A Frog In a Well

A frog lived in an abandoned well all his life. Little bugs, small fish, and tiny shrimps were his only companions. Everything in the well-the water, the mud, the cylindrical brick wall, and the moss on it- were all he knew about the world. He had no idea what the real world looked like.

One day, a big sea turtle wandered near the well and caught the attention of the frog, who happened to look up to enjoy the little, circular, blue sky. The frog would not let this opportunity to brag about his knowledge of the world pass.

"Look! How happy I am! I know everything about the world: the bugs that can walk on the surface of the water in the well, the little fish that swim beneath them, and the tiny shrimps that eat dirt at the bottom," the frog rumbled along, not giving the turtle a chance to speak. He continued, "I am living the happiest life in the world. When I am in a good mood, I jump up and down in the well shaft; When I am tired, I lie down on that brick sticking out from the wall; and when I'm hungry, I catch the little fish, shrimps, and bugs. The thing I enjoy the most, you know, is to swim beneath the water, raising my mouth out of the water to breathe from time to time. Sometimes, I even take a deep breath and dive to the bottom to take a walk on the soft sand...."

"Hey, listen! Have you ever been to the sea?" The sea turtle had had enough of the frog's babble and stopped him short.

"What? What do you mean by the "C"?

"No, it has nothing to do with the alphabet. It is S-E-A, a large body of water," the turtle raised his voice and explained patiently.

"But why do I have to bother since I have a large body of water here in the well?" asked the frog.

"Let me tell you what a large body of water is," replied the turtle. "You can never imagine how vast the sea is. It is I don't know how many times larger than the body of water in our well. Let me put it this way, then years of flood and another eight years of drought would have little impact on the level of the sea waters. Living in a body of water life that will give you a real sense of happiness."

"...?!" His big mouth wide open, the frog was at a loss for words. Knowing that there was a much larger world outside his well, the frog never bragged again. His descendants simply moved out of the well. However, unable to find the big sea they had been told about, they settled in farmers' rice fields, above which the sky was as extensive as their big, raised eyes could see.

This story was used to describe people who are closed-minded and refuse to see the big picture of the world.