F for FROG

“The rain would come whenever the Prince who was transformed into a Frog because of a witch's curse, cried in remembrance of his beloved Princess”. This was the story told by Balu's Grandma, and Balu believed it wholeheartedly because he loved his grandma deeply. One day, the teacher asked about the process of rain in the class, and all the students answered one by one. Finally, it was Balu's turn, and he answered confidently that the rain would come when the frog cried. The entire class laughed at Balu's answer and teased him. And Vinayan, who was his enemy, even started calling him ‘Frog’ to mock him.

Balu as a Second standard student was incapable of conceiving his Grandma’s story as a tale. Nobody except Sarasan Sir, who was his Malayalam Teacher believed his story. He was determined to prove that his grandmother's tale was true and collected a frog from local frog catchers. However, the Class teacher warned him not to bring the frog into the Class. But Balu continued to bring the frog to the school every day. Despite their best efforts, Balu and his friends were unable to make the frog cry. When Balu's father returned from abroad, his mother advised him to get rid of the frog bottle to avoid his father's wrath. Balu hid the bottle at home, but it was stolen by Vinayan, who had a fight over it at School. The drill teacher witnessed the fight and asked both of them to bring their parents to the school.

This would make Balu in a dilemma because if his father came to school, he would know about the frog. So the next day, Balu skipped class and hid himself in a grove near the school, making it a routine. However, the Drill teacher told Balu's father about his absence at school when they met each other accidentally one day, and in anger Balu's father started questioning him. Balu finally revealed everything and felt he had no choice but to throw away the frog. But how could he do so without the frog crying once at least?!