It’s funny how the moral of a children’s story about a couple of frogs in a milk churn has stayed with me throughout my life.
It was told by Dennis Bevan, the Headmaster of the Special Needs School I attended in Winsford. To be honest, as a teenager, I ended up bored with the tale as he seemed to repeat it during Assembly every few months but, in hindsight, I fully understand why Mr Bevan was so keen to keep recounting the fable to his young audience with their wide range of disabilities.
The story was set on a farm one scorching hot Summer’s day where 2 frogs were looking for somewhere to cool down. Eventually, they found a churn full of milk and hopped in. They had a fabulous time splashing around in the cold white liquid.
As the setting sun began to relinquish the heat from the early evening, they decided it was time to head home to their pond but found they couldn’t get enough purchase to leap up and reach the rim of the churn to pull themselves free.
They swam round and round for ages looking for a way out. Pausing now and then to hurl them towards the elusive edge at the top of the churn. Before long, their muscles began to ache; they were exhausted.
One of the frogs gave up and sank into the milk.
The other one carried on, even though it was getting harder and harder for him to keep swimming. The frog decided to try once more to launch himself towards the rim, despite the fact that he was certain he was doomed to fail. It was his only chance, he wasn’t going to give in and die.
However, this time when he made his leap the “milk” had become strangely firm and he easily jumped to the rim and pulled himself out – had the creature been a food scientist rather than an amphibian, the frog would have realised that by swimming around it turned the milk to butter which supported his weight.
When that happened, it must have seemed amazing to the frog – a miracle!
Although that is just a story, looking back at my life there have been many occasions when “luck” has come my way after my perseverance triggered events which turned good seemingly hopeless situations. It encourages me to keep going with my Speech Therapy when it becomes a grind!
