The Frog and the Scorpion
For Mr Christopher Jarvis, the onlie begetter of the ensuing musicke
Once upon a time, although not so very long ago, there lived a frog by the side of a stream that flowed round the foot of a mountain. He spent his time jumping in and out of the cool water, chasing the butterflies, sucking up juicy insects, burping a lot..... and, when he had the time, composing songs. The frog loved writing music, and in the evenings, when the moon shone brightly above and the stars twinkled in the darkening skies, he would whip out his glockenspiel and sing one of his own special songs. Sometimes he chose a happy song, sometimes a sad one, but his favourite was "The Dream Song", which was half way sad and half way happy. And sometimes when he sang it, he would hear his own voice coming back from the mountain as an echo.
I love to sit beside the stream
And dream the night away (away)
And all is well as well can be
And life is sweet, it seems to me, (seems to me)
And everything is quite O.K.
Oh how lovely to sit beside the mountain stream. (echo)
I have the stars for company
And creatures of the night (the night)
And though they never say a lot
They're all the friends that I have got ( I have got)
So everything is quite all right
Oh how lovely to sit beside the mountain stream. (echo)
I sometimes wish that I could find
A friend to call my own. (my own)
A frog, maybe, or maybe not,
But someone who would share my lot (share my lot)
And stop me feeling so alone.
It gets lonely a bit beside the mountain stream. (echo)
And so, all things considered, the frog was quite happy, although he did find himself wishing he had someone to share all this beauty.
Well it just so happened that way up in the mountain there lived a scorpion who was also lonely but not happy at all. He'd lived his whole life on the mountain, and decided it was time for a change.
"Life on a mountain is good enough for some," he said, "but I'm a scorpion with ambition. There are places I wanna see, new worlds I wanna discover. I need change, I need action, but most of all I need to get off this darned mountain and start living!"
And so one day, without saying goodbye to anyone, (because there was no-one to say goodbye to), he left his mountain home and set off on his adventures.
On about the third day he came to the stream at the bottom of the mountain, and for a moment it seemed that his adventures were at an end, because he couldn't swim.
He wandered off to the left for a while, but there was nowhere to cross. So he scuttled off to the right, but still couldn't get across. And then, just as he was about to give up, he heard the sound of beautiful music. His beady eyes zoomed in on the frog sitting on the opposite bank. The scorpion thought for a moment, and then, smiling to himself, called across the river.
"Hey! Mr Frog! How ya doin' over there? I hope you're mighty fine! Hey! Mr. Frog! Yeah man, I'm talkin' to you! I got an idea! What d'ya say to comin' over here and hearin' what I gotta say..hmmmmm?"
Hey Mr. Frog!
This could be your lucky day, Mr. Frog!
How would you like to come over to me
If you're free, I think we could be
Good for each other.
That's why I say
Oo, Mr. Frog!
I could be so good for you, Mr. Frog!
If you got nothing to do
Why don't you take a swim
Step right in to a shining adventure.
It's easy to see
You're a frog who's gonna be a star.
What a very special frog you are!
And I think I can help you on your way.
We could be friends, you and I,
Let's see what fortune sends.
We should try to get together.
You should be there at the top of the tree.
You could be there if you listen to me.
Come here, Mr. Frog!
Ain't a thing for you to fear, Mr. Frog!
You'll be living in clover with me!
Swim over to me!
(spoken) You know you want to!
Now the frog was a very simple frog, and knew little about the world. In fact, he was very green! But he did know that scorpions can be dangerous, especially when they lift their poisonous tail in the air. But, being a good-hearted little soul, and wanting so much to find a friend, he cautiously swam over to the other side of the stream.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Scorpion?"
"Mr Frog!" said the scorpion, "My name is Benjamin Truelove Hornblower, but you can call me Ben. Everyone else does! Now tell me, what was that superb music I heard? Was that you?"
"Yes it was," replied the frog, delighted to have found someone who liked his songs so much."
"Hey my little slimey dude!" said the scorpion, "you're clearly a genius! Why don't you just carry me across this big watery thing, and I can sit and listen to more of your delicious music!"
"Er....excuse me, Mr. Scorpion.. I mean, Ben," stammered the frog. "You certainly seem very kind, but how do I know you won't sting me while you're on my back?"
"Oh heavens above!" said the scorpion, " you've been watching too much Jerry Springer! I am hardly likely to do a thing like that! If I sting you, and you drown, then I'll drown too. Now what would I wanna do a crazy think like that for?!"
This all seemed very logical, and not wishing to offend the scorpion the frog agreed to take him across the stream.
As he swam across to the other side the frog - so happy to have found a new friend - began to sing a little song that popped into his head just at that very moment.
Ngoh! (etc)
O what a bright and beautiful morning
Sun in the sky and songs to be sung
I made a new friend, got me a true friend
Feel like my life has just begun.
I got a feeling Benjamin Truelove
Is gonna be one heck of a friend.
Happiness waiting round ev'ry corner
Colourful rainbows round the bend
La la la (etc)
Ngoh! Griddip! (etc)
La la la (etc)
Suddenly, just as they were approaching the other side of the stream, the frog felt a sharp sting burning into him. His limbs went numb, and he began to struggle. Desperately trying to keep above water, he felt himself getting weaker and weaker.
"What have you done?" he cried. "You've stung me. Now we'll both drown! Why did you do it? We shall both die!"
"Not we, little fella!" replied the scorpion, and with a deft little kick he hurled himself off the frog's back and landed neatly on the shore.
"Sorry about the sting thing, by the way. I just can't help meself. Maybe it's just my nature.
Thanks for the ride, Mr. Frog. I do hope you'll excuse me if I don't hang around. I do so hate goodbyes! You seem to be a frog with problems, and I'm not really qualified to help you."
And with that the scorpion scuttled off to start his new life.
Slowly and silently, the poor little frog disappeared into the water, until with a 'plink', he was gone
A small bubble rose to the surface, and then another, until the water was still again.
A leaf fluttered down, marking the spot where the frog had disappeared.
Very slowly the leaf turned, then gradually it spun faster and faster, until it was spinning wildly like a Catherine wheel.
As if joining in with dance, the water picked up the rhythm and started whirling around too, until it churned up great waves.
There seemed to be something stirring under the surface.
Rippling and bubbling, a dark shadow started to appear.
And then, with a mighty WHOOOOSHH!!! the surface of the water broke and a giant turtle appeared, swimming wildly towards the shore, with the frog on his back.
The turtle scrambled up the bank of the stream as fast as he could, and gently lowered the frog onto the ground. He stood there for a while with a very sad look in his eye, every now and then nudging the frog with his wet nose.
A minute passed, and then another, and still the frog didn't move.
But then, almost imperceptibly, the frog began to stir. He opened his eyes and stared around weakly, giving a little jump of surprise when he saw the giant turtle.
"Please don't hurt me!" he cried. "I'm in enough trouble already!"
"Oh don't worry about me," answered the turtle. "I saw everything.
You met Mr. Scorpion. What a dodgy geezer he turned out to be!
There are quite a few like him, I'm afraid. You need to be a bit more careful choosing your friends, Mr. Frog.
I dare say you have learned an important lesson today.
But enough of that! If you're feeling strong enough, how about some music?
We miss hearing your luvly melodies down at the 'Merry Mermaid'.
Come on! Give that glockenspiel a bit o'the ole one, two!
You get ready and I'll fix us some grub!"
And so while the turtle went off to gather a selection of flies and bugs and wriggly worms, the frog took out his glockenspiel, and almost at once a new song popped into his head, and by the time the turtle returned he was ready to perform it.
And this is the song that the frog sang to the turtle, not just then but several times after that, because the turtle became a very good friend indeed, and would visit the frog at least once a day, but usually more often.
When life is bad nothing going right
Feel the angry bite
Of the winter weather
That's when I'll be standing by your side
Everybody needs a friend
Before you came I was feeling bad
Always very sad
Underneath the weather
And now you're here, standing by my side
Everybody needs a friend
Life is full of traps and scorpions
It's so easy to fall
Sometimes people smile a lot
But they're not your friend at all
Careful how you go
Take it nice and slow
One day you will meet a friend
Whose love will never end
Who will stand next to you
And be honest and true
And never let you down
When you think you're gonna drown
He'll stick around
When life is bad nothing going right
Feel the angry bite
Of the winter weather
That's when I'll be standing by your side
Everybody needs a friend
Before you came I was feeling bad
Always very sad
Underneath the weather
And now you're here, standing by my side
Everybody needs a friend
Merry Christmas to you!
Merry Christmas to you!
