The Frog and the Mouse 青蛙和老鼠 One day a Mouse goes to play at a nearby pond. There he meets a Frog. They start playing together and become instant friends. Frog: We are best friends, aren’t we, Mouse? Mouse: Of course, we are. Why do you ask? Frog: Well then, let’s always be together. Mouse: How can we do that? Frog: I have an idea. Let’s tie our legs together with a string. Then we can go everywhere together. How about it? Don’t you think it’ll be fun? Mouse: Wow! That’s an interesting idea. But it might be dangerous. Frog: How come? Mouse: Someone might get hurt. Frog: You worry too much. No one will get hurt. It’ll be fun. Let’s try it. Mouse: Okay. If you insist. The Frog and the Mouse tie their legs together. They go everywhere together and do everything together. Mouse: I’m hungry. Let’s go to the corn field. I want to eat some corn. Frog: Fine. Let’s go, but don’t run. It’s hard to follow you. Mouse: Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. The Frog watches while the Mouse eats. Mouse: Hey Frog, what shall we do next? Frog: I don’t know. Let me think. What can we do? Hmm… Ah ha! I’ve got it! Mouse: What is it? Frog: Let’s play at my house. Mouse: Where is your house? Frog: It’s right over there. Mouse: I can’t go there. Frog: Why not? Mouse: Because it’s underwater. I can’t breathe underwater. I can’t even swim well. Frog: Oh, I didn’t know. Then I’ll teach you. Just hold on to me. You won’t drown. Besides, your legs are tied to mine. Mouse: Will it be safe? Frog: Of course, it’ll be safe. Mouse: Are you sure? Frog: Come on. Just follow me. Mouse: Don’t jump in!!! The Frog doesn’t listen to the Mouse. He just jumps into the pond. The Mouse drinks a lot of water. Mouse: I told you not to jump in! Frog: I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you. Are you okay? Mouse: Yes, but next time be careful. Frog: All right. Now let’s swim to my house. Just hold on to me. Mouse: Hey, this is fun. I like swimming. Frog: I told you. The Frog and the Mouse swim for a while. Mouse： I’m tire now. I want to go out. Frog: Come on, Mouse. Let’s swim a little more. I’m not tired. I’m having fun. Mouse: It’s getting late. I don’t want to swim anymore. The Frog and the Mouse fight. The frog gets mad and does as he pleases. Frog： I don’t want to be your friend anymore. You can go if you want. Mouse: But how can I? My legs are tied to yours. Frog： That’s too bad! The Frog just jumps into the water again. This time he doesn’t come out for a long time. Frog: Hey, Mouse, are you okay? There is no answer. Frog: I guess he’s dead. Too bad. I’ll just keep swimming. The Frog doesn’t care about the dead Mouse. He just continues to swim underwater. Then a Hawk flies by. Hawk: Ha, ha, ha. Look down there! There’s a dead Mouse. I must eat it for dinner. The Hawk comes down fast. It snatches the Mouse and goes up again. Frog: Hey, what happened! I’m flying! The Frog looks up and sees the Hawk. Frog: I’m not a Mouse! Let me go! Hawk: Oh, I didn’t know you were there. What luck! Now I can eat a Mouse and a Frog for dinner. Frog: No! No! Please, let me go! The Frog tries to untie the string but fails. The Hawk eats both of them. MORAL If you harm others, you will also be harmed.