A frog is born mute so he can’t make any noises that a frog typically makes because, well, he can’t make any noises at all.
So naturally it’s very difficult for the frog to make friends with the other frogs and he ends up with just one friend;
a tortoise who’s had the patience and the wherewithal to befriend this mute frog and to develop a system of communication with him.
Basically the frog blinks once for Yes, twice for No, the tortoise does all the talking and asks all the questions and they get along just fine.
Years go by and the frog and the tortoise have fostered a beautiful friendship.
But as the frog has gotten older he has become sexually curious and desires to mingle with the other frogs his age.
The tortoise senses this one day and asks the frog, ‘do you want me to take you to the pond?’
The frog blinks once for Yes.
So the tortoise takes the frog to the pond and starts introducing him to all the other frogs.
At first, the frog is very nervous but the tortoise does a great job of explaining his disability and all the other frogs are very accepting of his condition.
The mute frog ends up making a lot of new friends which boosts his confidence.
And then the frog spies across the pond a beautiful girl frog.
He can’t take his eyes off of her and the tortoise catches him staring.
The tortoise says, ‘You like her, don’t you?’
The frog blinks once.
The tortoise says, ‘You want me to go talk to her for you?’
The frog blinks twice for No. ‘I see,’ says the tortoise. ‘
You wish you could talk to her yourself.’
The frog blinks once, a single tear rolling down his little frog cheek.
‘Well gee, my friend,’ says the tortoise. ‘We’ve been good friends for so long, I think I owe it to you to find a way to restore your voice.’
And with that, the tortoise sets out.
The tortoise searches all over the forest for days until one day he meets a snake who just so happened to be the most renowned surgeon of all the land.
This snake could perform any surgery that exists.
The tortoise explains the situation to the snake and asks him if there’s anything the snake can do for the frog.
‘Yessssss,’ the snake replies.
‘There issss one sssurgery I can perform that may ressstore your friend’sss voice, but you have to undersssstand, it’s very risssky. There’sss a fifty percent chance your friend won’t sssurvive the sssurgery.’
‘Oh my,’ says the tortoise. ‘I’ll be sure to let him know!’
So the tortoise returns to the frog and tells him the news.
‘There’s this snake who might be able to restore your voice, but it’s a coin toss whether or not you survive the procedure. Do you want to go through with this?’
After a long pause, the frog blinks once for Yes.
So a day is set aside for the surgery and on that day all of the creatures of the forest gather around the snake and the frog as the snake prepares his tools and the anesthesia starts to kick in.
All the creatures of the forest look on anxiously, knowing that in just a few short moments they’re either going to hear their friend’s voice for the first time, or they’re going to lose him forever.
And you’ll never guess what happened next.
He croaked!
