Thursday, January 8, 2015

89. Aesop's Fables - The Scorpion and the Frog

Once there lived a scorpion on a sea shore. It crawled on the shore everyday in search of food.

One day the river meeting the sea brought a frog with it. When the flow receded, the frog jumped away from the backwater waters and came on the shore rocks. It closed it eyes and sat resting on the rock.

The scorpion, who had been roaming around the beach in search of food, saw the resting frog. He called, ‘Friend, you look new to this area. Where have you come from?’

The frog replied, ‘I was carried by the flooded river to these backwaters. I used to live in the plains’.

The scorpion said, ‘Come let’s play around’.

The frog jumped from the rock and they played for sometime, after which the scorpion said, ‘Friend, I would like to jump from the rock the way you did. But I crawl slowly so it will take too long for me to climb the rock top. Carry me on you back to the rock top’.

The frog was startled. It said, ‘Friend, certainly you can reach the rock top quickly if I carry you on my back, but I am afraid that you might sting me’.

The scorpion said, ‘Friend, if I sting you I will die too. So do not be afraid, I will never sting you’.

The frog was contended with the scorpion’s reply. He took the scorpion on his back, and together they started ascending the rock. While they were midway, the scorpion suddenly stung the frog and they both fell off the rock into the water. The frog was paralyzed and started drowning. Just then, it managed to gather some strength and ask the scorpion, ‘Friend, you stung me, and both of us will die by drowning. Why you did so?’

The drowning scorpion replied, ‘It is my nature to sting, and I did it’.


Moral: Beware of people’s nature before trusting them.

No comments :

Post a Comment