A group of frogs was traveling through the woods when two of them accidentally fell into a deep pit.
The other frogs gathered around the edge and looked down.
When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that there was no hope of getting out.
But the two frogs ignored them and kept trying to jump out.
No matter how hard they tried, the frogs above continued shouting that they should give up because they would never escape.
Eventually, one of the frogs listened to the negative voices around him.
He lost hope, stopped trying, and fell to his death.
The other frog kept jumping with all his strength.
Again, the frogs at the top shouted for him to stop struggling and just give up.
Instead, he jumped even harder.
Finally, with one huge leap, he made it out of the pit.
The other frogs were amazed.
“Didn’t you hear what we were saying?” they asked.
The frog explained that he was deaf.
He thought they had been encouraging him the entire time.
Moral of the story:
People’s words can have a powerful effect on others. Think carefully about what you say before it comes out of your mouth.