I Can't Help It!

And now, Professor Nightingale, acted like an actor, monologuing, "O my brothers and sisters! In a mural—at least—there is a poetry. Poetry, is a variety of literature which, its language, bound by rhythm, dimension, rhyme and the arrangement of lines and stanzas. Or more easier, Poetry, is a variety of literature, which, in its language, carefully arranged. Poem is a free poetry, which is not bound by rhyme and dimension, and is not bound by number of lines in each stanza. Syair, is an old poem, in which, each stanza consists of four lines, ended with the same sound.

For some people, Poetry, is a form of freedom and expression. It is one of the many creative ways, to release feelings of anger, or happiness, from the human mind. The intensity of every rhythm, word, and style, of each poem, allow readers to uncover deeper significance to the context.

Listen to this simple poem of Matsuo Basho's frog haiku,

古池や蛙飛こむ水のおと

[Furuike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto]

And Allen Ginsberg's translates it to,

The old pond—a frog jumped in—Kerplunk!

I didn't plan to talk further about poetry, but I wanted to deliver an apologue, about toads. Don't know the difference between a frog and a toad? You aren't alone. While frogs and toads are both amphibians, they are separate families of animals. And while they are similar in many ways, they do have differences, although they are not always clear cut.

All toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads. Basically, toad is a classification of frog. And here's another fun fact: There's no scientific distinction between a toad and a frog. Confused yet? Who could blame you? In terms of scientific classification, both frogs and toads belong to the order Anura, which means "without a tail." Within the order Anura are several families of animals, including Ranidae, which are referred to as true frogs, and Bufonidae, which are referred to as true toads. Other families of frogs and toads exist — for example, tree frogs are a different family of frogs than true frogs — but these are smaller groupings of species, and some are specific to certain regions of the world.

While many frogs and toads look similar, there are some differences. For example, frogs typically have long, strong hind legs that aid them in leaping, while toads have shorter hind legs more suitable for walking than hopping. The difference in their legs, also leads to a behavioral difference, when approached by humans. Frogs will usually use their long, strong legs to leap into the water when approached, while toads are more likely to sit still and wait it out. If toads do jump away, their jumps are shorter than frogs'.

Frogs usually have big, bulging eyes, while toads' eyes are more subtle in appearance. Frogs have smooth or slimy skin that is moist, toads have thicker, bumpy skin that is usually dry. The differences in their skin, are because of their typical environments. Frogs spend more time in the water or are usually very close to water while on land, so their skin stays moist. Toads, on the other hand, spend more time on land and travel further from water. Unless you live very near water, you're more likely to see toads in your yard, because they travel farther from water.

All toads are poisonous, while frogs are not. Toads have parotoid glands behind their eyes that secrete toxins. These toxins permeate their skin, so you can come into contact with them if you pick them up. Most of the toxins are mild to humans, but you should always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling a toad.

Both frogs and toads, lay their eggs in water, but you might be able to tell them apart by the egg arrangement. Frog eggs are usually one mass or cluster, while toad eggs are usually arranged in a chain. And both frogs and toads, are indicators of a healthy ecosystem. They can't live in polluted habitats and are sensitive to changes in their environment, so the presence of frogs or toads is a sign the habitat is healthy, while a sudden change in their presence can indicate the area has become polluted or is otherwise unbalanced. Then, what if, there was an incident, a monitor lizard eat the toads?

Before we dive into the apologue, as usual, I want to give an advice to my ego, that good advice, ought to be always followed without our being prejudiced upon account of the person from whom it comes: but it is seldom that men, can be brought to think us worth minding, when we prescribe cures for maladies with which, ourselves are infected. How shocked must people have been, to hear one, have been very zealous in censuring crimes, of which none were suspected more than themselves.

Best deeds are consistent, even if it is small. Our beloved (ﷺ) said,

اكْلَفُوا مِنْ الْعَمَلِ مَا تُطِيقُونَ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الْعَمَلِ أَدْوَمُهُ وَإِنْ قَلَّ

“Take up good deeds only as much as you are able, for the best deeds are those done regularly even if they are few.” [Sahih Muslim]

From this hadith, we can learn that, building consistency, is very important.

Let's plop into the apolog,

It was said, in a continent, there were three tribes, lived next door, the Toads Community, the Commonwealth of Ants, and the Scorpion Kingdom. However, why were the Toads mentioned only as a community? In antient times, the Toads, lived an easy free life among their lakes and ponds; but at length grew dissatisfied with such a continuance of undisturbed tranquillity. The toads, so proud of their nationality, they raised it above religion, ethics and moral. One of them declared, "Religion is just a means or a vehicle." In fact, the chairman of the Ideology Board of the Toads Community, which once allowed adultery among juvenile toads, once proclaimed, "Religion is an ideological barrier!"

In fact, they were more likely to believe in myth than reality. There's a myth, growing, "Once upon a time, when the Sun announced his intention to take a wife, Venus, the Toads lifted up their voices in clamor to the sky. Ishtar, goddess of war and sexual love, counterpart of the West Semitic goddess, Astarte, disturbed by the noise of their croaking, inquired the cause of their complaint. One of them said, “The Sun, now while he is single, parches up the marsh, and compels us to die miserably in our arid homes. What will be our future condition if he should beget other suns?"

They'd believe in Ishtar, rather than Allah. So, they petitioned Ishtar for a king. A demon, disguised as Ishtar, smiled at their folly, and threw them down a log of wood, and with a thundering voice said, “There is a king for you.” With this, and the sudden splash it made in the water, they were at first quite panic-struck, and for some time durst not put their heads up; but by degrees they ventured to take a peep, and at length even to leap upon the log. Not being pleased with so tame and insipid a king, they again petitioned Ishtar for another, who would exert more authority. Ishtar, disgusted at their importunate folly, sent them a Stork for their king, who, without ceremony, eat them up whenever his craving appetite required a supply.

Since then, they hadn't obtained any king and a kingdom. The current Toad-king, was the non-sense king they chose as a symbol. Two toads were neighbors. One inhabited a deep pond, far removed from public view; the other, lived in a gully containing little water, and traversed by a country road. The toad, lived in the pond, warned his friend to change his residence and entreated him to come and live with him, saying that he would enjoy greater safety from danger and more abundant food. The other refused, saying that he felt it so very hard to leave a place to which he had become accustomed. A few days afterwards, a heavy wagon passed through the gully, and crushed him to death under its wheels. A scorpion, watching and remembering the surviving toad. The first became the Scorpion-king, and the later, appointed as the Toad-king.

Then, the Commonwealth of ants, were destined, ruled by the Toad Community. But, the Toads were unable to conquer the Scorpion Kingdom, unless they invited them to have a mutual-cooperation.

Why did it happen? The Toad-king, leaping out of the lake, and taking the advantage of a rising ground, made a proclamation to all the beasts of the forest, that he was a great physician, and could heal all manner of diseases. This discourse, with the aid of some hard cramp words, which nobody understood, made the beasts admire his learning, and give credit to every thing he said. At last, the Scorpion-king, who once knew the Toads-king, was present, with indignation asked him, how he could have the impudence, with those thin lanthorn jaws, that meagre pale phiz, and blotched spotted body, to pretend to cure the infirmities of others?

Instantly, all the beasts present, dispersed. But unfortunately, the ant messengers, arrived too late. The wise said, "Never come late. Be on time!" The ants asked what had happened, and informed by the toads, that the Toad-king received recognition from the beasts. The ants, were asked to do so, and they did. The ants was too late to know, it was all just the toads' wishful thinking.

And at one time, when the world was determined to be hit by a plague, the Toad-king made a rule, there should no any throng. One ought to distance, at least 1.5 metres away from another. The rules applied to all, including the Ants. However, the rules, just as a scratch on paper, because it was translated as, "like or dislike." Someone who was consistent, behaved in the same way, had the same attitudes towards people or things, or achieved the same level of success in something.

Consistency, usually implies a positive sense of dependability. If you show consistency at the work place, your manager can depend on you. Definitions of consistency, a harmonious uniformity or agreement among things or parts. But anyway, Consistency is not a skill or talent, you have direct control over it.

In reality, the grill, was getting farther away from the toaster. Once, a toad throws a massive party, attracting a large crowd, but wasn't penalized. Various ridiculous reasons emerged from the Toads. On the other hand, once, there were ants, swarmed, they were immediately taken away and imprisoned. They tried to ask for an explanation, water-canon—not lachrymator, because it didn' work for the ants—as the answer. The Scorpion-king qustioned the Toad-king, "Why did you do it? Don't you know, ants like to swarm?" The Toads-king answered, "I can't help it! It's my nature."

One day, when the Toad-king was distributing groceries and t-shirts—and I couldn't imagine what if the Toads were wearing t-shirts—inviting a crowd. The Scorpion-king, who was passing by, rebuked him, "Why did you do it, didn't you recognized the rules you made yourself?" The Toad-king retorted, "I can't help it! It's my nature."

Ultimately, one day, the Scorpion-king and the Toad-King, met on the bank of a babbling stream. It's too treacherous to cross, so the scorpion nicely asked the toad to carry him across on its back. This made the toad a little suspicious. He asked, “How do I know, you won’t sting me?” The scorpion reassured, “Because if I do, I will die too.” That sound reasoning, relaxed the Toad's nerves. So, he allowed the scorpion to climb aboard and they shoved off across the flowing water. They got halfway across the stream and the scorpion stung the toad directly in the middle of his back. The toad felt the onset of the scorpion's poison and starts to sink. He managed one dying breath, "Why?!" And the scorpion replied, "I can’t help it. It’s my nature!" And their destiny, like Pharaoh and his troops, drowned into the Read Sea.

Parallel with the sinking of the Scorpion and the Toad, children of men sang,

The toads croak, the toads croak

croaking at the river bank

ribbit kwaak ribbit kwaak

ribbit ribbit kwaak

The professor concluded with a request, "There are tons of references to the Scorpion and the Toad across pop culture, it's sneaked its way into countless movies and TV shows. Try to find out, who are  the real Scorpions, and who are the real Toads! And Allah knows best."

References :
- Thomas Bewick, Bewick's Select Fables, Bickers & Sons
- Rev. Geo. Fyler Townsend, M.A., Aesop Fables, George Routledge and Sons

Bahasa