Bedtime Short Story : The Frogs And The Ox

The Frogs And The Ox by Aesop

An Ox came down to a reedy pool to drink. As he splashed heavily into the water, he crushed a young Frog into the mud. The old Frog soon missed the little one and asked his brothers and sisters what had become of him.

"A great big monster," said one of them, "stepped on little brother with one of his huge feet!"

"Big, was he!" said the old Frog, puffing herself up. "Was he as big as this?"

"Oh, much bigger!" they cried.

The Frog puffed up still more.

"He could not have been bigger than this," she said. But the little Frogs all declared that the monster was much, much bigger and the old Frog kept puffing herself out more and more until, all at once, she burst.

Terjemahan:

Seekor sapi turun ke kolam alang-alang untuk minum. Saat dia menceburkan diri ke dalam air, dia menghancurkan seekor katak muda ke dalam lumpur. Katak tua segera merindukan si kecil dan bertanya kepada saudara-saudaranya apa yang terjadi padanya.

"Monster besar yang hebat," kata salah satu dari mereka, "menginjak adik kecil dengan salah satu kakinya yang besar!"

"Besar, apakah dia!" kata si Kodok tua sambil membusungkan tubuhnya. "Apakah dia sebesar ini?"

"Oh, jauh lebih besar!" mereka menangis.

Katak itu semakin menggembung.

"Dia tidak mungkin lebih besar dari ini," katanya. Tetapi Katak kecil semuanya menyatakan bahwa monster itu jauh, jauh lebih besar dan Katak tua itu terus membusungkan dirinya hingga, sekaligus, dia meledak.

Moral of the story

Do not attempt the impossible.