Summary of the chapter 'The Frog And The Nightingale'

                                          Summary

Once in a bog, a frog sat under a Sumac tree and croaked all night in a loud and unpleasant voice. The other creatures loathed his voice but their complaints, insults and brickbats couldn't stop him from croaking. He was insensitive to the feelings of other creatures and the disturbances he was causing. 

On a moonlit night, a nightingale perched on the sumac tree and sang entrancingly into the night. The creatures of the bog were mesmerized by its exquisite melody. The frog listened, dumbstruck; and all stared at the tree with joy and surprise as they had never heard such a beautiful voice before. At the end there was a huge applause. While the nightingale serenaded her song, ducks swum and herons waded close to her and applauded her for her beautiful voice. The frog was sad and cried because he had never received such praise ever before. Every one praised the nightingale for her sweat voice and said that her voice was divine.

Next night, when the simple bird prepared to sing, the cunning frog interrupted and posed as a music critic. When the nightingale asked her if he liked her song he said that her technique was fine, of course, but it lacked a certain force. The nightingale always sang for herself so she was not used to any kind of criticism, she defended herself by saying, ''At least its mine''. The frog brushed her claims aside saying that without proper training she would be a nobody. The heartless frog convinced the nightingale that she was in need of training that only he could provide. The nightingale, lacking in confidence and extremely gullible, agreed and flattered him, saying that he was Mozart in disguise. She readily agreed to be a trainee of the frog. The frog capitalized on the nightingale's servile attitude and said that he would charge a modest fee, which would not harm her. The nightingale was beaming with joy as she was under the training of a Mozart. She became a sensation overnight. Lacking in confidence and true discernment, she gushed that the frog, with his croaking voice, was a Mozart come to teach her.

The nightingale soon become famous and the frog grew richer, earning money from her concerts. Eminent personalities like the Owl (Earl) of Sandwich and Duck (Duke) of Kent attend the concerts. The frog sat and watched with mixed feelings of happiness and bitterness. The frog was happy because he was earning money and jealous because the bird was receiving so much attention.. The frog charged for tickets and earned from her performances. He felt both sweet and bitter as he pocketed his cash---sweet because of the money coming in and bitter because the nightingale's lovely voice was so applauded by one and all.

The frog now starts her training in earnest. He made her sing in the pouring rain for hours. Her voice was hurt, and she shivered in the cold. Still he made her sing through the night. He insisted that she should sing faster and louder like him and follow the fashion of the times if she wanted to be famous. Under such harsh non-stop training and criticism, the Nightingale lost her beautiful voice and her singing became uninspired and mechanical. The constant reprimands by the frog made the voice of the nightingale uninspiring. The cash collection dropped, and the people found her voice dull and monotonous. It made her morose and depressed. The frog asked her to follow the trends and said that her voice should have more trills and trips. The animals stopped coming to listen and she grew sorrowful and pale. She had gotten used to the flame and cheering and it no longer delighted her to sing alone in the forest. The stony hearted frog scolded her for not singing well enough. The dwindling audiences made him loose money. He reminded the poor bird that she still owed him sixty shillings.

The frog, unsympathetic, dismissed her off - calling her 'stupid'. A shrewd judge of character, he summed her up saying that the nightingale was too nervous and prone to influence, hence bringing her own downfall. The frog was stone hearted and shameless as he washed his hands off the death of the nightingale saying that she should have known that her song should have been her own and that she was too gullible. Now, the frog once more sings at night in his bog - unrivaled. The frog projects himself as a confident and wise creature who knows what is right and wrong. The poem teaches us not to be gullible and to realize our self worth.

Reference of question answer-https://shivamkv655.blogspot.com/2017/09/extra-questions-of-frog-and-nightangle.html