The Frogs Who Desired a King

The Frogs Who Desired a King is a fable ascribed to Aesop.

According to the story, a group of frogs lived happily and peacefully in a pond. Over time, however, they became discontented with their way of life, and thought they should have a mighty king to rule over them. They called out to the great god Zeus to send them a king.

Zeus was amused by the frogs' request, and cast a large log down into their pond, saying "Behold, your king!" At first, the frogs were terrified of the huge log, but after seeing that it did not move, they began to climb upon it. Once they realized the log would not move, they called out again to Zeus to send them a real king, one that moved.

Annoyed by the frogs, Zeus said, "Very well, here is your new king," and sent a large stork to the pond. The stork began devouring frogs. In terror, frogs called out to Zeus to save them. Zeus refused, saying the frogs now had what they'd wanted, and had to face the consequences.

To some, the simple lesson of the story is "leave well enough alone," or "be careful what you wish for."

More politically minded readers would interpret the story as a warning against giving too much power to a monarch. In times of crisis, people may desire a strong ruler to protect them, but a strong ruler can quickly and easily become a tyrant. Fact|date=February 2008

Adaptations

In 1922, Russian-born animator Ladislas Starevich produced a stop-motion animated film based on the tale in Paris entitled "Les Grenouilles qui demandent un roi" (aka "Frogland").

New Zealand poet James K. Baxter (1926-1972) included a reference to this story in his poem "Election 1960" (1961)

"A democratic people have electedKing Log, King Stork, King Log, King Stork again.

Because I like a wide and silent pondI voted Log. That party was defeated"

See also

*Aesop's Fables