“Don't you know that I am deaf?” he said to them. I couldn't actually hear you yelling at me, but I saw you all jumping up and down. I thought you were encouraging me and cheering me on, so I kept trying and trying until I made it out.”

A community of frogs was making its way through a deep forest, searching for a new locale to settle down. They had been forced to relocate because the trees that provided them shelter were disappearing after the huge, two-legged creatures arrived in the area. They had been exiled from their homeland and forced to explore new, unfamiliar territory. The frogs were tired and hungry after such a long journey, so they were less vigilant about the dangers that might befall them.

Two of the frogs, Nigel and Victor, were assigned as scouts, traveling ahead of the rest of the group in search of a place they might rest for the evening or perhaps even become a permanent settlement. Nigel and Victor were concentrating on their task, searching the woods carefully, when they found a huge log blocking their path. They looked at one another, shrugged as frogs are inclined to do, and then launched themselves over the obstacle to find themselves landing in a deep pit.

By the time the rest of the group caught up with them, they found Nigel and
Victor jumping frantically to extricate themselves from the cavern. It seemed
that no matter how hard the two scouts tried, they couldn’t make it more than halfway up the steep walls. Yet it was growing dark and the two frogs were depleted from the long journey. Nevertheless, they kept trying with increasingly futile efforts.

Their companions above found this a pitiful sight. They were gathered around the pit, watching helplessly as their friends tried unsuccessfully to hop out of their prison. They shook their heads in sorrow and called down to Nigel and Victor, “There’s no way you’ll ever get out of there. Its just too deep and you'll never jump high enough.”

Nevertheless, the two frogs at the bottom of the pit tried their best to jump
as high as they could, careening into the sides of the walls. They looked pitiful in their feeble efforts to escape. Their friends only shook their heads in sadness, calling down to them again.

Please. Please. Please stop torturing yourselves. You are only making it worse for all of us. You are just tiring yourselves and making us all feel terrible because we can do nothing to help you. You may as well just give up so the rest of us can be on our way.”

Eventually, at the urging of his companions, Victor did indeed give up and lay down to die. The poor fellow collapsed onto his back, kicked his legs a few times, and then expired with a deep sigh. The audience above started screaming down to their remaining scout, jumping up and down, begging him to give up as well. “Please Nigel, don't make it so hard on yourself—and the rest of us. Just give up so we can move on.”

Strangely, their discouraging words only seemed to make Nigel more resolved to try harder. In spite of the screams of the onlookers to surrender to this hopeless situation, Nigel kept trying to jump higher and higher, gaining ground until finally, remarkably, he gave it one last extraordinary effort. He took several huge gulps of air, croaked as loud as he could, launched a running start, flexed his legs, and leaped as high as he could right out of the pit! The spectators just shook their heads in exasperation—and awe. They couldn't believe that anyone could be so persistent, so stubborn, so courageous in the face of such insurmountable odds.

Once Nigel recovered from the Herculean effort, be brushed himself off and
staggered upright. Everyone gathered around him, cheering and patting him on the back. Once the celebration ended, one of the frogs asked Nigel, “Why did you keep trying to get out of the pit when we told you it was hopeless. Didn't you hear us telling you to give up?”

Nigel looked at him for several uncomfortable moments, then turned in a circle to stare at everyone else, making them feel very nervous by the silence. To some extent, they’d been used to this because Nigel was very quiet and rarely, if ever, said anything. He was well liked in the community because they found him such a good listener even if he didn't have much to say.

Finally, Nigel started to croak incoherently and make gestures, eventually
making himself understood. “Don't you know that I am deaf?” he said to them. I couldn't actually hear you yelling at me, but I saw you all jumping up and down. I thought you were encouraging me and cheering me on, so I kept trying and trying until I made it out.”