Once upon a time, there was a girl from Minnesota. She had everything
(well, within reason) that her heart desired -- hats, books, and a
plethora of other material things -- but she was unhappy. she tried to
do whatever she could to cheer herself up, but nothing worked. Finally,
in a fit of desperation, she left all her material things behind and went
for a walk in the forest. While she was walking, she came across a
rabbit. "Rabbit," she said, "how can I be happy?" The rabbit hesitated,
the replied, "I don't know. Ask the swallow." So she looked around
until she found a swallow, and asked, "Swallow, how can I be happy?" The
swallow replied, "If you sing, you will be happy." So the girl sang, but
although her heart felt a bit lighter, she still was not happy. "I am
sorry that singing did not help," sang the swallow. "Perhaps you should
ask the tree." So the girl turned to the tree and said, "Tree, how can I
be happy?" But the tree said there and said nothing, since trees can't
talk. But then a squirrel came running down the tree. The girl quickly
asked, "Squirrel, can you tell me how to be happy?" The squirrel started
chattering away, but in a weird language that the girl could not
understand. Dejected, the girl plodded on, till she came across a large
rock by the edge of a pond. She sat down on the rock and began to cry.
Before long, a frog appeared, and asked, "Why are you crying?" The girl
looked up and replied, "I am unhappy, and no one can tell me how to be
happy." The frog said, "Oh, is that all? I can help you," and jumped up
onto her knee. "To be happy, all you must do is laugh, be social, and do
math. Also, it wouldn't hurt if you tried to be warm and fuzzy." With
those words, the frog leaped off the girl's knee and disappeared into the
lake. The girl stared after the frog for a bit, then stood up and began
walking back. Along the way, she ran into the rabbit again. "Hello,
Rabbit," she said, "How are you?" "I am fine," the rabbit replied.
"Have you discovered how to be happy yet?" The girl said, "I don't
know. The frog told me how, and I am hoping it is right." The the
squirrel ran in front of the girl and started chattering at her. "Oh,
that is so weird!" the girl laughed. "But I must be on my way." The
girl walked back to her house, thinking about what the frog had said. "I
have laughed, and I have been social," she thought, "but I have not done
math." So as soon as she got home, she pulled out a scrap of paper and
wrote:
1 + 1 = 3
Suddenly, she found herself filled with an overwhelming happiness.
"Thank you, frog!" she exclaimed. "You were right!" Then she glanced
at her image in a mirror, and saw the frog sitting on her head. "You
have discovered how to be happy," it said. "Now it is your job to teach
the rest of the world. As a reminder, I will leave this --" and the
frog burst into light. When the light faded, the girl found a warm and
fuzzy stuffed frog sitting in its place...
May the Frog always be with you!
-Sven
