The Frog and the Young Woman

This is my version of a public domain story: "Story of the Frog" which is a Baganda story from Baskerville's The Flame Tree and Other Folklore Stories from Uganda. See the PDF of the original. I have followed the original word by word while also feeling free to make my own changes and additions.

Frog by PhotoChemPA at Wikimedia

 

The Frog and the Young Woman

If a frog comes into a house in Uganda, a boy will not chase the frog back outside. Instead, he goes and finds a married man and tells that man to drive the frog outside. That is the custom, and here is the reason why.

Long ago there was a widow who had a beautiful daughter. Next to the house where they lived was a beautiful banana grove.

One day, the young woman saw a frog in the road. The poor frog was panting in the sun because it was high noon and there was no shade. She could see that the frog was growing weaker by the minute, so she went and picked the frog up and carried him into the banana grove, gently placing him down in a pool of water. The frog soon revived and began to splash about happily in the water.

The next day as the young woman was peeling bananas in the kitchen, she heard a sound at the door, a rather odd sound; she wasn't sure who or what it could be. She went to the door and opened it, and there she saw the frog. He croaked loudly, and then he spoke to her. "Good morning!" he said. "I have come to thank you for saving my life. Perhaps someday I may be able to repay your kindness." 

The young woman smiled at this polite little frog, and the two of them became great friends. The frog came to the kitchen every day and told her stories about the animals. She enjoyed hearing about all their adventures and listening to the animal gossip.

Then one day the frog noticed that his friend looked very sad. "What's wrong?" he asked her. "You can tell me, whatever it is."

The young woman sighed. "My guardians are arranging for my marriage, and there are four men who want to marry me, but I do not know which to choose. I'm scared and sad because I don't know what to do." 

The frog smiled. "Oh, that is not a difficult problem. Cheer up, and I will give you some advice. You should choose the man who has a kind heart; a kind heart is worth more than flocks or herds or the power of a great chief."

"But how will I know which of my suitors is the one with the kind heart?" she asked.

"I can help with that," said the frog. "I know that you have a kind heart because you saved my life. I will help you to discover which man who is kind to animals, just as you are. I am sure that if he is kind to animals he will be kind to you."

So after she and the frog made a plan, the young woman went to her guardians and said, "In order to choose my husband, I need the four suitors to come one by one on the same day, and I will make my choice." Her guardians consented, and they arranged a day when the suitors would make their visits.

When that day came, the woman's guardians laid freshly cut grass down in the house, and the girl dressed herself in a beautiful barkcloth. Then she went and sat on a new mat, while three old women of her tribe sat near her to see that everything was done properly and in order. 

As the first suitor approached, the frog hopped right out in front of him and croaked loudly. The man angrily kicked the frog away angrily and went into the house, whereupon the girl refused him at once, as she had seen the way that he treated the frog. The second suitor and also the third treated the frog roughly, and the woman was beginning to lose hope.

But when the fourth suitor arrived and the frog croaked at him, the man smiled and said, "Blessings upon you, frog." Then, the man carefully stepped around the frog as he made his way to the porch.

After the man had greeted the old women, he then greeted the young woman, and said. "I saw a frog along the path and he croaked very loudly. I hope the sound does not bother you...?"

"Not at all," replied the woman. "I like frogs."

"Oh, that's good," said the man. "I like frogs too."

Then the two of them burst out laughing, which was not at all a proper thing to do, so the old women told them to hush their laughter, which they did, smiling at each other happily. The young woman chose that man to be her husband, and they lived happily ever after.

Which is why, even now, an unmarried man will not drive a frog away, just in case it might harm his marriage prospects.