The Frog ‘Prince’

A frog lived in a well. It had lived there for a long time. It was born there and brought up there, and yet was a little, small frog. Of course, the evolutionists were not there then to tell us whether the frog lost it’s eyes or not, but for our story's sake, we must take it for granted that it had it’s eyes, and that it every day cleansed the water of all the worms and bacilli that lived in it with an energy that would do credit to our modern bacteriologists. In this way it went on and became a little sleek and fat. Well, one day another frog that lived near the sea came and fell into the well.

Dialogue between the frog from the sea (SF) and the frog in the well (WF):

WF: 'Where are you from?'

SF: 'I am from the sea.'

WF: 'The sea! How big is that?
Is it as big as my well?' and he took a leap from one side of the well to the other.

SF: 'My friend,' said the frog of the sea, 'how do you compare the sea with your little well?'

Then the frog of the well took a bigger leap and asked, 'Is your sea this big?'

SF: 'What nonsense you speak, to compare the sea with your well!'

'Well, then,' said the frog of the well, 'nothing can be bigger than my well; there can be nothing bigger than this; you are a liar so get out.'

This is a simple story and you may have heard it before. Narendra Nath Dutta, better known as Vivekananda in India, told this story as part of his Chicago address. It was meant to show the audience why we disagree with other people. I have often thought about this story from time to time and how I end up in my own well more often than on the seaside.