⏱ ~5 min reading
In a small pond, hidden in the shade of an old willow, lived a frog. Her name was Skakulka. She was green, with bright golden eyes and long strong legs, with which she so cheerfully pushed off from a water lily leaf.
The little frog loved her pond, but it still felt a little cramped. Because she had a dream. A big one, one of those that ripen in little hearts for a long time and never disappear.
She dreamed of seeing the sea.
Skakulka learned about the sea by accident. One summer morning, she jumped too far and ended up on the porch of her grandmother's house, which stood right next to the pond. The door was open. On the table lay an open picture book. And there—a whole page long—was it. The sea.
The little girl sat on the threshold for a long time and looked. The sea was blue-blue, right up to the very edge of the page. On it stood white crests of waves. Birds with long wings flew above, and on the sand lay strange little shells, like scattered buttons.
"I want to go there," whispered Skakulka. "I want-I want-I want.".
From that day on, she thought only about the sea. She croaked about the sea with a snail. She asked a sparrow about the sea. She asked everyone:
— And what about the sea?
The sparrow shook its little head and answered:
"Far away, Jumping. Very far away. You won't be able to jump that far in your whole life.".
The stork just clicked its red beak and said:
"I'm flying there on wings, little one. And you don't have any wings.".
But Skakulka didn't give up. One morning, when the dew was still on the grass and it smelled of wet mint, she gathered all her courage, patted the smooth water of the pond with her paw - as if saying goodbye - and jumped onto the shore. And then she jumped further. And further. And more.
Thus began her journey.
For a whole week, Skakulka traveled. She jumped across meadows where daisies were in bloom. She crossed warm paths where grasshoppers were chirping. She hid from the heat of the day in the coolness of burdocks. At night, she slept in soft moss, curled up in a small ball.
She met various acquaintances along the way. A dignified stag beetle with shiny antlers walked through the grass.
“Where are you going, little one?” he asked in a low voice.
"To the sea," Skakulka replied proudly. "It's big, big and blue.".
The stag beetle nodded his antlers. He didn't say "that's far" and didn't laugh. He just brought her a few drops of a plantain leaf in a drop of water. The little hopscotch drank it and thanked her.
The next day she met a mouse with a red back. The mouse treated her to a grain of wheat. On the third day, a hedgehog carrying an apple on its needles. He rolled the apple on the ground and gave her a piece of the sweet side.
"Strength is on the way," said the hedgehog seriously.
If someone asked Skakulka what she remembered most, it wouldn't be the trails themselves. It would be these little drops of kindness from others. Because there was something warm in each one that she hadn't noticed at home before.
Finally, on the seventh day, when her legs were already a little sore and the sun was setting behind the hill, Skakulka saw water. Lots of water! Smooth, large, with white flowers on the surface and tall reeds along the edges.
"The sea!" she shouted and jumped into the water. "I've reached it! I've reached the sea!"
She was splashing and jumping and singing as loudly as she could. Then suddenly she heard a calm, bass voice:
"Who is it that I hear here?"
On a large round lotus leaf sat an old, old frog. Gray-haired, wise, with eyes like two amber beads. He looked at Skakulka and smiled faintly.
"I..." - The little jumper stopped. "I reached the sea! I traveled for a week!"
The old frog laughed softly.
"A small one," he said gently. "This is not the sea. This is our big pond. Near the neighboring village.".
— How? — The little jumper froze. — Isn't it the sea?
"Not the sea," the old frog shook his head. "The sea is thousands of kilometers away. Far, far away, where the earth ends and the other side of the world begins.".
The grasshopper felt bitter. Her strength suddenly seemed small. Her legs felt weak. Seven days were wasted. She quietly sat down on a water lily leaf and lowered her head.
The old frog did not laugh at her. He swam closer, sat down next to her, and they were both silent.
And then Skakulka slowly raised her eyes. And she saw.
The evening covered the pond with a soft pink-golden light. White lotus flowers glowed softly on the water, like little lamps. Two blue dragonflies danced above the reeds. The sun was setting in red-orange hues, and every cloud was on fire. In the depths of the pond, small fish swam like silver needles.
The little bird looked and looked. Her mouth opened wide.
“And here…” she whispered. “And here it is beautiful.”.
"Yes," nodded the old frog. "Good.".
They were silent for a while longer.
"You know, little one," said the frog quietly. "I've lived a long time. And I've noticed one thing. Sometimes a dream doesn't come true where we expect it to. Sometimes what we're looking for is closer than we thought. We just haven't learned how to see it yet.".
The little bird thought. She remembered her native pond under the willow. The deer beetle on the path. The mouse with a seed. The hedgehog with an apple. This pond with lotuses and dragonflies. The sun setting in red.
"So..." she said slowly, "so my journey wasn't in vain. I saw so much. And I met so many good people.".
"It turns out like this," the frog smiled. "And you know what? You now have your own sea. Because what you like to look at is your sea.".
The little bird stayed on that pond for a few days. Then for a few more. Then forever. This pond became her sea. Not the one in the book, but her own, warm, with lotuses and the evening sun.
And sometimes, on quiet evenings, she would sit on a water lily leaf and remember her journey. And she would smile. Because she knew: sometimes we go far, far away to understand how beautiful it is where we have arrived.
✨ Sometimes what you're looking for is closer than you thought ✨