# The Frogs Who Desired a King

_Retold by Talerie (talerie.com) from The Fables of Aesop_ · 2 min read · ages 4+

Frogs living happily in a marsh ask Jove for a king, and he throws down a huge Log that frightens them until they see it never moves and dance on it. When they ask again for a real king, an angry Jove sends a big Stork that gobbles the Frogs up one after another, and the Frogs are sorry, but it is too late.

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Once upon a time the Frogs lived in a marsh that suited them perfectly. They were as happy as could be. All day long they splashed about, caring for nobody, and nobody bothered them.

But some of them decided this was not right. Every swamp, they said, ought to have a king and proper laws. So they agreed to send a petition up to Jove, the king of the gods.

“Mighty Jove,” they cried, “send us a king who will rule over us and keep us in order!”

Jove laughed at their croaking. Then he threw a huge Log down into the swamp, and it landed with an enormous splash.

The Frogs were frightened half to death. They all rushed to the bank and stared at the horrible monster in the middle of their swamp. But after a while, when they saw that it never moved, one or two of the boldest crept out toward the Log, and one even dared to touch it. Still it did not move.

Then the greatest hero of the Frogs jumped right up onto the Log and began dancing up and down on it. At that, all the other Frogs came and did the same. From then on they went about their business as usual and paid no attention at all to their new King Log, lying there in the water.

This did not suit them either. So they sent another petition up to Jove.

“We want a real king,” they told him, “one that will really rule over us!”

This time Jove was angry. He sent them a big Stork, and the Stork soon set to work gobbling the Frogs up, one after another.

The Frogs were sorry they had ever asked, but by then it was too late.

**Moral:** Better no rule than cruel rule.

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- Read online: https://talerie.com/en/tales/the-frogs-who-desired-a-king
- Also known as: The Frogs Who Wished for a King, The Frogs Asking for a King
- Author's country: Greece (https://talerie.com/en/tales/country/greece)
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3233086
- Tale type: ATU 277, Perry 44 (per Wikidata)
- Source: The Fables of Aesop, selected, told anew by Joseph Jacobs (1894) (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28)
- Public-domain basis: Talerie contemporary retelling (CC0 2026), based on: The Fables of Aesop, selected, told anew by Joseph Jacobs (1894) — translation: author died 564 BC (+70 passed); translator Joseph Jacobs died 1916 (+70 passed)
- License: CC0-1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)