summary on the frog and the nightingale
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‘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.