The Frog in the Well

In an ancient, abandoned village, hidden deep within the jungle, a lonesome well stood. Once the thriving center of the community, the well was now utterly alone, with only the moss patches finding refuge within the cracks of the well’s stone. Yet, deep inside the well, a miniscule frog had made his home. The frog was so small that a quick gaze would render him invisible. A bluish-green hue, he often blended in with the mucky, algae-green water.

As a young tadpole, the frog had found nourishment in the algae, but now the frog had grown weary of the food. He dreamed of a flavor he could not imagine. To us, we could see that he yearned to eat a snail or a slug, but the frog could not even conceive these creatures. Instead, the frog only knew one thing: the well itself. Bound by the sturdy stone bricks, the frog’s experience was defined by the well. The water was all the land in the world, the walls were impenetrable ends of the planet, and, up above, the slice of the night sky that rested above the well became all of the universe to the frog. He couldn’t just remember a life before the well; instead, his life was defined by the well. The frog had heard echoed chirps of far-away birds, but he had quickly dismissed these noises as calls coming from the universe. Indeed, the ancient village, the soaring giants of jungle trees, and the entire rest of the world were beyond the frog’s understanding.

The frog looked up one day and saw dark gray clouds swirling in the sky. The frog feared that the gods were angry, like so many times before. Storms had previously shaken the frog’s well, but these clouds seemed different. As the echoes of thunder boomed across the sky, a torrential downpour of rain began. The small frog huddled for safety in a hole within one of the well’s rocks. The storm had passed by the well and the frog’s world of water was not disturbed by the rain. However, the rain persisted through the night, and the world beyond the well experienced a flood like no other. Soon, the frog’s entire worldview would be wiped away through this storm.

As the sun’s rays broke through the once-brooding clouds, the pitter-patter of rain began to slow down. The frog awoke from his slumber and looked up the well; he was greeted with the arrival of a new day and a new world. As his vision came into focus, the frog could not believe his eyes. Perched up on the top of the well, where his world touched the universe, was another frog! He called out to the mysterious frog, who was green with specks of red dots.

The well frog asked this newcomer, “Where are you from? The stars, the skies?” The frog up above smiled and said, “I was brought here by a flood; I come from a lake from far away.” The well frog paused for a moment and asked, “How big is this lake?” The frog up above chucked and replied, “Extremely large, so much more than this small well.” The well frog was struck with anger and replied, “You fool! Nothing can be larger than this well, nothing at all. You are a liar.” The frog up above was taken aback by his fury and decided to leave. The narrow-minded nature of the frog has bound him forever to the walls of the well.

Bibliography: "The Frog in the Well" by Sri Ramakrishna. Website: Blogger