English Original
An ox, grazing in a swampy meadow, chanced to set his foot among a parcel of young frogs and crushed nearly the whole brood to death.
One that escaped ran off to his mother with the dreadful news. "Oh, mother!" said he, "It was a beast—such a big four-footed beast! That did it."
"Big?" quoth the old frog. "How big? Was it as big"—and she puffed herself out to a great degree—"as big as this?"
"Oh!" said the little one, "a great deal bigger than that."
"Well, was it so big?" and she swelled herself out yet more.
"Indeed, mother, but it was, and if you were to burst yourself you would never reach half its size."
Provoked at such a disparagement of her powers, the old frog made one more trial, and burst herself indeed.
So men are ruined by attempting greatness to which they have no claim.
中文翻译
一头牛在沼泽草甸上吃草，偶然一脚踩进一群小青蛙中间，几乎将整窝幼蛙都踩死了。
一只侥幸逃脱的小青蛙跑去告诉母亲这个可怕的消息。"哦，妈妈！"他说，"是一头野兽——一头好大的四足野兽！就是它干的。"
"大？"老青蛙问，"多大？有这么大吗？"——她使劲鼓起了自己的身子——"像这么大？"
"哦！"小青蛙说，"比那要大得多呢。"
"那，有这么大吗？"她把自己鼓得更大了。
"真的，妈妈，它确实有那么大。就算您把肚子胀破，也到不了它一半大小。"
老青蛙被这番对自己能力的贬低激怒了，她再次尝试，结果真的把自己胀破了。
因此，人们追求自身无法企及的伟大，终将导致毁灭。