The Owl and the Frog

No. 1 – Here is my very first Rhyme from the Nose to Tales series. I hope you enjoy it.

To listen to The Owl and the Frog, press the play button below.

The Owl and the Frog

To-whit To-whoo
and down swooped the owl
all feathers a flutter
out on the prowl


Mr Frog had not seen
that his belly was out 
and the quick silent owl
was ready for a late night take out


As she landed nearby
much protesting ensued
as he asked why it was
that he should be her food


The owl looked down
beak open and ready
and said to the frog
“I have an empty belly.”


"Now I do love a reptile
late in the night,
it helps me to sleep
till at least midnight"



The frog thought quick
and replied to the owl
“I’m not a reptile,
I’m a fish, can’t you tell?”


The owl stepped back
and made a loud splutter
and said to the frog,
“Yuk, I can’t stand a fish supper!”


So she took off and left
without our small little frog
who quickly went off
and camouflaged himself


Now two days later
and what should occur
but this wise old frog
was again out much lat-er


This time he was sat
when behind him he heard
the familiar whoosh
of an owl as he stirred




It was the local brown owl
who had come for a feast
and this little frog
was just up his street


He again asked the owl
why he would be dinner
when there was plenty to choose from
out in the river


The brown owl replied,
“Oh I love a good fish,
and you look so tasty
I can hardly resist!”





The frog then replied,
“But I’m in disguise,
You see I’m a reptile
Just look at my eyes!”


“My skin is all gooey
and I need a good wash
I think in the river
the fish have just sploshed.”


The wood owl stood tall
and looked quite unwell
“I am not eating
a frog with a smell.”


With that he leapt up
and flew out of sight
the frog smiled wryly
and disappeared into the night





Now the lesson you see
is to think out the box
for there will be times
you need to be as sharp as the fox


To keep you from danger
You'll need all your wits
so using your skills
make sure you commit


There's no greater urgency
than this moment right now
to learn from our frog
and use your know-how.





by Maurice Randall

A Short Commentary

I still remember writing this in my old house back in South Africa. The owl made such a swooping sound that I felt like she had come right into the room to tell me this story.

This was the start of my rhyming stories and though I lacked the self-confidence to post this back all those years ago, today that is a different story.

The lesson is one that we could all learn more from. To use our abilities in all situations whether it be to get out of danger or be a help to someone.

We have multiple talents and endless abilities in such a wide array of different guises that we can choose to be anything we want.

I know there is plenty that can be said for deception and the ills of using it to alter what is good, but in order to ensure survival when brute force is unavailable, then one needs to use the tools available to them.

Listening to a Magician many years ago they were talking about an experience that allowed them to avoid getting beaten up by a man in the street who had had a little too much to drink. It was dark and the man was highly aggressive.

The magician thought for a moment, and decided that he was no physical match for the drunk man who was of superior physical strength and so resorted to a similar tactic in order to avoid the fight and get home safely.

He asked the drunk man about the wall that he had just finished building and what he thought of it. (The wall did not exist nor was the magician a builder)

In the confusion and the drunk, perplexed by the change in tack from fight to wall admiring, the magician wished him well and wandered off as if it were a normal conversation they had just had. That afforded him enough time to get away safely and avoid any trouble he hadn’t intended on having.

A deeper level to this would also be that the very action of the frog and the magician was that they enable an opportunity for the others to do the right thing and so avoid any of the consequences that go together with doing the wrong thing.

I hope you found it as much fun to read (or hear) as it was for me to create.