Once upon a time, there was a little frog who was too afraid to croak. There were two voices in her head. The voice of her mother who told her every night before she went to bed (that is before she died), “God loves you, and He has great plans for your life.” And, the voices of the other frogs who constantly put her down.
Then there was her brother, who spoke a thousand words with one smile. Whenever he saw her from across the pond, he would leap toward her with a big smile on his face, put his arm around her, and ask how she was doing. She would hurry to tell him how she had been practicing her croaking all day; he would just smile at her and say, “that’s great sis.” She could tell it really didn’t matter to him whether she could croak or that she had been practicing so hard. There was something about the way he smiled at her. She knew she didn’t have to do anything to earn his love; he just loved her and found great pleasure in her company. It was a love that made her feel like a princess every time he came around.
And, there’s a real princess in this story as well. Her beautiful palace sat on the banks of the pond. She wore the prettiest dresses and was so well cared for and loved by her father. She and the frog had one thing in common – they both had lost their mothers. The frog would watch the princess everyday as she came to gaze at the water. The princess loved to see the way the wind moved across the water, and she loved to hear all the different frog noises, especially just before dark. The water and the frog songs and the breeze made her heart happy. The frog longed to be the friend of the princess. They could talk about the pond and how much they missed their mothers.
One day when the princess came to the pond to enjoy the water, she became fascinated with an unusual water lily. It was blue and purple; she had never seen anything like it. So, when her servants were not looking, she waded out into the water. Of course, the frog was watching because she waited for the princess everyday just in case she got the courage to speak up and say she’d like to be her friend. Well, the princess had never learned to swim and when the sandy bottom gave way to a giant hole in the pond, she lost her footing and quickly went under. Her cries for help were muddled by the murky swirling water.
The frog’s heart started beating, and the voices in her head started competing – you were created for a very special purpose – you can’t croak; so you are worthless. The frog took a deep breath, remembered the smile that beamed across her brother’s face, heard the encouraging voice of her mother, and at that very moment croaked the loudest, deepest, most melodious song anyone had ever heard from the pond. The sound was so deep and so long that it captured everyone’s attention. The servants came running to see what could have made that mysterious noise and saw the princess struggling for air! They all jumped in to save her, and she was carried away to safety, cold and coughing.
The frog’s brother heard the sound as well and came leaping to his sister’s side. He wrapped his arms around her and yelled, “You did it sis! Your beautiful voice saved the princess!” I knew you could do it.” The frog just laughed and basked in the glory of her brother’s smiling face.
Once back in the warmth and comfort of her home, the princess asked what had happened. When she heard about the mysterious frog-like melody, which had never been heard at the pond before, she went back in search of the one who rescued her. She wanted to thank the frog personally. The frog had already leaped to the back of the pond just to rest her mind and think how proud her mom would be. It was her brother who went in search of her to say the princess was looking for the special frog who made the amazing sound that saved her life. Her brother gave her a big hug and said, “come on sis, she wants to meet you.” Her brother stood beside her as she told her story to the princess. The princess was so astonished and thankful to hear that the frog found her voice at the perfect time to save her life. She longed to do something to show her gratitude.
The princess explained to the frog that she had a very nice aquarium in her room and that she would be so pleased if the frog would come to live with her. She would make sure that together, the princess and the frog, went down to the pond everyday to visit her brother.
The frog’s brother said, “Go ahead sis. I am happy for you. It will be so nice for you to have a good friend to keep you company. I will miss you and will always be here for you.”
So, the frog went to live in the lovely palace of the kind-hearted princess. Once the frog was all settled into to her new home, she sighed and thought, “Oh. Mom, you were right – He really did have great plans for my life.”