The Frog and the Nightingale
Once upon a time there was a frog who croaked away in Bingle Bog. Every night from dusk to dawn, he croaked on and on. Other little animals around loathed his voice but they were left with no choice. The crass cacophony; a very loud and unpleasant noise blared out from the sumac tree. At whose foot the frog sang till the break of dawn. The stones, prayers, sticks, insults, complaints and bricks could not silence the frog’s determination to display his heart’s great pride and joy. One night, in the moonlight cool and pale, a nightingale perched upon the sumac tree. She casted forth her melody and the frog sat dumbstruck in complete silence. The whole bog starred towards the sumac tree totally interested that they could not think of anything else; and at the end of the song they all clapped at her. The ducks had swum and the herons waded to her as she sang beautifully. Out of jealousy and ill-will and a solitary loon wept beneath the light of the summer moon. Toad, teals; a small duck; and tiddlers were all captured by the voice of the nightingale and cheered her on. They were all filled with fascination and delight. They all cheered, ‘Bravo’, ‘Too Divine’ and ‘Encore!’ The nightingale that was not so used to such applause got up once more and sang till dawn. The next evening when the nightingale shook her head and twitched her tail, she closed one of her eyes, fluffed one of her wings and cleared her throat to sing, she was startled by a croak. She enquired from the frog who proudly admitted that he owned the tree and had been long known for his baritone. The frog was not too keen in praising the nightingale, and said that the song was too long, though the technique was fine and lacked a certain force. The nightingale was greatly impressed and flattered to encounter a critic of such note who can discuss her art and throat. Though the song was not so divine, at least it belonged to the nightingale. The heartless frog told the