Once upon a time, at the edge of a golden meadow, there was a quiet, peaceful marsh. A marsh is a type of wetland with only short plants, flowers, and weeds. This was the home of Grandpa Gulp, an old bullfrog who had lived a long time and was very wise. Always with him was his grandchild named Pip, a tiny little bullfrog himself. Pip loved to hop onto lily pads and thought the whole world was a giant playground.
One day, out of nowhere, the ground began to shake.
Thump. Thump. CRACK!
In the meadow beside the marsh, two massive bulls, Titan and Toro, were locked in a fierce battle. They weren’t fighting over something small; they were fighting to see who would be the King of the meadow. They lowered their heads and charged, their horns clashing like thunder. Dust clouds rose into the air, and the grass was torn up by their heavy hooves.
Pip watched, fascinated. “Wow! Look at them go, Grandpa! They’re like living mountains! Isn’t it exciting?”
But Grandpa Gulp wasn’t excited. He was shivering so hard his lily pad was making ripples. “This is bad, Pip,” he croaked. “This is very, very bad.”
Pip tilted his head. “Why are you worried, Grandpa? They’re way up there in the meadow. We’re down here in the mud. They don’t even know we exist! Their fight has nothing to do with us.”
“Listen to me, little one,” the old frog said. “In this world, when the giants fight, it’s the small ones who feel the bruises. One of those bulls is going to lose. And when he does, the winner will chase him out of that nice, lush meadow. Where do you think a defeated, grumpy, thousand-pound bull is going to go to hide and cool his hooves?”
Pip did not understand, and so he continued hopping on the lily pads while having so much fun.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Titan delivered a massive shove that sent Toro stumbling backward. Toro realised he had lost the fight. He was tired, thirsty, and he knew he needed to get away from Titan’s sharp horns quickly.
With a loud, angry snort, Toro turned and galloped straight down the hill, right into the marsh. As he stepped into the wet areas, his massive heavy hooves sank into the mud. Deep craters were punched into the soft moss where the frogs usually napped. It was a disaster for the creatures in the marsh! Their homes were turned upside down, and they were scrambling to get out of Toro’s way wherever he went.
Toro didn’t mean to be mean; he was just too big and too upset to notice where he was stepping. Poor Pip had to leap for his life into a hollow log as a giant hoof splashed down right where he had been sitting. Many of their friends weren’t as fast as Pip and Grandpa Gulp. The quiet marsh was turned into a muddy, trampled mess, all because the two bulls couldn’t get along.
And Pip finally understood what Grandpa Gulp meant!
The moral of the story: when powerful people, or “giants,” argue and fight, they often don’t realise that their actions can hurt the smaller, innocent people around them. It is always wise to keep an eye on the big fights, even if you aren’t part of them.