Tired the frogs of their own disorder and anarchy in which they lived, they sent a delegation to Zeus to send them a king.
Zeus, attending his request, sent a thick log to his pond.
The frogs frightened by the noise made by the log when it fell, they hid where they could best. Finally, seeing that the log was not moving any more, they came to the surface and given the stillness that prevailed, they began to feel such great contempt for the new king, that they jumped on him and sat on him, mocking him restlessly.
And so, feeling humiliated by having a simple log as a monarch, they returned to Zeus, asking him to change the king, for the log was too quiet.
Indignant Zeus, sent them an active water snake that, one by one, caught them and devoured them all without compassion.
Source: Aesop's Works (600 BC - 564 BC).
That is the way in which, without using many words, Aesop easily describes the way rulers work. It is because if they do little, it is because they do little, and if they do a lot, it is because they do a lot, the rulers will always be criticized, and the reason is that with so much power only evil can be done.
I know what you will say, that a thick log sounds no doubt better than any of those who govern us today. In fact, it sounds like the best ruler ever existed.
I'm just kidding of course, but that is exactly the point of the story, learning to value things for their simplicity and modesty rather than for their action. It is also about learning to value tranquility and peace over agitation, which many times we forget how important this quality is.
I read somewhere that tranquility was even preferable to happiness, but we don't realize its value while we have it.
The role of the ruler is symbolic, of course, like the thick log, a man cannot effectively govern the entire population, and if the frogs were messy there would be no way to change their nature. Surely a tyrant is the only thing that can happen on these occasions, because an orderly ruler cannot leave an untidy population, and if the frogs did not order themselves, no one was going to do the work for them.
The frogs lost their peace of mind because of their punishment, which turned out to be nothing but the same thing they were looking for.
Fuente de la Imagen: 1
