Malcor Sylverwood
August 20th, 2003, 00:34
***** The Scorpion and the Frog *****
One day, a scorpion looked around at the mountain
where he lived and decided that he wanted a change. So
he set out on a journey through the forests and hills.
He climbed over rocks and under vines and kept going
until he reached a river.
The river was wide and swift, and the scorpion stopped
to reconsider the situation. He couldn't see any way
across. So he ran upriver and then checked downriver,
all the while thinking that he might have to turn
back.
Suddenly, he saw a frog sitting in the rushes by the
bank of the stream on the other side of the river. He
decided to ask the frog for help getting across the
stream.
"Hellooo Mr. Frog!" called the scorpion across the
water, "Would you be so kind as to give me a ride on
your back across the river?"
"Well now, Mr. Scorpion! How do I know that if I try
to help you, you wont try to kill me?" asked the frog
hesitantly.
"Because," the scorpion replied, "If I try to kill
you, then I would die too, for you see I cannot swim!"
Now this seemed to make sense to the frog. But he
asked. "What about when I get close to the bank? You
could still try to kill me and get back to the shore!"
"This is true," agreed the scorpion, "But then I
wouldn't be able to get to the other side of the
river!"
"Alright then...how do I know you wont just wait till
we get to the other side and THEN kill me?" said the
frog.
"Ahh...," crooned the scorpion, "Because you see, once
you've taken me to the other side of this river, I
will be so grateful for your help, that it would
hardly be fair to reward you with death, now would
it?!"
So the frog agreed to take the scorpion across the
river. He swam over to the bank and settled himself
near the mud to pick up his passenger. The scorpion
crawled onto the frog's back, his sharp claws
prickling into the frog's soft hide, and the frog slid
into the river. The muddy water swirled around them,
but the frog stayed near the surface so the scorpion
would not drown. He kicked strongly through the first
half of the stream, his flippers paddling wildly
against the current.
Halfway across the river, the frog suddenly felt a
sharp sting in his back and, out of the corner of his
eye, saw the scorpion remove his stinger from the
frog's back. A deadening numbness began to creep into
his limbs.
"You fool!" croaked the frog, "Now we shall both die!
Why on earth did you do that?"
The scorpion shrugged, and did a little jig on the
drownings frog's back.
"I could not help myself. It is my nature."
Then they both sank into the muddy waters of the
swiftly flowing river.
***** THE END *****
-Malcor "Scorpion" Sylverwood
One day, a scorpion looked around at the mountain
where he lived and decided that he wanted a change. So
he set out on a journey through the forests and hills.
He climbed over rocks and under vines and kept going
until he reached a river.
The river was wide and swift, and the scorpion stopped
to reconsider the situation. He couldn't see any way
across. So he ran upriver and then checked downriver,
all the while thinking that he might have to turn
back.
Suddenly, he saw a frog sitting in the rushes by the
bank of the stream on the other side of the river. He
decided to ask the frog for help getting across the
stream.
"Hellooo Mr. Frog!" called the scorpion across the
water, "Would you be so kind as to give me a ride on
your back across the river?"
"Well now, Mr. Scorpion! How do I know that if I try
to help you, you wont try to kill me?" asked the frog
hesitantly.
"Because," the scorpion replied, "If I try to kill
you, then I would die too, for you see I cannot swim!"
Now this seemed to make sense to the frog. But he
asked. "What about when I get close to the bank? You
could still try to kill me and get back to the shore!"
"This is true," agreed the scorpion, "But then I
wouldn't be able to get to the other side of the
river!"
"Alright then...how do I know you wont just wait till
we get to the other side and THEN kill me?" said the
frog.
"Ahh...," crooned the scorpion, "Because you see, once
you've taken me to the other side of this river, I
will be so grateful for your help, that it would
hardly be fair to reward you with death, now would
it?!"
So the frog agreed to take the scorpion across the
river. He swam over to the bank and settled himself
near the mud to pick up his passenger. The scorpion
crawled onto the frog's back, his sharp claws
prickling into the frog's soft hide, and the frog slid
into the river. The muddy water swirled around them,
but the frog stayed near the surface so the scorpion
would not drown. He kicked strongly through the first
half of the stream, his flippers paddling wildly
against the current.
Halfway across the river, the frog suddenly felt a
sharp sting in his back and, out of the corner of his
eye, saw the scorpion remove his stinger from the
frog's back. A deadening numbness began to creep into
his limbs.
"You fool!" croaked the frog, "Now we shall both die!
Why on earth did you do that?"
The scorpion shrugged, and did a little jig on the
drownings frog's back.
"I could not help myself. It is my nature."
Then they both sank into the muddy waters of the
swiftly flowing river.
***** THE END *****
-Malcor "Scorpion" Sylverwood