NOTE: This is a remake of the classic “Eat The Frog” by Brian Tracey. It is just told in a way I wish it was written…
The old master sat on a stone ledge overlooking the canyon, his tattered robes fluttering in the morning wind. He held a wooden bowl in his hands. Inside it, a frog. A large, green, warty thing that looked at Talin with bulbous, judgmental eyes.
Talin swallowed. “You… want me to eat that?”
The master nodded solemnly. “Indeed.”
“But why?”
“Because, young one, this is the way of the Order.”
Talin glanced over his shoulder at the distant temple, where dozens of acolytes sat meditating, oblivious to his suffering. He turned back to the frog. It croaked, a low, ominous sound that might as well have been a death knell.
“I don’t understand,” he admitted. “What wisdom is there in eating a frog?”
The master sighed, as if disappointed that the lesson had to be explained. “Each day, we wake to countless choices. Some are easy. Some are pleasant. And some…” He tapped the frog’s slimy head. “…are the tasks we wish to avoid. But these are the ones that shape us. They demand our courage, our discipline. Eat the frog, and the rest of the day will seem easy by comparison.”
Talin wrinkled his nose. “Isn’t there another way?”
“You could ignore the frog,” the master said, tossing the bowl at Talin’s feet. The creature hopped out, regarding him smugly. “But it will not go away. It will sit there, growing larger in your mind. By midday, it will seem a monstrous thing, a beast too great to conquer. By evening, it will haunt your dreams. And come morning, the frog will be there again, waiting.”
Talin felt a shiver run through him. He hated how true the master’s words felt.
With a sigh, he reached for the frog. It did not resist. He lifted it, feeling its damp weight in his hands.
“Do it quickly,” the master advised. “One swift bite.”
Talin took a breath. Then, with a grimace, he bit down.
The master clapped him on the back as he gagged. “Good lad! Now that you’ve conquered your greatest challenge, the rest of the day will be a simple thing!”
Talin wiped his mouth, vowing to never speak of this moment again.
The master smiled, standing. “Come. We shall discuss tomorrow’s frog.”
Talin groaned. “There’s another one?”
The master chuckled. “Always.”
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