The Eagle’s Gift


Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.

Arthur Schopenhauer

A community of frogs lives in a deep well. Alongside the well is a tall tree on which an eagle nests. The frogs have always lived in the deep well, from which they have never gone out, nor can they move out of it on their own; they only dream of the external world. Every night the granny frog tells bedtime stories to the young ones in the well. Most of the stories have been passed down over generations with an occasional improvisation here and there. Often, the eagle listens to the stories.

One morning, when the thermals had begun rising in the air, the eagle swoops down into the well, grasps one little frog in its claws and rises up with the thermals. The height and the fear of death grip the little one. The eagle stays with the thermal, circling the well and when it finds that the little one has calmed down a bit, it releases the frog from its claws. The frog lands back in the same well, unhurt and glad to be back, yet feeling elated and different.   

During the ride the frog had opened its eyes for a brief moment to get a glimpse of the world outside the well. The eagle returns to the tree waiting for the sun to set, to hear the new stories. 

How would the story telling ritual in the community of frogs be different that fateful night?

What would have been the main story narrated and what impact would it have had on the community of frogs?