Grandma and the Frog

The story was told by my mother when I was a child. I have roughly reproduced it here.

Grandma had a big house. Her house was covered by all types of trees on all sides. They were cypress, oak, fig, mango, walnut and other trees.

She liked the trees.

Inside her house, she had nothing. She had only some empty pots and pans. She had little rice in the rice bag. She was poor.

One day, grandma went out and looked at her trees. She saw a dry branch on the cypress tree. She was very sad and asked, “How did your branch dry?”

The tree replied, “The thunder hit me.”

Grandma was sad and said, “If your branches dry, let me also hit on my leg.”

So grandma hit very hard on her knee. The knee soon grew big. Grandma shouted with pain.

All-day and night, she stayed near the oven crying with pain.

 “It’s very painful,” she shouted at last. “Take back your pain.” She again hit on her knee very hard.

The skin opened and down came a frog. The frog landed on the oven. “Let me burn this frog in the fire.”

Grandma wanted to burn the frog, as she was angry. She put the frog in the fire. The frog burned like dry grasses.

The frog said quickly, “Take me to the third room.” Grandma went up and kept there. Many kinds of grains filled the room; rice, wheat, maize corns and millet.

 “Take me to the first floor before I get fully burnt,” the frog said again. Grandma ran down and kept there. Many kinds of farm animals filled the room. They were a cow and a calf, chicken and four chicks, a pig and two piglets, a horse and a foal.

“Take me to the garden,” said the frog.

Grandma ran outside and kept there in her garden. Many types of vegetables filled the garden. They were radishes, cabbages, potatoes, pumpkins, sags and turnips.

By then, the frog was already burned and it turned into ashes.

Grandma felt very sorry as well as happy to see lots of things in her home. She had now different grains and vegetables to eat. She had animals as her friend.

For a long time in her mind, she was not so happy because she missed her sick cypress tree for many days. She visited the tree. The tree had no dry branch then. Grandma smiled with happiness.

Three Cunning Men

This is a very humorous short story told by my mother when I was a kid. I think many of us have heard it before. Though the story is very popular, I have not seen any written record in any language. I have briefly and roughly reproduced the story here.

Three men: A threadlike neck, a scrawny chest, and a lanky leg decided to go for a picnic. They clear-cut that no one should know about their secret plan for the picnic.

So, one day, they went inside a big forest.

Lunch soon was made ready by all of them. It appeared very luscious and every one of them was keen to taste it first.

“Let me see if the salt is all right,” thus voiced Threadlike neck. The Threadlike neck frisked for a large portion of meat and gulped, but rather a bone. The bone got stuck in his threadlike throat, and soon succumbed to death.

The next man, Scrawny chest called out to his friend, “Now, only, two of us are here to eat this tasty quantity,” and he slapped his hand hard and fast on his chest, and his scrawny ribs splintered and he also soon die.

Now the third man, the Lanky leg, discerning he was the only one to eat. Happiness knew no bound. He jumped and pranced shouting, “Me, only me.” But his lanky leg couldn’t withstand his dancing, broke and die.

Thus, the story of three cunning men’s meals was left to birds and animals in the forest.

The story teaches us a good many lessons. One such is below:

Braggart, enviousness, and meanness are garbage of foolish people.