A teeny-tiny frog on a water lily On the edge of the pond, a teeny-tiny green frog was watching five magnificent water lilies, over there in the distance. “What wonderful flowers! What wonderful leaves! It would be so great if I could set myself upon one of them” the teeny-tiny frog sighed. “But how can you possibly reach those water lilies when you are as little as I am?” “You just have to fly”, a flying-by swallow said. “To fly? But how am I supposed to do, I have no wings?” the teeny-tiny frog exclaimed. “Well! Then I can do nothing for you” and the bird flew away. The teeny-tiny frog watched the swallow fly away and sighed saying: “How I wish to go upon those water lilies!” “You just have to swim” a carp said, swallowing a mosquito. “To swim? But they are way too far away, I am going to drown!” the teeny-tiny frog exclaimed. “Well! Then I can do nothing for you” and the carp went his way. The teeny-tiny frog watched the carp go his way and sighed, saying: “How I wish to reach those water lilies!” “You just have to jump, you are a frog!” a gooey toad sprawling on a rock said. “To jump? But I am way too small, I could never reach them!” the teeny-tiny frog exclaimed. “Well! Then I can do nothing for you” and the toad closed his protruding eyes back. The teeny-tiny frog sighed saying: “It is no use, I will never succeed.” “Get on my back, I will take you there, it is on my way” a swimming-by tortoise said. “Goodbye” the tortoise said after dropping the teeny-tiny frog on the first water lily a few minutes later. Mad for joy, the teeny-tiny frog spent a part of the day jumping from one water lily to another: the first one was too big, the second one too flabby, the third one was not sweet enough, the fourth one had no flower, while the fifth one was perfect. The teeny-tiny frog inhaled the heady scent of the big white flower and finally fell asleep, exhausted. How beautiful it is to see a frog on a water lily! But when she woke up, the sun had gone down, the air was much cooler, and all of a sudden the teeny-tiny frog felt very lonely. She then realized that she was very far away from the edge of the pond. “And now, how am I going to do to go back to the edge of the pond?” she sighed.

Traduction : Albin Carrier Marie-Hélène Lafond – La Tête dans les mots©2007