GRANNY'S MOONLIGHT TALES [1]

 

TALE 1

THE LIZARD AND THE TAILLESS FROG

 

Long time ago in the land of the animals, there lived two good friends. Their friendship was a strong one. From their young ages, they were friends. When they became adults, they had become so attached to themselves that they chose to live together, and they were happy. These friends were the lizard and the frog.

They lived together in a house built by them. Actually, the lizard did most of the building work because the frog was very lazy. The frog didn’t like doing anything. He felt anything to be done was not as important as his enjoyment of food, leisure and rest and so would be a waste of his time. 

The lizard, on the other hand, was very hard working. He did anything necessary and possible, overlooking others’ weaknesses. In fact, that was why his friendship with frog still continued. He liked the frog for one thing in spite of the frog’s laziness; he was humorous. He made everything funny and entertaining. The frog spent his time talking and creating humour out of what would have been humourless. So the lizard enjoyed his company. He kept the frog’s laziness a secret from the knowledge of other animals, making up for both of them.

They had a small farm behind their house which sustained them. It was rich in food crops. From what was seen on the farm and how neatly arranged they were, one would have concluded that more than one animal did the work but it was not so. Most of the work was done by the lizard. The frog only did a little work after much persuasion. The lizard didn’t obey the law of “no working, no eating”. He always shared the harvest equally among them without considering who did what. The ones to be cooked were cooked daily for both of them to eat together.

Cooking followed the same pattern as farming. The lizard did the cooking everyday while the frog kept cracking jokes. At times, he did negligible work. The lizard didn’t get angry though he didn’t like how things were going.

The lizard tried everything he could to make the frog shun laziness and try hard work but all were to no avail. He tried starving the frog but it was of no use because the frog had a way of getting anything from him at any time. He tried not talking to the frog but that didn’t last long because the frog was funny and so he felt lonely. Sometimes, during that time of isolation, he wouldn’t be able to hold himself from laughing to the frog’s jokes thus going contrary to his resolution. So he decided to leave the frog alone. It is said that sandy hands bring an oily mouth and lazy hands make a man poor but diligent hands bring wealth. With these in mind, the lizard worked harder, ignoring the frog for he knew that sooner or later, the proverbs would come to pass. True to his expectation, his hard work soon paid off.

The Lion who was the king of the land had a very large farmland which he abandoned for a long time. One season, he decided to farm on it but he didn’t know any animal who could be paid to do the cultivation. This worried him. One day he called some of his advisers who included the dog, cat and some others.

  “Long live our king,” they said while settling down.

  “You are all welcome,” he replied.

  “Thank you.”

  “Why is our king’s countenance sad?” the cat asked. “Is all well?”

  “Something is really bothering me,” the Lion said. “That is why I called you here.”

  “Speak so we can know how to lift the burden off your shoulders,” the dog said.

  “You all know that my large portion of land.”

  “Yes we know,” they agreed.

  “I want to farm on it but the problem is that I don’t know any animal I will pay to cultivate it. As you know, it has been abandoned for a long time and so the work to be done is much. Also if it is not done now, it won’t be done till another season which is a long time to wait. You also know that the animal that would have cultivated it for me is the baboon who unfortunately died last season when a tree branch fell on him.”

The advisers spoke among themselves, and then the cat got up to speak on behalf of the others.

  “If this is what is bothering our king,” he said, “it is not a problem. You don’t have to worry about this anymore because the matter is now in capable hands. Talking of those who could cultivate the farmland for you, we know the right animals for that work. Let the lizard and the frog do it. They are well known for their hard work and diligence. A proof of that is their farm that is well taken care of and their strong and neat house. I know they will agree to do the work provided their reward is handsome. They will give you what you need in a short space of time,” he concluded.  

All the advisers showed their approval but the king was not yet convinced. 

  “Are you sure they are capable of doing the work well?” he asked.

  “Trust us,” they replied. “We will not deceive you.”

  “Okay if you say so, I agree but I want to see them immediately. Send for them.” 

He dismissed the meeting. It was around noon then and he expected to see the proposed workers before dusk so he told the guards to bring them in whenever they came.

Some hours later, the lizard and the frog were ushered into the king’s court. He was conversing with his sons when they entered. Immediately he saw them, he dismissed his sons and faced them.

  “Long live our king,” they said and prostrated.

  “You are welcome,” he replied and motioned them to a seat. “Where you told why I want to see you?”

They answered in the negative. He called one of his sons and told him to bring something. He went out and soon came back with things that were meant to keep the mouth in motion and the stomach a little satisfied; kola.

  “You might be wondering ‘why all these?’” the Lion said. “There is something I want you to do for me.”

They braced themselves to hear what it was.

  “You see, I have a large piece of land which is due for cultivation but there is no one to cultivate it for me. I talked with my advisers and they recommended you for the work. What do you say?”

  “We would be very happy to do the work for you,” the frog said, “but there should be something to motivate us and I assure you, we will do it well and quickly,” he concluded. 

He was always the spokesman in everything they wanted to do, and never the workman.

  “Yes there sure is,” the king said. “I will give you enough food to last for a season but the hardest worker will receive something else; a fine, long tail and will stay with me in the palace if he wants.”

The lizard was very excited because they were the only animals without a tail. So it was a thing of joy to know that one of them would soon be like the other animals that had tails which beautified them and that he would stay with the king if he wanted. The frog was excited mostly because of the promise of food supplies.

  “If that is the reward,” the frog said. “We are most eager to do the work but we don’t know where the farm is and when to start.”

  “Come back very early tomorrow morning with your tools then I will take you to the farm,” the king said. “Your work starts tomorrow.” 

The king sent them home expecting to see them the next morning. He felt relieved because they had agreed to do the tedious work.

As a result of the meeting with the king and what was coming, the lizard and the frog were so excited that they lavished themselves with food and wine (prepared by the lizard as usual). They did not sleep much that night because they waited anxiously for the cock to crow (a sign that morning was not far). Immediately the rooster crowed, they got up and started preparing for the work ahead. They got their tools together, washed those that needed washing and sharpened those that needed sharpening. By the time they were done, dawn was setting in, and they left with their tools for the palace.

In the palace, they were told to wait a little for the king to come out, so they waited. It was day break when the king came out.

  “Long live our king,” they said.

  “I am beginning to trust you,” the king answered. “You came exactly when I told you to come.” 

He invited them into the waiting room and called one of his wives. She set before them a deliciously smelling food.

  “Eat,” said the king, “so that you will have enough energy to do the work but hurry up so you can start on time. I will be waiting for you outside.”

They didn’t need to be told to hurry up. There was no time for pretence because in their hurry that morning, they didn’t eat. So seeing an opportunity to fill their stomachs, they didn’t want to miss it. They descended on the meal with tremendous appetite, doing justice to every part of it. They finished in time and met the king outside and they set off for the farm.

The path to the farm was narrow, so they had to walk in a single file. The workers went first, the king followed behind them and then the guards at the rear. There were trees on each side of the path which gave shade to the passersby. They walked for a long time before they got to the farm.

  “This is the farm,” said the king when they got to an area of land. He pointed at where the farm started and where it ended. It can best be described as a very large farm. It was bigger than what the workers had in mind. They stood mouth agape for a while. It is said that the eye is fearful but an attempt overcomes all. So the workers decided to tackle the challenge; one of them actually.

  “Can you do it?” the king asked.

  “Of course we can do it,” the frog answered, “but we need a little more time than we were given because what we see now is not what we had in mind.”

  “You can have all the time you need. The most important thing is that the farm be cultivated well.” 

The king left with his guards. When he was out of sight of the workers, he called a bird and told him to watch the workers and know the hardest worker and what would go on in the farm.

  “Don’t fail me,” he concluded.

  “I won’t our king,” said the bird and took off quietly. 

The bird hid on a tree near the farm to eavesdrop on the workers.

Immediately the king started leaving, the lizard and the frog began the work but when the frog saw that the king had gone far, he dropped his tools and lay down. 

  “The king is foolish,” he laughed. “He is not even here to watch what we are doing. How will he know the hardest worker.” He continued laughing.

  “Stop,” the lizard said. “Don’t you know that trees and grasses have ears and hidden eyes?”

  “What a lie.”

  “Just come and do your work.”

The frog did not reply but closed his eyes. The lizard ignored him and continued working while the frog rested. 

It is said that what makes the he-goat smell comes from inside so it was obvious the frog’s laziness couldn’t be changed even by motivation.

  “Why don’t you come and work,” the lizard said after working for a while.

  “Work on, I am coming,” was the frog’s reply but there was nothing to show that he was actually coming. 

The lizard ignored him and continued working harder than he would have in order to cover up for both of them. By the end of that day, the lizard did reasonable work and they went home. The bird that had been on a tree unnoticed all the while flew to the palace and told the king all he saw and heard.

The lizard was not at all angry with the frog. He just had to face his own destiny and hoped that he would one day be rewarded for his hard work and diligence. He still shared his meals with the frog. The frog thought he was being wise. Hence, his conscience did not prick him at all.

The next day, they went to the farm to continue from where the lizard had stopped the previous day. The frog worked for some time and went to his usual position to rest. After working for some time, the lizard would call out to him, “You have rested enough. Why not come and continue.”

  “Work on, I am coming,” the frog always replied.

The lizard continued working till he finished the work for that day. This happened everyday till the cultivation was complete. The bird always gave the king feedback on what happened in the farm each day.

The day the work was to end; the king went to the farmland secretly and watched the work in progress. He went to see how well they had done the work and to confirm all that the bird had been telling him. He saw that the farm was well cultivated. He was surprise to confirm that it was the lizard that did all the work while the frog lay down lazily. When the work was about coming to an end, he sneaked out unnoticed. At the end of the work, the lizard and the frog went to the palace to give report of their work well done and to receive their rewards. The frog was the first to speak.

  “Dear king live forever,” he said. “We have finished the work you gave us. Ah, I am so tired.” 

He was trying to make the king think he actually worked. 

The king laughed and said, “I had an eye in the farm so I know everything that happened. I know who did what and who said what. I know that you frog did not do anything at all.” 

The frog was taken aback by the king’s comments. 

The king continued, “Whenever the lizard called you to come and work, you would say you were coming. “Come and cut grasses”, “I am coming”. “Come and gather”, “I am coming”. “Come let us burn them”, “I am coming”. “Come let us make ridges”, “I am coming”. “I am coming”, “I am coming”, “I am coming”. 

The frog was stunned. It was then his eyes ‘became clear’ and he regretted all he had done. 

The king continued, “Whatever a man sows, that shall he reap. A lazy man will receive a lazy man’s reward. You cannot fool all the people all the time. So the reward goes to the lizard. I would have given you some food but I will not because of what I heard you saying about me and all the insults you rained on me because you thought I wouldn’t know,” he concluded. 

He gave an order and the reward was brought out; a long and beautiful tail. The lizard was very happy because he would be like the other animals. While the lizard was jubilating, the frog was sobbing because he realized that opportunity comes but once and he had lost that opportunity.

  “It will never come again,” he thought.

The frog was not given any food so he went home very down cast. The lizard was asked to stay in the palace. He was touched by the fact that he was going to miss the frog and that the frog would stay alone. He got over that quickly because he knew that leaving a big opportunity for a small one was not worth it. He lived in the palace from that day, with his beautiful tail.

It is said that a man who pays respect to the great paves way for his own greatness and every honest work brings reward finally, though it may tarry.

That is why till this day, the lizard has a long, beautiful tail and can be seen even in palaces while the frog is tailless and remains in muddy waters. It is used as a proverb today that laziness and procrastination (I am coming) made the frog tailless.     

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MORAL OF THE STORY

⦁ Don’t be lazy

⦁ Don’t procrastinate. 

⦁ Whatever your parents, teachers or seniors tell you to do, do it.

⦁ Be a good boy or girl whether people are there or not.

⦁ Don’t speak ill of people in their absence.

⦁ Don’t do eye service. Always work like someone is watching you.

⦁ Know that there is a reward for hardwork

ACTIVITY

⦁ Get a dictionary

⦁ Pick out words you don’t know their meanings

⦁ Write them down

⦁ Check their meanings and write them down

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