The Frog
Most ‘frog’ folktales involve a frog prince or at the very least a male frog. However, in this story from Italy, a female frog makes friends with a young man and helps him keep his mother happy as he searches for a wife. Little does the young man know that his perfect woman is sitting on a rock beside him. Three possible morals: 1) Sometimes we don’t appreciate those around us enough; 2) Often the thing we are looking for is right under our noses; 3) Or how about the English idiom beauty is only (frog) skin deep.
It’s time for another folktale. This one is about dissatisfaction and greed. A poor fisherman catches an enchanted fish and sets it free. When he tells his wife, she is angry that he did not demand a wish in return. She sends him to ask the fish for a nicer house. When the fish grants this, the wife becomes greedy. She sends her husband back several times to ask for bigger and bigger things. Her final wish is so outrageous that the fish either will not or cannot grant it. The fisherman is no doubt happy with what happens next.