The Leap-Frog

Once upon a time, a Flea, a Grasshopper, and a Leap-frog wanted to see who could jump the highest. They invited everyone in the whole world, and everyone else who wanted to come, to watch the contest. Everyone agreed they were three famous jumpers when they all met in the room.

"I will give my daughter to the one who jumps the highest!" said the King. "It's no fun jumping without a prize."

The Flea stepped forward first. He had very good manners and bowed to the crowd on all sides. He came from a noble family and was used to being around people, which made a big difference.

Then came the Grasshopper. He was much heavier, but he was polite and wore a green uniform that he had from birth. He said he belonged to a very old Egyptian family and that in the house where he was staying, everyone thought highly of him.

Actually, he had just been brought in from the fields and put in a pasteboard house three stories high, made from playing cards with the colored side in, and doors and windows cut out of the Queen of Hearts.

"I sing so well," he said, "that sixteen native grasshoppers who have chirped since they were babies, but never got a card house to live in, grew thinner than before just from hearing me."

That's how the Flea and the Grasshopper introduced themselves, and they thought they were good enough to marry a princess.

The Leap-frog said nothing. But people thought that meant he was thinking even more. When the house-dog sniffed him with his nose, he agreed that the Leap-frog came from a good family. The old councilor, who had been given three medals just to keep quiet, said that the Leap-frog was a prophet. He claimed you could look at his back and tell if the winter would be mild or harsh, which not even the man who writes the almanac could do.

"I say nothing, it's true," said the King, "but I have my own opinion anyway."

Now the contest began. The Flea jumped so high that no one could see where he went. So everyone said he hadn't jumped at all, and that was dishonorable.

The Grasshopper jumped only half as high, but he landed right in the King's face. The King said that was rude.

The Leap-frog stood still for a long time, lost in thought. Everyone thought he wouldn't jump at all.

"I hope he's not sick," said the house-dog. Then, pop! The Leap-frog made a jump sideways right into the lap of the Princess, who was sitting on a little golden stool nearby.

Then the King said, "Nothing is higher than my daughter. So to jump up to her is the highest jump of all. For that, you need understanding, and the Leap-frog has shown he has understanding. He is brave and clever."

And so the Leap-frog won the Princess.

"It's all the same to me," said the Flea. "She can have the old Leap-frog for all I care. I jumped the highest, but in this world, merit is rarely rewarded. People only care about a fine exterior these days."

The Flea then went off to serve in a foreign country, where they say he was killed.

The Grasshopper sat outside on a green bank and thought about the world. He said, "Yes, a fine exterior is everything – that's what people care about." Then he began chirping his sad, special song, from which we have taken this story. And it might not be true at all, even though it's printed here in black and white.