THE AMBITIOUS FROG.
In old Aesop’s fable we read of a frog
Who burst, like a bubble in air,
While trying to show to his friends in the bog
The size of an ox who’d been there.
And the moral was drawn from the homely old tale
That a man should take care what he tries,
And plod on through life, on a nice, modest scale,
Since only contentment is wise.
But my heart goes out to that cocky young frog,
Whose life was so recklessly spent;
Who burst into bits in the midst of his bog
Because on ambition intent.
But tho’ he was highly conceited, I know,
I’m strong for his courage and gall;
For it’s better to burst in attempting to grow
Than to have no ambition at all.
—Berton Braley in Life.