Two frogs from Japan

Two frogs from Japan
Once upon a time in Japan there lived two frogs. One frog
lived in the city of Osaka in a quiet little ditch outside of
town. The other frog lived in a clear, flowing stream near
Kyoto. The frogs, of course, did not know each other.
One day the frog who lived in the ditch in Osaka overheard
a man talking as he passed by. "There over the mountain, is
beautiful Kyoto," said the man. At once the frog in the
ditch came up with a plan. "I too would love to see the city
of Kyoto, she said. "I think I will climb the mountain and
go there to see for myself."
At the very same time, the frog who swam through the
crystal waters of Kyoto thought, "My home is lovely, but
surely there is more to see in the world."
So, each frog set out to cross the tall mountain that
separated the two cities. At last, huffing and puffing, the
frog from Osaka came to the very top of the mountain. Just
at that moment she felt a blade of grass beside her shiver.
"Who's there?" cried the frog from Osaka
Who indeed!? Of course it was the frog from Kyoto who
had, at last, reached the mountain peak. "Hello," said he. "It
is I, a frog from Kyoto."
"Harrumph," croaked the frog from Osaka, "I am from
Osaka. I have traveled far and wish to see your land."
"That is my plan precisely," said the frog from Kyoto. I
mean to see the city of Osaka, for it is a place that I have
never seen."
The frog from Kyoto puffed out his throat and said: "It is
true that we are tiny and the grass is tall, but my gracious
friend, we frogs of Kyoto are famous for our intelligence."

The frog from Kyoto closed his eyes and thought for a long
while. At last he leaped into the air. "Come, dear friend,
and I shall stand upon my hind legs and turn toward you,
and you shall stand upon your hind legs and turn toward
me. We shall hold each other up this way. Then we shall be
taller than this tall grass, and we will be able to see the
cities of our dreams."
The frog from Osaka agreed. "A good plan," said she.
And so up they hopped, onto their hind legs. They held
each other steady, and the frog from Kyoto looked one
way, and the frog from Osaka looked the other.
The frogs, alas, made one mistake. The frog from Kyoto
faced Osaka, and the frog from Osaka faced Kyoto, but as
you know, frogs' eyes are set so far back upon their heads
that when they looked down both frogs were actually
looking at their own city. The frog from Kyoto looked out
and saw the city of Kyoto, and the frog from Osaka looked
out and saw the city of Osaka.
"Oh my," said the frog from Kyoto, "Osaka looks very
much like Kyoto."
"My thoughts precisely," said the frog from Osaka. "Your
city looks almost exactly like the city I call home."
"There seems no point in traveling all the way down the
mountain just to see a city so very like my own," said the
frog from Kyoto.
"No point indeed," said the frog from Osaka. "I think I shall
return back home. Farewell, dear friend."
"And farewell to you."
With that the frogs hopped down the mountain, back to
their homes, happy to think that their home was as good as

any other home, and almost exactly the same.