Jumping for Joy

18 Jumping for Joy There once was a frog who sat and watched the birds all day long. He wanted so much to be a bird. " But I am just an ugly frog, " he thought. He loved how the birds soared through the sky and moved in the wind. He decided that he would practise his jumping every day. " If I keep practising, " he reasoned, " I might one day be able to jump so high that I might fly. " There was another frog who loved being a frog. He believed that it was the best life in the world. How he loved to sit in the warm water and bathe in the mud. He felt sorry for birds, who did not like the rain. They could not swim underwater and taste the delicious little insects that he loved to eat. He jumped simply for the joy of jumping. There was nothing more fun. He practised jumping all the time. One day, the crow, who liked to stir things up at the pond, challenged the two frogs to a jumping contest. “ You two should see who can jump highest, " he said.

The two frogs accepted the challenge. The happy frog made a graceful jump, high up into the air. “ Oh, that was nothing, " said the frog who wanted so badly to be a bird. " Watch this! " He crouched down low and then sprung into the air, higher than anyone had imagined. All the creatures were amazed. " Look, I'm a bird! " he croaked. Just then, a huge blue heron swooped down from the sky and grabbed the soaring frog in mid-air. In just one gulp, the frog was gone. That night, a wise old frog told the young frogs, “ There are three lessons to learn from what happened today. One: It is good to have a dream, but make sure that it's realistic. Two: Never try hard to impress anyone. Three: There can be great joy in simply being who you are. "