THE FROG WHO WOULD BE KING

　　Once upon a time there was a small pond in a forest. Its name was Blue Pond. A lot of blue frogs lived there. They were enjoying a peaceful life, croaking, swimming, splashing, and jumping.

One day, a huge frog came to the pond. It was twice as large as the blue frogs and the whole body was golden.

The blue frogs had never seen such a big and gold-colored frog. Soon they gathered around the golden frog.

“What a huge frog!”

“How bright!”

“He looks very strong.”

“And handsome, too.”

   The golden frog looked troubled.

   The oldest blue frog named the Elder came to him.

   “Is everything all right with you?” the Elder asked him.

   “Thank you. Actually, I’ve lost my way. I was heading for Big Fall.”

   “Ah, Big Fall. It’s at the foot of, ah, that mountain,” the Elder pointed at the mountain with his webbed forefoot.

   “Oh, no. I was taking the wrong way. What shall I do?”

   “Why? You can reach there in no time. You have long legs.”

   “But, I have injured my forefoot. I can’t walk well. Besides, I have hardly eaten anything; I can’t jump at insects like a streak of lightning.”

   “Oh, I see. Now I understand why you are in trouble. Well, then. Let us provide you with some food.”

   The Elder ordered the blue frogs to bring some food. They brought him flies, mosquitoes, and worms.

   “Please help yourself and stay here until your forefoot recovers,” the Elder said.

   “Thank you very much,” the golden frog said.

   The blue frogs were glad, because the golden frog was big, bright, and looked strong. They did not have to be afraid of the mud-frog named the Evil any longer. The female blue frogs were especially happy, because the golden frog was so handsome.

 “Please stay here for a long long time,” the blue frogs said.

   “I’m sorry, but I can’t stay here so long. My wife and children are waiting for me,” the golden frog said.

   Seven days passed. The golden frog’s leg was cured. He could now jump vigorously and croak loudly. His croak resonated all over the pond.

   “Now that you’ve recovered, why not swim in the pond?” the Elder said.

   “All right,” he said.

   The golden frog walked up to a big rock and jumped into the water with a big splash. He splashed all the surrounding blue frogs with water. The sound of his plunge was thundering. The blue frogs had never heard such a big noise.

   The golden frog’s webs were huge. When he propelled himself with the webs through water once starting at one end of the pond, he almost reached the other end. The pond was too small for him to swim. The blue frogs said to one another.

   “How fast he swims!”

   “How strong!”

   “What high waves he raises!”

   Two days later, the golden frog was leaving the blue pond for his home pond of Big Fall.

   “Golden Frog,” the Elder said. “I have a favor to ask you.”

   “What is it?” the golden frog said.

   “I would like you to be the king of this pond. I’ve heard that every pond around here has its king, but we have no king. Everybody asks me to be the king, but a blue frog like me cannot become a king. Besides, I am old. You are golden, the most suitable color for a king. Also you are large and strong. You can easily defeat the bad mud-frog that often attacks us. If you become our king, everybody will obey you.”

   “Thank you for your offer, but I must go back home. My mother is sick and my hungry children are waiting for me,” the golden frog said.

   “That’s too bad. Then, please ask your golden-colored friends if they wanted to be our king. And if you find one, please send him to us,” the Elder said.

   “OK. I will ask them,” the golden frog said.

   Soon the golden frog left Blue Pond saying good-bye to the blue frogs and headed for his home.

   Two blue frogs were listening to the conversation between the golden frog and the Elder behind their back. One was a crafty frog named Gerochy and the other was his follower, Pyonsky.

   “Capital!” Gerochy said. “I will become the king. If I become the king, I’ll make you the first rank officer, Pyonsky.”

   “That’s nice, but how are you going to be the king?” Pyonsky said.

   “That’s easy. If you swim in the pond of Big Fall, you will become golden, because the pond is golden. You see, we are blue because our pond is blue.”

“I see. If you soak yourself in a golden pond, your body will dye golden, right?” Pyonsky said.

“Yes. The Elder said to the golden frog, ‘You are golden, the most suitable color for a king.’ So all you have to do is to be golden,” Gerochy said.

“Yes, yes.”

The next morning, Gerochy and Pyonsky left Blue Pond for the pond of Big Fall. They hopped along the road, sometimes climbing steep hills and sometimes walking down steep valleys. When they became hungry, they caught flies and insects and ate them. They reached Big Fall around noon.

The pond was very large, 100 times larger than Blue Pond. There were a lot of golden frogs at the far end of the pond, but they did not notice the two blue frogs.

The pond looked golden because the bottom rock of the pond was yellow and it reflected the sunbeam, making the pond glitter like gold.

“OK, I’ll soak in the pond for a while, so keep an eye on the golden frogs. I don’t want to have any trouble with them,” Gerochy said to Pyonsky.

Gerochy jumped in the gold-looking pond and soaked his body in it until the sun set. He soaked in the pond the next day from morning to the evening. He repeated the same the next day, but his skin color never changed, but remained as blue as before. The next day, Gerochy gave up at last. “I don’t understand why I do not become golden, but it can’t be helped. Let’s go home, Pyonsky,” Gerochy said.

 

   Meanwhile, the frogs in Blue Pond were talking about Gerochy and Ponsky.

   “Where have they gone?”

   “They have been away for four days.”

   “I don’t care about them. They may have gone to somewhere to idle away their time.”

   “Me, neither. They are sly fellows.”

   “Yes. Gerochy is especially cunning.”

   “That’s right.”

 

   On their way back to Blue Pond, Gerochy and Pyonsky were dragging their feet exhausted. The rain began to fall and the wind started to blow. It was getting dark and cold. They were shivering.

   Soon they saw some white steam in the distance through the rainfall.

   “Look! Isn’t that a hot spring?” Pyonsky said.

   “Yes!” Gerochy said.

   They steeled themselves and headed for the hot spring. Reaching it, they jumped into it.

   “Hot! It’s too hot!” Gerochy screamed and jumped out of the hot water. Pyonsky also tried to get out of it but slipped at the edge of the spring and sank in the hot water. He tried to get out of the bubbling water but slipped again and again. His whole body was scalded and red. His big bloodshot eyes protruded enormously.     

“Help! Help!” Pyonsky said gasping for air.

“Here, grab my foot!” Gerochy said extending his front foot, standing at the slippery edge. Pyonsky tried to grab it again and again but failed.

   “Wait a moment, Pyonsky. I’ll get a branch. Hold on!”

Gerochy rushed into the bush. Pyonsky was desperate. He tried to get out of it repeatedly, but in vain. He was almost dying, when Gerochy returned with a long branch and extended it to him.

   “Grab this!” Gerochy said.

   After several trials, Pyonsky held it fast and Gerochy pulled it with all his might. And at last Pyonsky got out of the hot water. He sprawled on his back on the ground breathing hard, almost dead.

   Gerochy hopped to a brook with a palm leaf between his teeth, dipped it in the water, returned to Pyonsky and sprinkled water over his body. He repeated watering him for a long time. Gradually, Pyonsky began to breathe normally. His protruded and bloodshot eyes became normal again. The rain had stopped and the sun was setting.

   “Thank you, Gerochy,” he said.

   “Can you move now?” Gerochy said.

   “I think so.”

   The two frogs began to walk again for Blue Pond. Pyonsky walked in front of Gerochy so that Gerochy could watch him. Pyonsky walked carefully and steadily step by step.

   After a while, Pyonsky’s body began to turn golden and swelled.

   “Pyonsky, what’s the matter with you? You have swelled and are shining golden,” Gerochy said.

   “Really?”

Pyonsky looked at his body. It was golden bright reflecting the sunset. “I wonder why,” Pyonsky said.

   “Because you dipped yourself in the hot water!” Gerochy said.

   He turned around and hopped to the hot spring leaving Pyonsky. Arriving at the spring, Gerochy jumped into the hot water. It was hot, very hot, but Gerochy kept staying in the burning water shouting, “Hot! Hot! Hot!” Yet he put up with the heat. He mumbled, “I am going to be king, king, king, king….”

  After a while Gerochy got out of the spring and sprawled on his back on the ground. The golden-colored Pyonsky dipped a palm leave in the water and sprinkled it over Gerochy’s body.

   Soon Gerochy’s body swelled and turned golden. The two golden frogs began to walk back home feebly but steadily.

Walking along the road, they came to the point where it forked. The sign read, “Left: slope but shortcut to Blue Pond. Right: flat road to Blue Pond.” 

“Let’s take the left road,” Gerochy said.

Pyonsky agreed and the two golden frogs climbed the slope. When they reached the top of the hill, they took a rest on a rock. The hill commanded a fine sunset view of the thick tall trees down below.

Gerochy stood up and walked around and found a cliff. Standing at the edge of the cliff, he said, “Pyonsky, l can see Blue Pond over here. Come here.”

“Unbelievable. Can you really see the pond?” Pyonsky said and approached Gerochy.

   “Over there,” Gerochy said pointing his front foot.

   “Where?” Pyonsky said.

   “Come closer. Look. You can see our pond over there,” Gerochy said.

   When Pyonsky stood at the edge of the cliff looking for Blue Pond, Gerochy pushed him from behind.

   “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh….”

   Pyonsky fell over the cliff screaming. Gerochy looked down over the cliff and heard a dim crushing noise. He made a curly smile.

   “Good. I am the only golden frog in Blue Pond,” he said to himself.

   After dark, Gerochy arrived at Blue Pond. He had become larger and golden. Soon blue frogs saw him and surrounded him keeping a safe distance from him.

   “Look, that’s a golden frog,” one of the blue frogs said.

   “Yes. I guess he’s a friend of the golden frog that visited us the other day.”

   “Yes. I remember what the Elder said. He’s come to be our king.”

   When the blue frogs were talking noisily, the Elder appeared and saw the golden frog.

   “Well, well, well. Thank you for coming to us. We’ve been waiting for you,” the Elder said.

   “I’m glad to see you. My name is Richard and I have come here to be the king of Blue Pond,” Gerochy said trying to sound dignified.

   “Thank you, King Richard. You must be tired after such a long travel,” the Elder said.

   Gerochy almost burst into laughter, but suppressed it.

   “Listen everyone,” the Elder said to all the blue frogs. “This is our new king, King Richard. You all must obey him. He has come to our pond all the way from Big Fall. He must be tired. So make a comfortable bed for him as soon as possible.”

   The blue frogs made a bed with a lot of soft leaves. A huge leaf supported by four branch pillars on the bed shaded it against the sun. Then they brought the king a lot of insects and worms.

   That night Gerochy was happy and proud of himself. He was wide awake. He thought everything had gone well. His dream had at last come true.

   The next day King Richard acted big.

   “I want to eat more delicious food. Don’t you have young locusts or crickets?”

   “This bed is hard. Make a softer bed so that I can sleep well.”

   “I have a backache. Massage my back immediately.”

   “I’m thirsty. Bring some water immediately.”

   King Richard ordered whatever he wanted. The blue frogs obeyed his orders in appearance but deep in their hearts they all wanted the king to go away. However, they had to obey the king for the Elder told them to do so, and besides the king was a friend of the golden frog. If they offended him, he would tell the golden frog and it would come to help him accompanied by other golden frogs. That would ruin life in Blue Pond. Originally it was they, the ordinary blue frogs, and not the Elder, that first wanted a king for the pond. Therefore, they had to obey King Richard.

   A few days later, King Richard ordered them to build a palace for him. So they built one at a sunny warm spot. It had a gate, an entrance door, seven bed rooms, for Richard used a different bed depending on the day of the week, a dining room, and a garden.

   A few days later, King Richard ordered.

   “Select ten frogs that will attend me, and another twenty frogs that will guard me.”

   The next day, he ordered.

   “Richard wants a special swimming pool for my exclusive use. Divide the pond into half. I will use the south side. So you all use the north side. The blue frogs reluctantly stretched a rope made of vine and ivy in the middle of the pond and divided it. The north side pond was overcrowded. Hundreds of blue frogs including child frogs had to swim in it, while Richard swam leisurely in the other half alone attended by his favorite young female frogs.

   Ten days later, the blue frogs went to the Elder and let out all their complaints. 

“I understand you all,” the Elder said. “But listen. The king is enjoying his new status. You all know that Richard was once an ordinary frog. His position has drastically changed. He just wants to appreciate his new position, but soon he will be tired of being a selfish king. He will soon become a good king. After all, he is the one who was selected by the golden frog that visited us. You all know that he was polite, kind, and honest. He wouldn’t have recommended a bad frog to be our king. So, everyone, just wait for some time.” 

   Two months passed, but Gerochy remained as tyrannical as before. He enjoyed his life fully. He had never dreamed of such a wonderful life.

   One day, he was surprised to see his reflection in the surface of the pond. He looked smaller. Moreover, the golden color of his body was fading and his true color was partly showing here and there.

The next day he looked at his reflection again and, to his dismay, realized that his golden body had deteriorated considerably.

   “I can’t leave this as it is. I will soon become a blue frog. I must dip in the spring again,” he said to himself.

   The next morning, King Richard gave an order to the attendant frogs from behind the curtain:

   “Listen, this is an important order. According to some of the guard frogs, our enemy, Mud Frog, has recently been loitering around our pond. It is dangerous to go out of our premises, especially after dark. Therefore, I command you to stay at home after the sun sets. If you disobey my order, you shall be beaten with a stick a hundred times.”

   That Mud Frog had been loitering was a lie, but since the blue frogs believed there was really Mud Frog, they stayed at home after dark.

   The moon was full that night. Gerochy stuck out his head secretly from the half opened door of the palace. He covered his body with large leaves and looked left and then right. There were no frogs. He secretly came out of the palace and began to hop a few steps, when Koroty, a child frog, happened to see him from behind a tree. Koroty had been to the mountain to get some medical plants for his sick mother. He had lost his way and was returning home late.

   Koroty was surprised to see King Richard’s face illuminated by the moon. It resembled Gerochy’s, for it was almost blue.

   “That’s not King Richard. It’s Gerochy. What’s he doing at this late hour?” Koroty said to himself and decided to follow him.

   Gorochy hippety-hopped along the moon-lit path without knowing Koroty was also hippety-hopping behind him stealthily. An owl was hooting, and the dark bamboo leaves were making soft noise blown by the soft wind.

   Soon Gerochy stopped. Koroty stopped, too, and hid himself behind a big rock and watched Gorochy. Steam was rising from a hot spring at a little distance. Gerochy looked around him cautiously, approached the spring, and jumped into the boiling water. Now he was soaking in the spring, saying in a suppressed voice, “Hot, hot, hot!” Koroty wondered why he was soaking in such a hot spring. Soon, Gerochy got out of the water and lay on his back breathing hard on the ground

   While Koroty was watching him, Gerochy’s blue body began to turn to golden gradually. Surprised, Koroty said inadvertently, “My!”

   “Who’s there!” Gerochy said sharply goggling his big eyes. He stood up with difficulty because he was still exhausted after soaking. He walked slowly in the direction of what he had heard. Koroty hid himself behind the rock. Gerochy walked toward him staggeringly with his body shining gold reflecting the moon light. When Gerochy approached near the rock, Keroty dashed for his life. He hippety-hopped as fast as possible. Gerochy hippety-hopped with his all might, but he was still hot and could not hop as well as he wished, but he must catch up to Koroty and kill him before he reached Blue Pond so that his secret would not leak out. Gerochy hopped and hopped desperately. Koroty was, after all, a mere child, and so his hopping stride was short while Gorochy’s was long. Gradually, the distance between the two became shorter and shorter. Now the distance was four meters. Koroty was desperate.

The distance was three meters.

Two meters.

One meter….

   Suddenly an eagle nosedived, trapped Gorochy in its feet, and soared skyward. The eagle had recognized something bright moving on the ground. Koroty looked up at the eagle becoming smaller and smaller as it flew away.

When Koroty returned home, his mother was worried about him.

   “Where have you been all this while? I was afraid you had been attacked by Mud Frog,” she said.

   Koroty told her everything he had seen.

   “So, King Richard was a fake. It was Gerochy,” Koroty said.

   “Is that so? That’s a big surprise. I thought something was strange about the king. I noticed his golden color was fading. We’ve been deceived,” she said.

   The next day she told other blue frogs about the truth of the king.

   “Oh, that was Gerochy. What a surprise!”

   “We’ve been fooled by him.”

   “Gilded coat will come off sooner or later.”

   “Yah, what a nasty fellow!”

   “Pyonsky must have been framed by him.”

   “I feel pity for Pyonsky.”

   Hearing the frogs’ talking, the Elder came to them and said:

   “Everyone, I am sorry to have caused all the troubles. I shouldn’t have asked the golden frog to be our king. However brilliant a frog may look, it is not wise to ask a foreign frog to be our king. I am sorry. We don’t need any king. Let’s live a peaceful life just as before.”

   “That’s right. We don’t need a king,” the blue frogs said and started demolishing the king’s palace and get rid of the vine rope set in the middle of the pond.

   A week later the real golden frog visited Blue Pond and met with the Elder.   “Thank you for your hospitality the other day, my dear Elder. This is a

thank-you gift for you and your frogs,” he said and offered a box.

   When the Elder opened it, there were a lot of live insects and worms.

   “Thank you for the present,” the Elder said.

   “By the way, I am sorry to inform you so late, but no frog wanted to be the king of this pond,” the golden frog said.

   “Oh, that’s all right. We’ve decided that we would not need any king,” the Elder said.

   “But, you said you were afraid of the mud-frog named Evil,” the golden frog said.

“True, but we will unite ourselves and fight against it together,” the Elder said.

   “Good. That’s the spirit. I’ll visit here often, and when I see it, I’ll knock it out. So please don’t worry,” the golden frog said.

   “Oh, we are relieved to hear that,” the Elder and the blue frogs said.

   It so happened that Evil, who had come to attack Blue Pond just at that moment, heard the golden frog’s words, and ran away. It never came back to the pond.

THE END