Once upon a time, there was a beautiful pond in the forest.
The frogs lived there happily.
"What a pleasant life!
We have everything we want here," they all agreed.
"But we have no king," said one frog.
"You know, all the other animals in this forest have a king."
"Yes, all of the other animals are proud of their kings," said another frog.
"They might tease us because we do not have one," the frogs said to each other.
"Let's ask the Forest God for a king," suggested one frog.
So the frogs went to the Forest God.
"Forest God, will you grant us a favor?" they asked.
"What is it?"
"We want to have a king."
"You are free and happy now.
Why do you want a king?" asked the Forest God.
The frogs explained.
"All the other animals have a king, but we don't."
"Yes, they might laugh at us."
"Forest God, please give us a king," the frogs said.
"You should be happy with what you have," said the Forest God.
"But since you insist, I will grant you your wish."
The happy frogs went home to wait for their king.
Suddenly, a log fell from the sky. Splash!
"Run! Something is attacking us!"
cried the frogs, and they hid at the bottom of the pond.
After a while, the pond was quiet again.
"Oh, it must be our king," suggested one of the frogs.
"Yes, our king is here.
Let's go bow to him," they decided.
But the frogs found that their king did not move at all.
"It is only a log!" said one.
So they sat on the log and made faces at it!
The frogs were unhappy with their king.
"What a foolish king!
Our king is not a real king."
"The other animals might make fun of our king."
"Let's go back to the Forest God and request a real king," they said to each other.
So the frogs went to the Forest God again.
"Mighty God! Please give us a real king," they asked.
The Forest God was surprised that they did not like their king.
"Hmm. Okay, I will send another king," he announced.
The happy frogs went home to wait for the new king.
Soon, an eel appeared in the pond.
"Hello! I am your new king," he said.
"Let's get along well together."
"Hooray!" The frogs were happy.
"We will obey everything you say."
But the gentle eel never told them to do anything.
He just enjoyed swimming in the pond.
So the frogs held another meeting.
"This king is no good.
The eel is too good-natured to be a king."
"You are right.
The other animals laugh at him too."
"Let's go back to the Forest God and demand a better king!" they said.
The frogs went to the Forest God again.
"Mighty God, please send us a better king," they demanded.
"Yes, send us the strongest king, or we will keep coming back to ask for another."
The Forest God was angry.
"I have sent you two good kings that let you live freely.
But you were not satisfied!
Very well, I will send you a big, strong king!"
The frogs went happily home to wait for their strong king.
"Now the other animals will not laugh at our king," they said.
Soon, the Forest God sent a heron to the pond.
When the frogs saw the heron, they were happy.
"Oh, look at our new king!"
"He looks so tall and wonderful!"
But the heron picked up a frog and ate it.
"Oh my! Run! Run!" the others cried.
But it was too late.
The heron devoured frog after frog until there were none left in the pond.
The Forest God watched the heron fly away and thought,
"Sometimes it is best to be satisfied with what you have."