In the heart of Angola, where the riverbanks glisten beneath the sun and the reeds quiver with hidden life, there lived a frog named Kumboto. Unlike most of his kin, who dwelled content with one simple home, Frog had taken two wives. He built a dwelling for his first wife in the east and another for his second wife in the west. Between them, in the middle ground, he kept his favorite resting place, where he could hear the call of both houses. This was the way he tried to balance his divided heart.
Life in this arrangement was uneasy. Though both wives cooked diligently and tended to their homes, jealousy lurked beneath their duties. Each wanted her husband to favor her above the other, and each waited for proof that she alone commanded his loyalty.
The Meal of Mush
One day, as the dry season stretched over the land, both wives prepared mush. Each worked quickly, and by chance their meals were ready at exactly the same time. The head-wife, proud of her seniority, sent a messenger running with the words: “Go and fetch your father.”
The younger wife, not to be outdone, sent her own messenger with the same command: “Go and fetch your father.”
The messengers traveled across the ground, and as fate would have it, they reached Frog together. The first announced, “They sent for thee.” The second added, “They sent for thee.”
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Frog froze in place. His heart sank, for he knew the trap that lay before him.
Frog’s Dilemma
“If I go first to the head-wife,” Frog thought, “the other will say, ‘You favored the elder and forgot me.’ Yet if I go to the younger, the head-wife will cry, ‘You have run to your sweetheart and dishonored me.’ What am I to do?”
Caught between the sting of jealousy and the pull of duty, Frog did not move east or west. Instead, he lifted his voice in sorrow, and from his throat poured a mournful chant:
“I am in trouble! I am in trouble!
I am in trouble! I am in trouble!”
His song echoed across the reeds, trembling with his anguish.
The Origin of the Croak
From that day forward, people who heard Frog’s croaking voice in the marshes thought he was merely calling “Kuo-kuo! Kuo-kuo!” Yet those who knew the tale understood better. They said he was not croaking at all but confessing his eternal plight, forever lamenting:
“I am in trouble!”
Thus, the cry of Frog became a lasting reminder of his burden, two wives, two demands, and no path that could please both.
Moral Lesson
This Angolan folktale teaches a lesson on conflict and favoritism. Frog, in seeking to balance two wives, found himself caught in endless trouble. His attempt to divide affection led not to harmony but to suspicion and strife. His cry became the voice of all who struggle with divided loyalties and the impossibility of pleasing everyone at once.
The story warns that favoritism and indecision only deepen conflict. True peace cannot come from trying to satisfy both sides at the same time; it must come from honesty, fairness, and commitment.
Knowledge Check
1. Who is the main character in the folktale?
The main character is Frog Kumboto.
2. How many wives did Frog marry, and where did he build their homes?
He married two wives—one lived in the east, the other in the west.
3. What meal did both wives cook at the same time?
Both wives cooked mush.
4. Why was Frog troubled when both wives sent for him?
Because whichever wife he visited first, the other would feel slighted and accuse him of favoritism.
5. What does Frog’s croaking symbolize in the story?
It symbolizes his endless lament, repeating: “I am in trouble!”
6. What cultural origin does this folktale belong to?
It is an Angolan folktale.
Source: Kimbundu folktale, Angola .
