Short summary of poem the frog and the nightingale.
Answers
It is about a frog who had a rather unpleasant voice but loved to sing. He used to croak all night much to the annoyance of neighbor animals who were tired of his incessant croaking and insulted him whenever he sang. But the frog was adamant and didn’t heed their criticism.
He used to believe that
his voice was very special and was insensitive to the distress he was
causing others. But his arrogance was shattered one day by the singing
of a nightingale on that particular tree ,whose melodious voice was seen
by others as a welcome change from
the frog’s distressing voice. They appreciated her
melodious voice and rewarded her with thunderous applause and praises.
The frog felt threatened by her presence and was jealous of
all the admiration she was garnering. Hence, he hatched a plan to
destroy
her and throw her out of his way.
The next night the frog approached the nightingale and said that he owned the tree and has been singing there for a long time. When she asked his opinion of her singing he told her that it wasn't bad,but lacked strength.
Since the nightingale had no confidence in her own ability,
she accepted the tutelage of the frog and innocently compared him
to Mozart. The frog took advantage of her innocence and amassed all the
money he made through her concerts. While doing so, he experienced
happiness due to the money he was earning but at the same time, he used to feel
a sense of bitterness as praises were being heaped on the nightingale for her voice.
He made her rehearse day and night,even when it rained. He used to abuse her a lot on purpose and consequently broke down her morale. Her spirit took a beating and it began to get reflected in her singing.Consequently,the animals who paid to hear her sing no longer came to her concerts.Heartbroken,as she had grown to enjoy the applause and adoration of the other creatures. She refused to sing any longer but the frog won’t listen to her and coaxed her to practice. She was terrified of failing,so she tried one last time with all her strength but she puffed up, burst a vein and died.
The frog said to others that he tried to teach her but she was far too stupid and nervous to learn anything.
After that the frog returned back to his old singing ways and continued to annoy the other creatures. He was satisfied that he no longer had to compete with someone more talented than him in singing.‘The Frog and the Nightingale’ is a story in verse. It describes how a frog exploits a nightingale to earn money. This fable shows how the bad training given by the frog causes the death of the nightingale. The moral is that one should have confidence in oneself and believe in one’s own talent. Once upon a time, a frog croaked in the Bingle Bog.
Other creatures hated his voice but they had no choice. The loud and unpleasant noise of the frog continued from the sumac tree. He croaked there from dusk to dawn. Neither stones, prayers, nor insults, or complaints could stop him from his strong determination. He was determined to express his elation through his song.
One moonlit night, a nightingale perched upon the sumac tree started singing. Other creatures in the bog clapped and admired her melodious sweet song. Being surprised at the sweet melody of the nightingale, the frog feared that he would not be heard any more. As the nightingale sang beautifully, ducks swam to her, toads, tiddlers and teals were delighted and called the song ‘divine’.
But the frog was not happy. Next night as the nightingale was ready to sing, the frog interrupted and introduced himself as the owner of the tree and said that he was known for his splendid baritone. The nightingale inquired about her song. As a critic, he replied that it was not too bad but was far too long. The technique was fine but the song lacked certain force. The nightingale was flattered that such a reputed critic had discussed her art. Being jealous, the frog took the nightingale into confidence and made an evil plan to get rid of her.
He became her trainer and made her sing excessively for long hours. He started pointing out her mistakes and drawbacks. The nightingale received a huge response. Animals from miles gathered around to listen to her sweet song, and the cunning frog took an admission fee from them. The strain of training and singing was too much for that delicate and innocent bird. She grew sad and pale and miserable.
The frog scolded her as she could not sing sweetly any more. The nightingale had to bear his scolding and exploitation. She lost the beauty of her voice. The other creatures stopped coming to hear her sing at the concerts arranged by the wicked frog.
The frog was very angry at the failure of the nightingale. He asked her to puff her lungs to follow the fashion of the stage. The nightingale puffed up, that made her vein burst and she died. The frog described her as a foolish creature. She was nervous, tense and prone to influence. The frog was victorious and sang unrivalled in the Bingle Bog.