The mischievous frog lived in a beautiful lake. The frog was proud of his graceful movements and speed in jumping. He used to play and frolic by jumping on the plant leaves that floated on the lake. A little mouse always watched him, enjoying seeing his graceful movements and high jumps.
Whenever the frog saw the mouse looking at him, he would return again to boast of his water shows, jumps and movements. The little mouse became increasingly impressed with him and applauded him warmly. The mouse wanted to become friends with the frog, so he sat waiting for the frog to come out of the water to talk to him about that matter.
As soon as the frog finished his water shows and came out of the lake, the little mouse asked him to be friends. The frog welcomed that idea and agreed that he and the little mouse would be friends. The little mouse even told him that he would do whatever he wanted and would always be at his service.
The mouse asked the frog: “Do you like to eat delicious wheat?” The frog replied: “Wheat?” The mouse said: “Yes, I know a place with delicious wheat that will impress you.” The frog went with the little mouse to a small crack, and they entered it together. The frog was amazed at that place, as the small crack led them to a large room with large bags of wheat. The mouse made a hole in one of the bags with his teeth, and grains of wheat fell. The frog kept eating the delicious wheat and feeling happy because the taste of the wheat was good, until he felt pain in his stomach.
The frog told the little mouse that he would remain his friend if he fed him every day. The little mouse agreed to the frog’s request. The mouse and the frog played and frolicked together. A squirrel looked at the mouse and the frog and saw something strange, so he approached them and said: “What is this?” The little mouse replied: “Don’t you see? We are playing, for today the mouse and I have become friends.”
The squirrel replied: “Yes, I see, but I mean that rope (the squirrel pointed to their feet where there was a rope tying the frog and mouse together).” The frog said to him: “This rope indicates that we have become friends, so we tied our legs together so that we would always stay together.”
The squirrel was amazed at their behavior, for how could a water frog and a field mouse always stay together? The mouse and frog moved away and kept playing. The squirrel tried to catch up with them to explain to them the matter he was thinking about regarding them, but they did not listen to him.
While the squirrel was on his way toward them, he saw a rabbit and asked him: “Have you seen a mouse and a frog whose legs are tied with a rope?” The rabbit replied: “No, I have not seen them, but why are their legs tied?” The squirrel replied: “The mouse told me it is a symbol of friendship.” The rabbit replied in amazement: “A rope is a symbol of friendship? Oh wonder!” The squirrel said: “I must catch up with them to tell them that their natures are completely different.” Then the squirrel ran to continue his way to search for the two friends, the mouse and the frog, to warn them of the great danger.
The frog took the mouse to the lake to teach him to dive into the water. The mouse told him that he had never dived into the water before, but the frog encouraged him to undergo that experience, just as he had done in eating the wheat that he had never eaten before.
The frog encouraged the mouse to swim in the lake to enjoy the water and see the depths of the lake and the fish. But the mouse was feeling great fear of water. However, the frog reassured him and told him that he would make him a skilled swimmer like himself.
The frog jumped into the water and did not pay attention to the mouse’s nature, nor did he pay attention that he was dragging the mouse with him toward the depths of the lake, because their feet were tied together. The mouse kept crying for help and shouting, for he could not breathe under the water, but no one listened to him, and the poor mouse died of drowning.
The squirrel arrived at the lake and saw the mouse floating on the surface of the lake, so he knew of the drowning of the poor mouse. He told the frog of the mistake he had made against his friend the little mouse. The frog felt great regret because he did not respect the nature of his friend, which was different from his nature.