that the king was very gentle, indeed, rather inert and no longer terrified them, so they started hopping most insolently all over it and making jokes about it. Soon the frogs were dissatisfied with their patient and forgiving king, so they cried to Zeus once more, demanding a better, more active, dare we say, more up to date king. Zeus, having become annoyed by the frogs' lack of piety, sent them a much more appropriate king; a stork, who, immediately upon landing in the pond began to eat the frogs. The terrified frogs again appealed to Zeus, begging him to free them of their tyrant-king, but Zeus replied that this time, they must face the consequences of their demands.

The end.

Sometimes we get what we ask for from the gods, and other times we get what we deserve.



~

3 comments:

a Christopher said...

Is this pagan parable apropos of some thing? Not that it matters to the story...

Hilary Jane Margaret White said...

Not. One. Thing.

Absolutely not.

invocante said...

Perhaps you should have ended your retelling of the Aristophanes play with the following disclaimer: "This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to living past or present popes is purely coincidental." !