“A king of the frogs!” said the Great Ruler, when he heard their request. And then he knit his brows and thought for a very long time.
But nobody knew that his thoughts were the same as those of the little, inquisitive frog to whom nobody had paid any attention.
At last the Great Ruler spoke.
“Why do you want a king?” he asked. “Have you not, now, everything you need to make you happy?”
But all the frogs shouted in chorus, “Give us a king. Give us a king.”
So the Great Ruler knit his brows and thought again for a very long time.
At length he spoke. “I will give you a great log for a king. It will bear you upon the water and the sun will shine upon you as you rest on its broad surface.”
But the frogs were angry at this. “The idea!” they shouted. “We want a living king; we want no dead log for a king.”
So the Great Ruler knit his brows and thought again for a very long time.