An Indian Folktale
A frog lived in a deep water body. He used to spend the night in a hole on the bank of the deep tank. Early in the morning he would come out of the hole and move along the tank in search of food.
One morning, when he was about to come out of the hole he noticed that a snake was lying just in front of the hole. He was sure that the snake would catch and kill him as soon as he would get out of the hole. So he stayed back in the hole.
In the afternoon he felt very hungry. But he could not come out as the snake was still there lying in front of the hole in the same posture. Three days passed in this manner.
The frog was almost dead with hunger. He would die at the mouth of the snake if he went out of the hole. But if he could not go out in search of food, he would die of starvation. So he had no alternative but to decide to come out.
He came to the mouth of the hole and with all the strength of his body made a big jump so as to reach the tank. Getting into the water he got some relief; ate a few worms; played with some other frogs and got on a leaf from where he tried to see if the snake was still there in front of his hole. He found that the snake was lying in the same posture without moving an inch even.
He thought, “What is the matter? I should go closer and find out. The snake cannot catch me since I am very near the water.”
He went close to the snake and to his utter surprise, found that it was not a snake but the skin of a snake who had shed off the skin as a natural process.
The frog laughed at his own foolishness and muttered:
“Who knew that it was you, the skin of a snake and not a snake. And I was starving for three days without reason”.
Such things can happen to anybody who tries to escape imaginary adversaries without verifying the reality.