The Proud Toad
The Ox was roaming the field. It was a hot day so she decided to stop a get a drink at the pond. She was trying to relax and cool off. She stopped underneath a tree by the pond and decided to rest. All was good until a toad started croaking in her ear to get her attention. Startled because she thought she was alone, she asked him, "Hi, do you need something."
The Toad responded, "Only a second of your time dear, then you'll stick by forever."
Disgusted by his confidence and overestimation of himself, she tried to deflect. She just wanted to relax at the pond, but he kept following her around the edges. "Um, what do you mean?" She finally responded when she could not lose him.
"You're the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen. I am going to wow you so you stay here forever." He sang.
"Oh. Are you? But I like guys who are tall, bigger, and stronger than me?"
The Toad immediately was offended but then retorted, "Well, I can get bigger."
"Show me." She challenged him.
With that, he puffed and puffed until his chest was full of air. The ox laughed at his attempt. "You're still too small! Try some more"
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| A toad with a large chest |
Determined, he puffed his chest, even more, straining his skin from green to red, but he still was less than a quarter of her size. So, he tried to puff again one more time to satisfy the ox. However, this puff was too much. With the intake of air, the Toad split in half.
Author's Note- The Proud Frog Aesops Tales
This story is loosely based on The Proud Frog. However, since it is one of Aesop's tales, it is written in a strange hard to understand rhyme. I did not want to try to replicate that, so I wrote it in much more simpler and easy to understand language. However, I kept the story relatively the same. What I did change was the details. I made the frog into a toad because toads are load and larger than frogs. It made more sense for a toad to get the ox's attention and attempt to be the same size. I also changed the circumstances the toad increases its size. I thought this situation was more relatable and more fun than a little competition- imagine a toad liking an ox!
Hey your author's notes are really useful! I like the way that you changed the story of the frog and the ox to a toad! It was a nice little change that seemed to make sense. I never read the original story so I didn't know anything about it, but I thought in the end where the toad split in half was pretty gruesome. As I was reading it, I was expecting something like that to happened and then when it finally did I was kind of startled. Great story!
ReplyDeleteHey Caitlin!
ReplyDeleteI thought your story was fun to read, and I really liked how your tone was more modern and conversational than the original. I also thought you did a good job with your author's note and explaining what had happened because I'd never read the original story before this! I didn't expect the ending of him splitting in half either, so that was a kind of sad but interesting twist. Great job!
Hi Caitlin!
ReplyDeleteI like how you told this story, as it was fun to read. I really liked how you changed the reason why the toad was puffing his chest. I thought that it was funny that he was trying to do so much to impress the the ox. I honestly kind of expected something to happen to the toad at the end, because usually stories that feature an arrogant character always have endings that "humble" them. Great job!
Hey Caitlin! You wrote this story really well! Your dialogue flowed naturally and the story felt like it was a fable itself, not an adaptation of one. Your story was written concisely and directly, in a way which gave the fable to the reader and did not distract the reader with unnecessary detail. And yeah, I am now imagining a toad liking an ox, but I'm not sure I want to be. In all seriousness, great job!
ReplyDelete