The Scorpion and the Frog

[Neo]

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The Scorpion and the Frog

One day, a scorpion looked around at the mountain where he lived and decided that he wanted a change. So he set out on a journey through the forests and hills. He climbed over rocks and under vines and kept going until he reached a river.

The river was wide and swift, and the scorpion stopped to reconsider the situation. He couldn't see any way across. So he ran upriver and then checked downriver, all the while thinking that he might have to turn back.

Suddenly, he saw a frog sitting in the rushes by the bank of the stream on the other side of the river. He decided to ask the frog for help getting across the stream.

"Hellooo Mr. Frog!" called the scorpion across the water, "Would you be so kind as to give me a ride on your back across the river?"

"Well now, Mr. Scorpion! How do I know that if I try to help you, you wont try to kill me?" asked the frog hesitantly.

"Because," the scorpion replied, "If I try to kill you, then I would die too, for you see I cannot swim!"

Now this seemed to make sense to the frog. But he asked. "What about when I get close to the bank? You could still try to kill me and get back to the shore!"

"This is true," agreed the scorpion, "But then I wouldn't be able to get to the other side of the river!"

"Alright then...how do I know you wont just wait till we get to the other side and THEN kill me?" said the frog.

"Ahh...," crooned the scorpion, "Because you see, once you've taken me to the other side of this river, I will be so grateful for your help, that it would hardly be fair to reward you with death, now would it?!"

So the frog agreed to take the scorpion across the river. He swam over to the bank and settled himself near the mud to pick up his passenger. The scorpion crawled onto the frog's back, his sharp claws prickling into the frog's soft hide, and the frog slid into the river. The muddy water swirled around them, but the frog stayed near the surface so the scorpion would not drown. He kicked strongly through the first half of the stream, his flippers paddling wildly against the current.

Halfway across the river, the frog suddenly felt a sharp sting in his back and, out of the corner of his eye, saw the scorpion remove his stinger from the frog's back. A deadening numbness began to creep into his limbs.

"You fool!" croaked the frog, "Now we shall both die! Why on earth did you do that?"

The scorpion shrugged, and did a little jig on the drownings frog's back.

"What did you expect? I could not help myself. It is my nature."

Then they both sank into the muddy waters of the swiftly flowing river ... and died.

Self destruction - "Its my Nature", said the Scorpion...

[NonEntity]

Neo Wrote:The Scorpion and the Frog

Your uplifting quote for the day, huh Neo?  ;D

- NonE

[eye2i2hear]

[img width=238 height=167]http://www.davidgagne.net/images/funny/kermit.neo.jpg[/img]
Sorry up front Neo, but this is one of the too typical 'analogies' or 'metaphors' that just don't work for me.  [the first term being perhaps significant in including the word "anal"... :o ]

For starters, it's offered that we're supposed to be learning of "nature"... yet right out of the gate, we've got talkin' insects & animals; much less conversing one's, indicating an ability to reason logically/empirically?!?  How froggin' friggin' natural is that, Kermit?

Put it up there with listening to parables by a guy that says he's goD in the flesh (where factually all we've got with the most popular contemporary version of such is that someone says he said...)

Put it up there with old Santa "making a list and checking it twice"...

So, point being, do scorpions have such a "nature"?  Gosh, let's see, when's the last time I saw one conversing with a reptile, much less reasoning on getting from point A to point B...

Wouldn't such, in order to be an analogy, at least have the conversation be between two scorpions?  Or two Kermits?  [of course we can stay in the feel of it as is and simply have a frog went to courtin', yes he did, down at the pig sty and stay 'in character'... but of course ole Kermie's nature will be to rape Miss Piggy]

Ok, so then what about human "nature"?  Is it every human's nature to coldly con, deceive, and kill another species? (that's one aspect of the so-called fable here that's often overlooked, aye?  not to mention that the significant other here actually fulfills their need/desire)
Kermit, the convict nature 

Ok, then is it the nature of every human to do it to any and all other's of their own kind?  Is it universal?  I'd offer that the study is still going around in circles on that one-- except for those accepting doG's in the flesh "in the beginning"; they've got THE WORD on it all.  And of course any of like "kind", that dwell in the likes of belief and faith (and rabbit's feet or talking scorpions)... Aseop's ToonTown...

While I can appreciate the effort, sorry again, but it just seems confusing to me at best.  Religious and/or superstitious suspicious nonsensical at worst...



[but wait... maybe its in the sign... maybe Kermit's a scorpio...]

[Neo]

We're free to interpret it anyway we want.  I interpret it to mean, if you have problems with someone, it may be that they can't help hurting you, so accept it as fate and your ignorance in seeing, up front, that you were dealing with a Scorpion, so it's not like you had no warning.  It also means YOU may be the Scorpion and you have conned yourself into believing you can change.

The Scorpion represents the "culture of death": politics, war, conflict, strife, prejudice, bias, self-destructiveness, evil, hypocrisy, delusion, ignornace, vice, junk food, smoking, drug-taking, alchohol, self-made disease, etc..  Within this message board can be found Scorpions, or part Scorpions, though it may not be apparent up front who they are until too late, just as in the story.

[Marc Stevens]

I think eye2 wins the "over-the-top response of the day" award for that last post. ;D