The Fortunate Froggy
Long ago, in a hamlet on the outskirts of a kingdom, there lived a farmer. He was a little man with a big round face, a rounder belly, beady eyes, flaring nostrils, and a largemouth. People often called him Master Froggy, for, he looked like a frog. But he was witty and had a ready tongue. In fact, the villagers held him in respect because they believed he could predict the future. It so happened that his wife had a pair of rather peculiar legs. Their condition varied with the change of weather. By and by, Kuang, for that was the Froggy's real name, found that he could forecast the weather with the help of his wife's legs. When they ached then it meant it was going to be overcast. When they swelled, he expected heavy rain, so on and so forth. One fine sunny morning, when there was not a speck of cloud in the blue sky, Kuang put on his raincoat, held his umbrella, and was ready to set out for work.
"Have you gone off your head?" shouted his wife. "Putting on your raincoat when the sun is raining fire, Oh, how my legs have swelled! It's almost unbearable!" "Ah! Ah!" he chuckled. "Didn't you say your legs had swelled? We are soon going to have real rain." On the way, his friends laughed at him, saying, "Is something really wrong with you, old Kuang, for you're sporting a raincoat under a burning sun?" Kuang smiled and nodded. Not before long, black clouds covered the sky. Gusts of wind blew. Lightning flashed, thunder rolled, and it began to rain heavily. Everyone got drenched and was cold. Except, of course, old Kuang! One day, when the sky was overcast with cloud, he asked his wife, "Dear, have your legs swelled?" "Why should they? They feel fine!" was the reply. So, Kuang went out without his raincoat, whereas everyone else had it on. But soon the sky got clear and the sun shone brightly. People really began to wonder and asked him how he could forecast so correctly. "I Just came to know," was his casual reply. For, it would have been rather embarrassing to reveal the secret link between his wife's legs and the weather. People believed that he had powers to predict the future. The village folks began consulting him whenever they were in difficulty.