◎ Chuang Tze
Once there was a frog that lived in a well. One day, a giant turtle left his home in the East China Sea to play, and passed a well by chance. Looking up to see the giant turtle, the frog greeted him, “Hi, who are you? Where are you from?”
The giant turtle replied, “I am giant turtle, and come from the East China Sea. Why are you staying here? Come out right now. It’s so crowded. Do you want me to help you out?”
The frog refused, “To tell you the truth, I really don’t want to go out. Here is so comfortable. It is like paradise. When I’m happy, I may jump on the edge of the well . When I feel tired, I may have a good rest in the cave on the wall of the well. When I am full, I may sing a few songs. When I have nothing to do, then I look up to see whether
white clouds float past over the well. What a free life. The best place in the world is this well.”
Hearing what the frog said, the giant turtle felt very funny, “But your well is really so small. Have you ever seen the ocean?”
The frog said, “Never. The ocean? Is it even greater than this well?”
The giant turtle answered, “The ocean is so vast that no one knows how vast it is, and it is so deep that no one can image its depth. When a flood happens on the land, the water in the ocean will not increase because of this, and when a draught hits the land, the water in the ocean will not reduce either. The ocean is boundless. I will fail if I spend my whole life trying to find its end. The ocean is truly so enormous, so living in the vast ocean is true happiness!” The frog was very amazed at what the giant turtle said: There is such a large place as the ocean in the world. The frog realized that his vision was too narrow, and lowered his head.
