The Malnourished Forest

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Deep in the dense forest there lived a community of the most respected grasshoppers, beings that were widely respected all across the lands far and wide. The grasshoppers had been there for centuries, far before any other animal had lived there. Being veterans of the forest, they had become friends with all other species that resided there.

One day an intense storm hit just above the forest, leaving many animals displaced with some of them arriving in the forest, a peculiar place for any foreign species.

Of the displaced animals, one was a colony of green tree frogs. In their previous habitat, they were the most feared species, partly due to the fact that they were such talented hunters, using their green bodies to hide within the depths of trees and shrubbery. The frogs came into the forest, and encountered a family of pythons. Initially worried that they would end up in the bellies of the snakes, the frogs decided that they first should try to befriend them.

The leader of the frogs, Jeffrey, called out to the pythons, “Hey! My colony and I are new here and my name is Jeffrey. Do you mind showing us around?”

To his surprise, the python called out,

“Welcome to the forest, Jeffrey and friends! It would be an honor!”

The python showed them around, but when Jeffrey laid eyes on the grasshoppers, he felt a rush of excitement knowing that he and his colony would be eating good tonight. The grasshoppers had heard tales of these frogs and how their favorite meals were grasshoppers, but they thought, “Surely these frogs will respect us just as every other predator in this forest.” Jeffrey called out to the grasshoppers, “Hey! So nice to meet you. I have heard many things about this beautiful forest.”

The grasshopper called back, “Welcome! We hope you find comfort in our beautiful forest.”

As the night went on, the python was becoming hungrier with each passing minute. The python pulled his friend (the leader of the grasshoppers) aside.

“I am getting hungry, and I do not believe the colony of frogs has good intentions for you and your people.”

The grasshopper replied, “I hope you are not planning to eat those frogs, my friend. We have become so respected in this forest. Do you know how? Because we respect every creature that we come across, predator or not, our kindness for them blinds them from their hunger.”

The python and the grasshopper carried on. At dusk, Jeffrey informed his colony of his plans to murder and eat the grasshoppers for dinner. The colony of frogs was taken back, shocked with Jeffrey’s intentions, especially after how kind the grasshoppers had been thus far. The rest of the frogs did not tell Jeffrey they were against his plan, but everyone in the colony had felt the same way. The rest of the frogs had given each other looks, and they had known each other so long they all knew that they had been thinking the same thing. But Jeffrey was overcome with hunger. The colony had set out to go to the house where the grasshoppers had resided, but a couple of the frogs had snuck out before departure and informed the grasshoppers of Jeffrey’s intentions.

Jeffrey and the frogs had reached the estate, and Jeffrey was keen to eat the leader of the grasshoppers that had shown him such a pleasant time earlier in the day. The estate was in a canopy of trees covered in deep green vines, not allowing any sunlight in the daytime. Jeffrey asked to speak to the leader, and the younger grasshoppers had told him to head up into his secluded home above the leaves of the tree. As the other frogs had not agreed to take part in such evils and eat the grasshoppers, they stayed down on the ground.

He exclaimed, “Grasshopper, I came to tell you how beautiful your forest is. Thank you for showing my colony and me the warmest welcome!”

He replied, “You are very welcome, Jeffrey. The whole forest is excited to have you here.”

The grasshopper had noticed that Jeffrey was inching closer with every word. The grasshopper had known Jeffrey was getting ready to eat him, so he exclaimed, “I heard you were hungry!”

Jeffrey, now confused, replied, “Ah yes, I had just come to ask you what the best restaurant in the forest was,” still inching closer and closer.

The grasshopper sternly replied, “Oh Jeffrey, I was not speaking to you. You don’t need to worry about that anymore.”

Behind Jeffrey in the room was the hungry python, his mouth watering at the sight of a delightful and tasty frog. “That is right, I am!” exclaimed the python. With a blink of an eye, Jeffrey was in the stomach of the python, shredded into pieces.

The grasshopper said, “Stupid frog, never trust an animal who cannot control his stomach, let alone his mind.”

Author's Note - This story is based on the story of The Cunning Crane and the Crab by W. H. D. Rouse. In the story, a crane gazes upon a fresh lake filled with yummy fish. The lake that the fish are in is drying up, so they are trying to find a new place to go otherwise they will perish. The crane tries to deceive the fishes by telling them there is another lake nearby, and he will carry them there one by one. He deceives the fish, and ends up eating them, until a crab comes along and humbles the crane. My story is similar to the story of the crane, and I tried to bring in themes such as deception and the lack of trust. I really enjoyed the idea of deception in the crane story, and felt that I needed to try to incorporate that. Oftentimes we as humans trust others and we believe that if anyone offers to help us, they have good intentions. As this story portrays, sometimes people can have other underlying motives that force them to do what they did. We should always be aware of what is happening beneath the surface, because there are a lot of people out there who will do things not for your benefit, but for themselves.

Bibliography: The Giant Crab - W.H.D Rouse