THE ULTIMATE FROG

A modern parable, first printed in Harper's in 1924, since then reprinted in many tongues, now appearing for the first time in book form. An oddity, perhaps, but it has an enduring quality, with sound metaphysical implications. The gist of the fable is man's craving for the ultimate, which each pursues in his own way, with no sense of mutual harmony. Old man Saunders, considered half crazy, chooses his own means, -- the establishment of a frog quartet; he finds three, but is shot down by the sheriff just as he has discovered his missing member. The lesson is fairly obvious -- but there's an ironic twist at the close.