Frog Cheif of the Well

Candice McCarty

Professor Morgan Peters

English 200-08

December 15, 2011

               

  Ever wonder why frogs have no tail? I never have but you would think that would be a reasonable question to ask. Why do they have them as babies, but not as adults? The answer to this question comes from Frog Chief of the Well. In this classic folklore tale, Frog is given the authority from God to take charge of a well that was placed to replenish the mouths of the animals during a heavy drought. However like most people in charge Frog takes his new power and uses it for his own gain.

            The animals come one by one and ask the Frog for water, and each time the Frog tells them that there is no water in the well. Meanwhile in the well that is flourishing with water, the Frog will never go thirsty. After each denial the animal walks over and dies until one day God comes down to Earth and asks the Frog what has happened to the animals. When God asked the Frog about the water, he told God that there was no water left in the well, and then God cut off his tail as punishment.

            The lesson here? Don’t underestimate the will and power of God because he will give you the appropriate punishment. Also what does the Frog remind you of but a King? He has the absolute power, and economy yet instead of sharing it with his pupils, he uses it all for himself until there is nothing left. He represents all the unjust King’s that these people might have had to suffer through and with which they created this story.

            So why do Frogs have no tail? It is because it is a reminder of past injustices that each Frog must live by to remember the deed of their ancestor. It is a constant reminder of the wrath of God and that he is one man you do not mess with because you will get what you deserve.

            Another thing that is present in this story is that the Frog is no different than Frog’s today, and animals that are much larger than him like the donkey, for instance respect the power of the Frog. They could have all easily taken over the Frog to get to the water yet because of his authority they respected that and died for it. It shows the loyalty to authority that people must have had and rather than revolt, they would have died for the King. Now who is to say if I am looking way too deep into this story but it does make sense, either people respect the authority or they are afraid, and in this story what weapons did the frog possess in order to frighten the other animals, none. So how could he have possibly taken them down, if they stood up to him?