The Frog and the Wig

Shirley was a beautiful frog, but most of her friends were mammals. She knew she was an amphibian, but surely she could be like her hair-covered friends one day. Shirley tried with all her might to look like the mammals. At first she put some pond moss on her head. The otters laughed saying, "Shirley, you're a frog. Frogs don't have hair! Take that off your head!" Shirley was crushed, but was still determined. She looked on a fallen branch and found some tree moss. Shirley proudly put the tree moss on her head, but the squirrels exclaimed, "Shirley, you're a frog. Frogs don't have hair! Take that off your head!" Still determined, Shirley hopped around until she found a ball of fur* on the ground. She thought, "This is it. Now I'll fit in with my friends when they see I have real hair!" Shirley worked hard to fashion a wig and placed it carefully on her head. She hopped proudly around the glen with her wig, but her haired friends just shook their heads and laughed, saying "Shirley, you're a frog. Frogs don't have hair! Take that off your head!" Broken-hearted, Shirley hopped to a tree, threw off her wig, and wept. A wise mole came by. As everyone knows, moles spend most of their lives underground and have poor eyesight. She asked Shirley, "Why are you crying friend?" Shirley replied, "I want to be like my friends with hair. I tried pond moss, but the otters laughed. I tried tree moss, but the squirrels laughed. Then I found real hair and made a beautiful wig, and everyone laughed. I wish I weren't a frog! I'll never be like everyone else!" The mole replied, "Here, here Shirley." She continued, "The otters are happy working and playing in the water, the squirrels climb the trees, and I, well, I spend most of my time burrowing underground. Each of us is unique." "The other animals aren't laughing at you because you're a frog. You are a wonderful creature with many friends who happens to be a frog. You don't have to have hair to be like everyone else. You are liked for who you are." (*) Edited from patch of hair. See comments for details. ©2006 Mike Ritter, All rights reserved.