Do You Understand the Two Frogs Poem?

Translations required to understand once-familiar farm-country phrases.

By Clell G. Ballard
Updated on March 13, 2023
article image
Cans used in the milk trade were heavy-duty with lids that fit snugly down into the neck. The cans came in many sizes and each had some way for the owner’s name to be clearly spelled out on it so he could be credited. It would be returned to the owner to be refilled. The cans were so durable that they lasted for years.

For 35 years, I taught in a small rural high school during the school year and worked on my uncle’s farm in the summer. Most people would describe the school, located 40 miles from the nearest town, as “being out in the wilderness.” Although it drew students from miles around, the student body size averaged about 75 kids in grades nine through 12. Obviously, there were few teachers. Each one of us had to be qualified to teach several subjects. For example, I taught five different subjects in a six-period day.

Although most of my training was in social studies, I was required to teach speech (actually, public speaking) to the juniors. Since everyone needs to learn to express himself clearly, students were required to take the class. Studies have shown that public speaking is one of the three most stressful events a person can experience (the other two being loss of a spouse and the loss of a job). The class had to consist of training that would be useful.

One of the things I tried to teach the students was how to use their voices effectively. Probably more than the actual words a person uses, the inflection in the voice produces results in the hearer. To accomplish that, the students needed to have what they were going to say well in mind. Thus, one project required each student to choose a short poem (at least three stanzas), commit it to memory and then deliver it to the class with appropriate voice inflection. Something memorized can be spoken without difficulty with the focus on how the voice was being used. As you can guess, the students hated the project!

Learning from The Two Frogs poem

A good leader never asks his followers to do what he wouldn’t do. Therefore, every year I recited a poem for the students, showing how to illustrate voice inflection. Although there were terms in the poem that they didn’t understand, the students loved it! In fact, the “Frog Poem” was so popular that, several times each year, students would request that I deliver it. Out of the clear blue sky, some student would say, “Hey Mr. Ballard: Quote the frog poem.”

The poem tells a meaningful story. I explained to the students that many small farmers regularly sold milk in special cans to nearby creameries. “Watering down,” as this farmer did, was not acceptable. When the can got to its destination and was opened, the frogs in the can were a dead give-away that the milk in the can had been adulterated and it would not be accepted.

Online Store Logo
Need Help? Call 1-866-624-9388