Somehow the summer turned out to be especially hot. The sun was hot day after day, but there was no rain. There was a severe drought. Even the old well in Kyoto, where a frog lived, has dried up. She thought and thought about what she should do, and decided to move to another place. “Osaka, they say, is a busy city, and the sea is close there!” I want to look at the sea. - And the frog went from Kyoto to Osaka.
But there was also a drought in Osaka. The water even in the lotus pond has dried up. The frog that lived there looked at the cloudless sky all day long and finally said with annoyance: “You can’t stay in Osaka any longer!” Kyoto is the capital of Japan, there is probably a lot of interesting things there. - And the frog from Osaka went to Kyoto. Both frogs set off at the same time, as if they had agreed: one from Kyoto to Osaka, the other from Osaka to Kyoto.
The frogs reached Mount Tendozan, which stands halfway between Osaka and Kyoto. And it was here, on a mountain pass, that they met. The frogs called each other, greeted each other warmly and got to know each other.
The frog from Kyoto began to tell the frog from Osaka about the capital. The frog from Osaka began to tell the capital frog about his city. The frog from Kyoto was very disappointed to learn that there was no rain in Osaka either. The frog from Osaka was terribly upset when he learned that there was a drought in the capital as well. But both did not dare to believe each other until they looked with their own eyes. “Well, I’ll look from the top of the mountain at Kyoto,” said the frog from Osaka. “And I will also look at Osaka,” responded the frog from Kyoto.
Then both frogs stood up on their hind legs and started gawking with their big eyes. The frog from Kyoto tried to get a better look at Osaka, and the frog from Osaka, of course, wanted to see the capital.
Suddenly the frog from Kyoto shouted: “What is this!” This vaunted city of Osaka is exactly like Kyoto! They chatted: “There’s a sea, there’s a sea!” And you can’t even see him!
The frog from Osaka also screamed: “What a disgrace!” They chatted: “Ah, Kyoto, ah, the capital!” I thought there were beautiful gardens and wonderful buildings, but what! Kyoto is just another Osaka. - Well, if Kyoto is so similar to Osaka, what is interesting about it? - Well, if Osaka is so similar to Kyoto, what is good about it?
Both frogs decided that it was not worth going further. The frog from Kyoto must go to Kyoto, and the frog from Osaka must return to Osaka.
But in fact, this is what happened: the frog from Kyoto saw not Osaka, but his hometown, and the frog from Osaka also saw not the capital, but old places, Because the eyes of frogs are on their backs, and when they rose on their hind legs, they began to look not forward, but back.
The frog from Kyoto returned home to his well and began to tell: “There is no sea in the world!” And the frog from Osaka settled in the pond again and from then on taught his children: “Kyoto, that Osaka is ours!” One glory is that it is the capital, but in reality it is the same small town!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru