FAIRYTALE: The Frog and The Ant
"She
hopped out of her small. neat home and went down the road. on the way, she
passed an ant hill. the ants were very busy. the cold weather was coming on,
they were dragging food into their home.
"Good
morning, said the frog. the ants stared at her. they were not strangers. they
weren't a bit friendly. before she could get out of their way. they had climbed
all over her. hundreds of them. they jumped on her and bit her. Ouch! please
stop it, you're hurting me.
"But
they were cruel and would not stop. rivet! rivet! croaked the frog unhappily.
her cheeks puffed and became red and her stomach began to swell. she twisted
this way and that way. she shook most of them off her back.
"You're
very unkind. I only wanted to be friends, said the frog. then the ants became
ashamed of themselves. they agreed to be friends.
"Dear Aunty, please be our guest, help yourself to whatever food we have. They said the frog was very pleased. she had never been so happy in " her life " dear Aunty, we something hear you. singing when we're working. won't you sing for us now?
"Asked the
queen ant. the frog turned red. she did not know that she had such a loud
voice.
"As she
sang the and hummed with her. they loved to sing but had poor voices, so they
invited her to stay the night on Anthill. early next morning she woke up. the
sun was high in the sky. She saw only a few ants and they were busy washing up
after last night's party. the others are in the woods gathering food. they told
her.
"That
afternoon when the queen ant returned home. she spoke to her. you've been so
kind to me. I'd like to invite you to my home by the lake. said the frog shyly.
"That's
very kind of you. but I can't feast on my own. the others will have to come
too. said the queen ant. the frog invited them all to come. the ants were
pleased. isn't often they had, a chance to feast twice in a week. on the way,
they passed many other ant-hills.
"We're off
to visit the frog, they told their friends.
"We'll come
too.
Finally,
they come to her home. here it is. said the frog and turned round. the shore
was covered with thousands of red. black and brown ants. there was not a blade
of grass to be seen. the frog's eyes bulged and almost popped out of her head. Rivet!
rivet! she croaked worriedly.
"What
was she to do? She only had a few cabbage leaves with which to feed the ants.
it wasn't enough. please wait here and I'll get everything ready. said the
frog, disappearing into her home.
"The
ants waited patiently outside. I'm sure she's preparing a lovely feast. said
the queen ant. they waited a whole day and still, there was no sign of the
frog.
Perhaps
she ill, said the ants worriedly. they had grown to love the pretty little
frog. then the queen ant knocked on the door. there was no reply. She pushed to
door open but there was nobody at home. the back door was wide open. the frog
had disappeared.
The
ants were very angry. well, that should teach us a good lesson. we could die
just waiting for the frog to give us a treat. the queen ant was sad that the
frog had not kept her promise. She tightened her belt around her empty belly
and went home. all the other ants did the same. ever since then, ants have had
their belts tightened over their bellies and all frogs have had large, bulging
eyes.
Oleh: Irene–Anne Monteiro
Sumber:
Irene–Anne Monteiro. Favourite Stories from Central Asia. Bandung:
PT. Remaja Rosdakarya, 2000.
Sy. Apero Fublic
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