One day when Unni ran into the woodshed, the King had been waiting for him for a few minutes.
"I was engrossed playing with a frog," Unni said apologetically.
"And how did you befriend the frog?" asked the King without any displeasure for his delay.
"I haven't befriended him yet," Unni said. "Whenever he surfaced I would throw stones at him. He is very dexterous and would dodge and vanish."
“It is a cruel sport, I am afraid,” said the King, “Suppose you hit him on the head?”
Unni felt ashamed of himself and assured his royal friend that he would avoid such cruel pleasures in future.
"Frogs aren’t intelligent creatures, I suppose," Unni remarked, "Still it was cruel of me to have tried to hit a frog with a stone."
The King said, "Frogs are certainly very intelligent. You will realize it when you have heard the story of Cheraman, the rat snake, and frogs."
Unni sat up with his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm and the King began another marvelous story.
The Lotus Pond was in the rocky regions of the
The pond was full of lotus plants and thousands of lotus flowers would put out their heads above water during the day and this made the frogs not only happy but lovers of the Arts.
The frogs of the Lotus Ponds were famous singers and reputed athletes. They could sing classical pieces as well as popular film songs with a high degree of excellence. The reason why the pond never went dry even in the most merciless summer was due to this gift of the frogs. If the rains delayed, they would sing hymns and songs in chorus praising Varuna, the god of rains. Clouds would immediately race to the region and a heavy downpour would follow.
Frogs from very far off places would come to the Lotus Pond with the request to sing for them, so that they too might get plenty of rains.
In athletics also the inhabitants of the Lotus Pond had many records to their credit. In the International Frog Meets the citizens of the Lotus Pond would bag a number of medals every year.
Now, as the frog community lived on peacefully at the zenith of fame and prosperity, something happened which shook the
A large rat snake that had somehow made its way to the cool and beautiful banks of the pond was the villain.
Cheraman, the rat snake, began to hunt down the frogs in scores every day. The frogs feared to touch the banks of the pond. So frightened were they that they seldom came to the surface. In a few days, Cheraman had eaten up more than a hundred frogs. Among the killed frogs were famous singers and gifted athletes. An emergency meeting of all the frogs was convened at the rocky islet in the middle of the pond to discuss the matter.
The Chief of the frogs, Mr. Thakaram Parambil Raman Kesavan, like his remarkable name, was a distinguished gentleman. He addressed the scared and grief stricken citizens of the Republic.
He said, "In the whole history of the Lotus Pond, there has never been a tragedy like this. At this rate, Cheraman will eat up every citizen in the republic. We should not allow this. We are here to discuss how this villain can be eliminated and the frog community saved from total extermination."
Nobody spoke up. The women folk, who were naturally talkative, did not utter a single syllable but silently wept.
After a long while, a young frog rose to speak. He said, "We should attack the snake in large numbers. A thousand frogs can overpower and kill a snake."
The Chief remarked that, although he valued the courage of the young fellow, he did not think the idea practicable.
Then an old frog came up with another suggestion, "We must leave this place forever. The Lotus Pond is no longer a safe place for us. Let's go to the Lily Pond. Our friends and kinsmen there will receive us with honor and give us asylum."
The Chief ruled out this proposal immediately. He said, when one was prosperous, his friends would receive him with honor, but as a fugitive the same treatment could not be expected.
Yet another frog, a chemist by profession, proposed that snake repellents should be collected from the surrounding rocks and sprayed around the pond. This would drive away the snake.
Everybody including the Chief was skeptical about the feasibility of the scheme, but the scientist was asked to work out a detailed plan urgently.
Now, Little Sankar, a boy frog who had shed his tail only a few months back, stood up. Although his mother and aunts tried to pull him back, the Chief reprimanded them and said, "Let Little Sankar speak!"
Little Sankar had a very detailed plan to do away with the snake menace, once and for all.
He said, "As we are no match to the snake in strength, we must seek the help of somebody else. Only one thing- the friend should not be one with evil interests in us. Otherwise after killing the snake, he may turn to us."
"Explain your plan shortly!" said the Chief impatiently.
The boy frog began to unfold his plan. "Not far from the pond, there is a colony of ants. If the ants agree to help us we can kill the snake," he said.
"Have you ever heard the ants killing a rat snake?" asked a middle-aged frog contemptuously.
“No interruptions!” cried the Chief. He warned that nobody should speak before Little Sankar had finished.
The little frog continued, "As we know, Cheraman always sleeps coiled under a slanting slate like boulder. One end of the rectangular piece of rock stands rooted in the soil. If the soil is removed from the bottom, the boulder will fall. If the snake is in the cave when the boulder falls, he will perish. Even if he is not killed, he cannot find such a cool resting place anywhere in the neighborhood.”
"I agree that the ants can remove the soil around the boulder," said the Chief, "But how will you befriend the ants?"
Little Sankar said that if the Chief permitted him he would right away beseech the help of the ants.
After going into the plan in detail, it was found feasible and was therefore, accepted.
In appreciation of the wisdom and discernment shown by him, Little Sankar was, then and there, conferred Thavala Sree similar to the Knighthood of the English.
This title is often conferred on old and decaying frogs and the boy frog was the youngest person in the history of the Lotus Pond who ever received this title. His mother rose up on all her fours and expanded her body on the occasion.
The services of four of the ablest frogs were placed at his disposal with immediate effect. The little group, landing on the west bank of the pond, immediately set out to the capital of the King of Ants.
Outside the palace the guards stopped their way to the King. But, Little Sankar, lifting up a fat earthworm, declared, "Bear in mind that it is an offense to stop the friends of His Majesty, the King."
This brave declaration had the desired effect. A messenger hurried in and returned without much delay and took the delegation inside to the august presence of the King.
Bowing to the King elaborately according to the court etiquette, the young frog presented the earthworm to the King. The King curtseyed in the most studied ant manner and gave them each a pot of honey.
The King of Ants had heard much about the singers among the frogs and he expressed his desire to hear a song from the group.
But, Little Sankar informed the King that they were full of tragic memories and grief that they were unable to play the fine tunes.
The King asked Little Sankar what made his friends, the frogs so unhappy.
Little Sankar described in the most touching manner, the tragedy that had befallen the citizens of the
Little Sankar unfolded a lotus leaf in which was given a detailed plan of the Lotus Pond and its surroundings. He informed the King that, if the boulder that shielded the home of the rat snake was uprooted, the rat snake would perish under it. This would save the Republic and its frogs from ruin.
After consulting the matter with his ministers and engineers, the King placed two divisions of his prestigious engineering corps at the disposal of Little Sankar.
Praising the King for his generosity, the team returned home.
The Royal Engineers examined the boulder and, after some experiments, informed Little Sankar that the plan would work. They saw that the boulder was supported by the surrounding soil, hardly a foot deep. The commander of the forces calculated that the boulder would fall in six hours, twelve minutes, and twenty-four seconds.
The Chief of the frogs considered the possibility that the snake might be out of his cave at the time when the boulder fell. But the frogs could not afford to wait for another day as it involved the lives of so many frogs.
"Cheraman will be inside his cave when the boulder falls!" Little Sankar assured the Chief.
The ant forces started their work. Little Sankar stationed a batch of frogs on top of the boulder. They were instructed to reach the pond in one hop passing the mouth of the cave and inform him and the Chief of the latest developments.
After half an hour a frog reached the pond with the information that the work was progressing as scheduled.
Not knowing anything about the frantic work going on outside his cave, Cheraman slept on peacefully.
At last he woke up, yawned and glanced down into the pond below. It wasn't yet three O'clock, and the sun was still hot. Besides, the rocks would take some more time to cool down. Crawling on the hot surface of the rock might cause blisters on the body. After all, why should he make any haste? At dusk the frogs would come to the bank in twos and threes. Three or four of the fat guys would be more than sufficient for a day. He could swallow thirty or forty frogs at a time - that was another matter.
Cheraman still marveled at his good fortune. In his native village he was really starving. He might catch a lizard or a rat occasionally after wandering miles and miles. On most days he had to go to bed with an empty stomach.
It was to catch the rascal of a rat that he had entered an old hole. The hole branched and re-branched at every few feet and he could not trace the cunning rat. At last Cheraman lost his way in the maze of so many holes. In despair, he wandered for very long without aim. At last he spotted a tiny speck of light that he saw was sunlight. He emerged from the hole with relief and lo! He was on the banks of the famous Lotus Pond!
There was any number of frogs you pleased in the pond. And you could live in peace without the bother from other snakes or the mongoose. Eat to the fill and go to sleep!
Cheraman planned to return home in the following week and take with him his lean wife and anemic children to the Lotus Pond. Within one week she would regain her old beauty and the children would grow fat and plumb.
It was amazing how the fox, after examining certain lines on his tail, had foretold that great fortune was in store for him around forty! He had assured that this unusually bright period would last very long.
While Cheraman was daydreaming, Little Sankar received another message. It said that deep at the root of the boulder there was a stone and more work than anticipated would be required to floor the boulder. At least two more hours would be required to attain the goal.
Putting out his head, the snake watched the surroundings. No frog could be seen anywhere. He would have to take the plunge, he saw. He began to crawl out of the cave.
Cheraman noticed a frog flying over his head to the pond. The frogs had been watching him and he smiled to himself.
The frogs hopped into the water one by one and the Chief and our young hero realized that the boulder was about to fall.
But alas! The snake had crawled out of the cave, only the tip of his tail remained inside.
Little Sankar boldly hopped onto the bank. Cheraman saw a boy frog advancing in his direction. Why should he eat up a boy frog when there was any number of fat old ones available? Let him grow bigger, he thought.
Little Sankar had believed that the snake would follow him to the cave. But to his great disappointment, the snake ignored him altogether. But the snake had halted for a while surprised at the boldness of the boy-frog.
Now Cheraman felt something biting his tail. It was the audacious frog, Cheraman realized, and it angered him. He had spared the tiny fellow, but he was biting him on the tail. He hissed fiercely and turned to the cave.
But as the snake's head advanced towards him, Little Sankar hopped to the interior and the snake followed him angrily.
Little Sankar heard a cracking sound and he was sure that the boulder was about to fall. He had no time to lose. He hopped out of the cave above the coiled body of the snake. The boy-frog made the risky exit all right. As he hopped out, he heard the boulder fall on the snake with a thud.
But a sharp edge of the boulder in its fall had touched little Shankar on the head and it had caused a deep wound. The boy frog fell down on the bank of the pond and the Chief and the others crowded around him. The doctor, after examining the wounded hero, looked at the Chief in meaningful silence.
Little Sankar opened his big eyes and looked at the Chief and his mother who stood close to him. He tried to smile but his face became distorted with a great pain.
He said to the Chief, "There must be a hole opening to the banks of the pond from the valley below. If you locate it and close it with the help of the ants, our Republic will not be threatened like this again."
His voice choked and mist covered his eyes. A great agony convulsed him and he closed his eyes and closed them forever.
To this day, you can see frogs that come from far off places to pay homage to the young frog who sacrificed his life so that his fellow frogs might live in peace.
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