Just As Fine As Frog’s Hair

A long, long time ago, there lived a frog named Harry. Harry was a handsome fellow, with big, yellow-grey eyes; strong and muscular hind legs for hopping; and a tightly curled coat of short, coarse green hair.

Now, it may strike you as odd that Harry was covered with hair, but in those days, all frogs were hairy. Harry was quite proud of his looks in general and his coarse, green hair in particular. He would look at his reflection in the pond and think, "What a fine and handsome fellow I am. Surely, I am the most perfect work of the creator"

One day, as Harry sat admiring and praising himself, an otter swam by. The otter blinked his shiny brown eyes at the frog's self-congratulations. He slid out of sight in an underwater back-flip and surfaced right in the middle of the frog's reflection. "Hey there,

fine fellow," he chirped. "You really are rather attractive, but looks aren't everything, you know."

"Hey, get out of my reflection," Harry croaked, "That won't help you look as handsome as me."

The otter smoothed his sleek, soft fur and rolled in the water. "your hair is fine to look at," the otter said, "but, who wants to be close to such a scratchy, harsh thing? My fur is so soft and fine that everyone who sees me wants to snuggle near." With that, he slipped into the depths and disappeared.

Harry stared into the pond as his reflection cleared. Somehow, it didn't look quite so wonderful as before. The lovely, prickly, green hair was now less than perfect. It should be soft and strokeable and finer than the otter's.

For days, Harry brooded and finally he resolved to take his concerns to the Creator. As he hopped into the Presence, it struck him that this might not have been his best idea, but for such a magnificent fellow, there was no backing down.

"Is there a problem, Harry?" the Voice asked.

Well, Almighty," Harry said, "I've always thought I was your most perfect creation, but, since I spoke to the otter, I see a flaw in the design. I think my hair should have been made softer and finer so all who see me want to snuggle close. Also, I'd like to have hair MUCH finer than that braggart otter."

The Creator was silent for a long moment, then asked, "Are you sure that's really what you want? You know, the otter has fur, not hair and its softness suits the otter's ways."

"Oh, yes, Almighty. Please give me the softest, finest, sleekest hair in all creation. Then I will be truly perfect."

"Very well," said the Creator, "You shall have your wish, but you will be changed forever."

As the sun rose, the next morning, Harry leapt to his favorite rock to gaze at his reflection. Gasping, he jumped back with a startled croak. He didn't recognize the creature who looked back at him! Gone was the curly, bristly green hair and in its place was bumpy, greenish-brown skin. Where was his soft, fine hair???

A passing dragonfly flew in for a closer look. He focused his huge eyes on Harry's skin and, sure enough, under strong magnification, there did prove to be minutely fine hairs on Harry. So fine were those hairs that they lay, softly invisible against his bumpy skin. Harry had gotten his wish, but was he content? Well, I'll leave that to you to guess, but he was changed forever, just as the Creator had promised and his children and grandchildren and all his descendants were changed and today you won't find a frog whose lumpy skin doesn't look bare. It isn't, you know, but you just can't see anything because there is simply nothing finer than frog's hair!