Frogs

Some little boys—let us hope there were no little girls among them—caught sight, one day, of a lot of green frogs hopping cheerfully around a pond. "There are some frogs," they said to each other. "Let's throw stones at them." So they set to work to throw stones at the frogs just for the fun of the thing. When they killed one, it seemed to them to be rare sport, and they shouted their successes at the top of their voices. But, after a time, an old frog put its head out of the water, opened its mouth widely, and spoke. The small boys were so surprised to hear a frog speak, they stood quite still, the stones in their hands. And what do you think the old frog said? Well, you have probably heard the words many and many a time. It said very gravely: "Boys. Be good enough to stop throwing stones, for what is fun to you is death to us." Then it put its head back into the water, and we will hope that all the little boys went home. But the old frog's words, spoken hundreds and hundreds of years ago, have been a proverb ever since. "What is fun to you is death to us." It is a proverb that gives people a good deal to think about.

Short Answer Questions

1. When some boys saw a lot of green frogs hopping cheerfully around a pond, what did they begin to do?
2. What did they do right after they killed one frog?
3. What surprised the boys?
4. Which frog was able to speak in the passage?
5. What is the proverb that gives people a good deal to think about in the passage?

(Keys.)