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The story of the frog and the scorpion

Lark

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Jun 21, 2009
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I was watching Brooklyn 99 last night and one of the characters talked about a story their parents had told them, about a frog and a scorpion, the scorpion wants the frog to carry it across a river, the frog says no, you'll sting me, the scorpion is no, I wont because we'd both drown in the river, so the frog takes him on his back and is crossing the river and the scorpion stings him and when the frog says why, the scorpion says its my nature and they both sink and drown.

Anyway, I dont really understand the point of the story, unless its something simple like "leopards dont change their spots", what do any of you think about it?

Also, is this like an allegorical tale for adults or is this a childrens story? What is the lesson you are trying to teach children with a story like that?
 

Andy

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I was watching Brooklyn 99 last night and one of the characters talked about a story their parents had told them, about a frog and a scorpion, the scorpion wants the frog to carry it across a river, the frog says no, you'll sting me, the scorpion is no, I wont because we'd both drown in the river, so the frog takes him on his back and is crossing the river and the scorpion stings him and when the frog says why, the scorpion says its my nature and they both sink and drown.

Anyway, I dont really understand the point of the story, unless its something simple like "leopards dont change their spots", what do any of you think about it?

Also, is this like an allegorical tale for adults or is this a childrens story? What is the lesson you are trying to teach children with a story like that?

I guess the message is "don't always expect people to act rationally" or perhaps "never give the key to the wine cabinet to an alcoholic". There are plenty of alcoholics in this world who kept drinking long after they realised they had a problem. People make plenty of promises that they mean at the time, but are unable to live up to due to their own foibles. To be honest a think knowing that people can be fucked up and flaky is a lesson best learnt early.
 

Z Buck McFate

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The wiki page about this fable is interesting. The first recorded use was (supposedly) in an Orson Welles' script from around 1950, but there is another similar tale The Scorpion And The Tortoise that dates hundreds of years earlier. In the latter the tortoise lives and drowns the scorpion for attempting to sting it.

From the wiki page:

The fable relies to a significant extent on the idea of the creature's nature, which is of ancient reputation. Attesting to this, Oliver Goldsmith dedicated a chapter to "The Scorpion and its Varieties" in A History of the Earth and Animated Nature (1774) and observes that "It is certain that no animal in the creation seems endued with such an irascible nature...I have seen them attempt to sting a stick when put near them; and attack a mouse or a frog, when those animals were far from offering any injury."

(Too lazy to expound with personal opinion on tiny shitty phone keypad).
 

ducks

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Feb 25, 2018
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Perhaps the scorpion was tired of always being seen as the villain, so he played the part of the scorpion one last and only time. Of course! It was nothing other than a murder-suicide.
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Frosty

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This thread title reminded me of mole.

I havent seen him in a while. Kinda miss him.
 
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