Lessons From a Frog

Lessons From a Frog

Two frogs fell into a can of cream,
Or so I've heard it told;
The sides of the can were shiny and steep,
The cream was deep and cold.

"O, what's the use?" croaked No.1,
"Tis fate; no helps around.
Goodbye, my friends! Goodbye, sad world!"
And weeping still, he drowned.

But No. 2, of sterner stuff,
Dog-paddled in surprise,
The while he wiped his creamy face
And dried his creamy eyes.

"I'll swim awhile, at least," he said--
Or so I've heard he said;
"It really wouldn't help the world
If one more frog were dead."

An hour or two he kicked and swam,
Not once he stopped to mutter,
But kicked and kicked and swam and kicked,
Then hopped out, via butter!

-- T.C. Hamlet