The Frog That Wanted to be an Authentic Frog
An English Translation by Shania
There once was a Frog, who wanted to be an authentic Frog. Every day she tried hard to become one.
At first, she bought herself a mirror. She looked into the mirror for a long time, searching for the authenticity that she was desiring.
Sometimes, she seemed to find it. And, at other times, she couldn’t seem to find it. Whether or not she could see it, on that particular day or at that particular hour, depended upon her mood. She was finally tired of searching for her authenticity in this way, so she put the mirror inside of a trunk.
At last, she thought that the only way to know her own value was to consult popular opinion. She began to comb and to dress and to undress (when there was no other option), in order to know if the others approved of her and recognized her as an authentic Frog.
One day, she observed that people most admired her for her body, especially her legs. So, she devoted herself to squatting and jumping to develop better legs. And, she felt that everyone applauded her for doing so.
So, she continued making efforts until she was finally ready to do whatever it took in order to be considered an authentic Frog.
She let her legs be pulled out, and the others ate them. And, she was still able to hear with bitterness when they said, “Mmmm… What a good frog! It tastes like chicken!”
La rana que quería ser una Rana auténtica
Por Augusto Monterroso
Había una vez una rana que quería ser una rana auténtica, y todos los días se esforzaba en ello.
Al principio se compró un espejo en el que se miraba largamente buscando su ansiada autenticidad. Unas veces parecía encontrarla y otras no, según el humor de ese día o de la hora, hasta que se cansó de esto y guardó el espejo en un baúl.
Por fin pensó que la única forma de conocer su propio valor estaba en la opinión de la gente, y comenzó a peinarse y a vestirse y a desvestirse (cuando no le quedaba otro recurso) para saber si los demás la aprobaban y reconocían que era una rana auténtica.
Un día observó que lo que más admiraban de ella era su cuerpo, especialmente sus piernas, de manera que se dedicó a hacer sentadillas y a saltar para tener unas ancas cada vez mejores, y sentía que todos la aplaudían.
Y así seguía haciendo esfuerzos hasta que, dispuesta a cualquier cosa para lograr que la consideraran una rana auténtica, se dejaba arrancar las ancas, y los otros se las comían, y ella todavía alcanzaba a oír con amargura cuando decían que qué buena rana, que parecía pollo.
