Section 104
The Ox and the Frog explained simply
Aesop's Fables by Aesop
Original excerpt
Excerpt preview
Two little Frogs were playing about at the edge of a pool when an Ox came down to the water to drink, and by accident trod on one of them and crushed the life out of him. When the old Frog missed him, she asked his brother where he was. "He is dead, mother," said the little Frog;...
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Public-domain original
Two little Frogs were playing about at the edge of a pool when an Ox
came down to the water to drink, and by accident trod on one of them
and crushed the life out of him. When the old Frog missed him, she
asked his brother where he was. "He is dead, mother," said the little
Frog; "an enormous big creature with four legs came to our pool this
morning and trampled him down in the mud." "Enormous, was he? Was he
as big as this?" said the Frog, puffing herself out to look as big
as possible. "Oh! yes, _much_ bigger," was the answer. The Frog puffed
herself out still more. "Was he as big as this?" said she. "Oh! yes,
yes, mother, _MUCH_ bigger," said the little Frog. And yet again she
puffed and puffed herself out till she was almost as round as a ball.
"As big as...?" she began--but then she burst.
Public-domain original text shown for study context.
What happens here
A frog tries to swell herself as large as an ox and bursts.
Why this scene matters
This fable warns against destructive envy and impossible comparison.
Characters in this scene
- Ox: A central figure in the fable’s conflict and lesson.
- the Frog: A central figure in the fable’s conflict and lesson.
Simple story version
A frog sees an ox and tries to become that large. She keeps swelling until she bursts.