Webly's Well

Two frogs, Wisely and Webley by name, lived in a bonny marsh in the English countryside. One exceptionally hot summer, there was a drought, and Wisely and Webley decided to find a better home. After hours of walking, they came to a large, deep well that was not quite full. “Let’s jump in here and make ourselves comfortable. It looks quite cool down there,” Webley remarked blithely. “No, no!” replied Wisely, who was somewhat more discerning. “This well has been affected by the draught. What if it were to dry completely? How would we get out?” But his words were wasted on Webley who had already leaped into the well. Sadly, Wisely kept walking, because he was thinking that, when Webly was bored, Webly would follow him. After some time, Wisely came upon a stream and started to build a house.

Some days later, Webley woke with a start, feeling bare earth beneath him instead of water and mud. He suddenly realized that the well had been draining over the past days. Now it was empty. With all of his voice, Webley shrieked, “Help, help! I’m stuck in the well!” Soon, a little mouse named Berry heard him and promised to jump down with the rope. But, unfortunately, Berry was rather forgetful, and she jumped into the well without the rope. “Don’t worry,” she instructed. “ I’ll dig a hole out of the well and throw the rope down to you.” She promptly started and was halfway done when a rabbit passing by noticed Webley. “Hello down there,” he called. “What are you doing in that well?” Webley, who had quite forgotten Berry by now, said, “I’m stuck in this well with no way to get out. Could you please send down the rope?” “I can do better than that,” said the neighborly rabbit, “this rope is too short. Even with your froggy legs, you couldn’t reach it. But, I’ll hold on to the end of the rope, and you can jump up and catch hold of my foot.” So the rabbit picked up the rope and jumped into the well. But, because Webley looked so small from the bottom of the well, the rabbit held on a little looser than he ought. Needless to say, the rabbit lost his grip and fell into the well. Just then the earth started to shake.

A month later, Wisely was strolling towards his friend Bernard the Bears’ house. He was in a jolly mood because Bernard always told amazing stories. When Wisely arrived, Bernard greeted him with a smile. “I have a friend for you to meet. He will be telling a story instead of me. Now hurry inside, or dinner will get cold.” After a delicious dinner and a lively discussion with Bernard’s friend, Boris, Wisely, who was stuffed to the brim, asked Boris if he could begin the story. “Of course I can!” replied Boris with a laugh. “It goes like this. Last month I was walking to my well to get some water to cook with when I saw a rabbit swing down into my lovely well. I lost my temper and stomped all the way there. And what do you think I saw? Inside the well, there was a frog and the rabbit. I got so angry that I swallowed them whole. I immediately regretted it and vowed never to eat another small animal again.” That night, Wisely went home with a heavy heart, knowing that his friend was dead. But, that did not stop him from becoming very good friends with Boris, because after all, he was a nice bear.

You may be wondering what happened to Berry. She escaped through the tunnel that she had made and went home. In the end, everyone, including Berry and Wisely, forgot about Webley and his well.