Green pond frog, UPLB Laguna
A boy was caught by surprise when a frog leaped and landed at his feet. He could have either trampled on the helpless creature or he himself jumped into the water.
As I was by chance a witness to the incident I asked the boy why he was so afraid.
"It’s a harmless little fellow," I said. "Maybe he just wanted to play with you."
"Do you remember the story, The Princess and Frog Prince?" I continued. "The frog was a disguised prince. The spell was broken by the kindness of a princess. And they lived happily ever after."
He was silent. On recovering from fright, he hesitantly asked. “Di ba ang palaka, nakakahawa ng sipon.” (Isn't the frog the cause of colds?)
I was dumbfounded. Then I remembered the advertisement about a liquid decongestant showing a frog tenaciously clinging like phlegm.
Poor boy - another case of miseducation of advertisement. Poor frog - now in the list of endangered species.
But long after I had written this anecdote I pondered what has a fairy tale to do with correct education on one hand, and conservation of a threatened species on the other. I felt sorry for the innocent victim - and doubted myself a good mentor. ~
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