Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character. 1 Corinthians 15:33

Once upon a time, there lived a selfish frog in a village pond. He was so selfish that the other creatures of the pond always stayed away from him.

One day, the lonely frog happened to meet a rat in the nearby tree hole and decided to be friends with him. Without knowing the true nature of the frog, the poor rat accepted his friendship.

Every day, the frog met the rat and they talked for a long time. Before saying goodbye for the day, he used to invite the rat to his home. The rat kept rejecting the invitation politely. One day, after many persuasions, the innocent rat accepted the frog’s invitation and followed him to the pond.

When they reached near the pond, the frog invited the rat to enter the water. Knowing the danger of entering the pond, the rat quickly said ‘no’ to the frog.

After being assured by the frog that he will take care of him, the rat finally decided to venture into the pond. To give more confidence to the rat, the frog tied both their legs together with a long thread.

Once in the water, the selfish frog showed his true nature. Without paying any attention to his friend’s condition, he plunged into the pond. The helpless rat, unable to swim, eventually drowned in the pool.

His lifeless body soon floated above the pond and caught the attention of a hungry eagle hovering above the pond. The eagle dashed to the pond and lifted the rat with his beak.

The eagle was in a for a surprise, the frog tied to the end of the thread too was lifted out of the water. Having caught both the rat and the frog, the eagle enjoyed a heavy lunch that day.

Bad friends are just like this frog. They will always drag others to destruction.

Love and friendship are two basic emotional needs of every human being. People are constantly searching to fulfill these needs. They are often fulfilled through our family and friends. However, sometimes sour family relationships force children to search other means to fulfil their needs.

We must be always careful while choosing friends and when socializing in the current society. The world is not as straightforward as it looks. Many with an eagle’s eye will often try to lure desperate children into their vicious traps, only to exploit them in all possible ways. Once, they fall into their traps, it will be difficult to come out. Quite often they will meet the same end as seen in the above story.

As the Holy Bible says: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1