A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. βDo I look like a fool?β said the frog.Β βYouβd sting me if I let you on my back!β
βBe logical,β said the scorpion.Β βIf I stung you Iβd certainly drown myself.β
βThatβs true,β the frog acknowledged.Β βClimb aboard, then!β But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown. βWhy on earth did you do that?β the frog said morosely. βNow weβre both going to die.βΒ
βI canβt help it,β said the scorpion. βItβs my nature.β
β¦But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the frog felt a subtle motion on its back, and in a panic dived deep beneath the rushing waters, leaving the scorpion to drown.
βIt was going to sting me anyway,β muttered the frog, emerging on the other side of the river. βIt was inevitable. You all knew it. Everyone knows what those scorpions are like. It was self-defense.β
β¦But no sooner had they cast off from the bank, the frog felt the tip of a stinger pressed lightly against the back of its neck. βWhat do you think youβre doing?β said the frog.
βJust a precaution,β said the scorpion. βI cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fairβs fair, isnβt it?β
They swam in silence to the other end of the river, where the scorpion climbed off, leaving the frog fuming.
βAfter the kindness I showed you!β said the frog. βAnd you threatened to kill me in return?β
βKindness?β said the scorpion. βTo only invite me on your back after you knew I was defenseless, unable to use my tail without killing myself? My dear frog, I only treated you as I was treated. Your kindness was as poisoned as a scorpionβs sting.β
β¦βJust a precaution,β said the scorpion. βI cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fairβs fair, isnβt it?β
βYou have a point,β the frog acknowledged. βBut once we get to dry land, couldnβt you sting me then without repercussion?β
βAll I want is to cross the river safely,β said the scorpion. βOnce Iβm on the other side I would gladly let you be.β
βBut I would have to trust you on that,β said the frog.Β βWhile youβre pressing a stinger to my neck. By ferrying you to land Iβd be be giving up the one deterrent I hold over you.β
βBut by the same logic, I canβt possibly withdraw my stinger while weβre still over water,β the scorpion protested.
The frog paused in the middle of the river, treading water. βSo, I suppose weβre at an impasse.β
The river rushed around them. The scorpionβs stinger twitched against the frogβs unbroken skin. βI suppose so,β the scorpion said.
A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. βAbsolutely not!β said the frog, and dived beneath the waters, and so none of them learned anything.
A scorpion, being unable to swim, asked a turtle (as in the original Persian version of the fable) to carry it across the river. The turtle readily agreed, and allowed the scorpion aboard its shell. Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtleβs thick shell. The turtle, swimming placidly, failed to notice.
They reached the other side of the river, and parted ways as friends.
β¦Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtleβs thick shell.
The turtle, hearing the tap of the scorpionβs sting, was offended at the scorpionβs ungratefulness. Thankfully, having been granted the powers to both defend itself and to punish evil, the turtle sank beneath the waters and drowned the scorpion out of principle.
A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. βDo I look like a fool?β sneered the frog. βYouβd sting me if I let you on my back.β
The scorpion pleaded earnestly. βDo you think so little of me? Please, I must cross the river. What would I gain from stinging you? I would only end up drowning myself!β
βThatβs true,β the frog acknowledged. βEven a scorpion knows to look out for its own skin. Climb aboard, then!β
But as they forged through the rushing waters, the scorpion grew worried. This frog thinks me a ruthless killer, it thought. Would it not be justified in throwing me off now and ridding the world of me? Why else would it agree to this? Every jostle made the scorpion more and more anxious, until the frog surged forward with a particularly large splash, and in panic the scorpion lashed out with its stinger.
βI knew it,β snarled the frog, as they both thrashed and drowned. βA scorpion cannot change its nature.β
A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. The frog agreed, but no sooner than they were halfway across the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown.
βIβve only myself to blame,β sighed the frog, as they both sank beneath the waters. βYou, youβre a scorpion, I couldnβt have expected anything better. But I knew better, and yet I went against my judgement! And now Iβve doomed us both!β
βYou couldnβt help it,β said the scorpion mildly. βItβs your nature.βΒ
β¦βWhy on earth did you do that?β the frog said morosely. βNow weβre both going to die.β
βAlas, I was of two natures,β said the scorpion. βOne said to gratefully ride your back across the river, and the other said to sting you where you stood. And so both fought, and neither won.β It smiled wistfully. βAh, it would be nice to be just one thing, wouldnβt it? Unadulterated in nature. Without the capacity for conflict or regret.β
βBy the way,β said the frog, as they swam, βIβve been meaning to ask: Whatβs on the other side of the river?β
βItβs the journey,β said the scorpion. βNot the destination.β
β¦βWhatβs on the other side of anything?β said the scorpion. βA new beginning.β
β¦βAnother scorpion to mate with,β said the scorpion. βAnd more prey to kill, and more living bodies to poison, and a forthcoming lineage of cruelties that you will be culpable in.β
β¦βNothing we will live to see, I fear,β said the scorpion. βAlready the currents are growing stronger, and the river seems like it shall swallow us both. We surge forward, and the shoreline recedes. But does that mean our striving was in vain?β
βI love you,β said the scorpion.
The frog glanced upward. βDo you?β
βAbsolutely. Can you imagine the fear of drowning? Of course not. Youβre a frog. Might as well be scared of breathing air. And yet here I am, clinging to your back, as the waters rage around us. Isnβt that love? Isnβt that trust? Isnβt that necessity? I could not kill you without killing myself. Are we not inseparable in this?β
The frog swam on, the both of them silent.
βIβm so tired,β murmured the frog eventually. βHow much further to the other side? I donβt know how long weβve been swimming. Iβve been treading water. And itβs getting so very dark.β
βShh,β the scorpion said. βDonβt be afraid.β
The frogβs legs kicked out weakly. βHow long has it been? Weβre lost. Weβre lost! Weβre doomed to be cast about the waters forever. There is no land. Thereβs nothing on the other side, donβt you see!β
βShh, shh,β said the scorpion. βMy venom is a hallucinogenic. Beneath its surface, the river is endlessly deep, its currents carrying many things.βΒ
βYou - Youβve killed us both,β said the frog, and began to laugh deliriously.Β βIs this - is this what itβs like to drown?βΒ
βWeβve killed each other,β said the scorpion soothingly. βMy venom in my glands now pulsing through your veins, the waters of your birthing pool suffusing my lungs. We are engulfing each other now, drowning in each other. I am breathless. Do you feel it? Do you feel my sting pierced through your heart?β
βWhat a foolish thing to do,β murmured the frog. βNo logic. No logic to it at all.β
βWe couldnβt help it,β whispered the scorpion. βItβs our natures. Why else does anything in the world happen? Because we were made for this from birth, darling, every moment inexplicable and inevitable. What a crazy thing it is to fall in love, and yet - Itβs all our fault! We are both blameless. Weβre together now, darling. It couldnβt have happened any other way.β
βItβs funny,β said the frog. βI canβt say that I trust you, really. Or that I even think very much of you and that nasty little stinger of yours to begin with. But Iβm doing this for you regardless. Itβs strange, isnβt it? Itβs strange. Why would I do this? I want to help you, want to go out of my way to help you. I let you climb right onto my back! Now, whyever would I go and do a foolish thing like that?β
A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. βDo I look like a fool?β said the frog. βYouβd sting me if I let you on my back!β
βBe logical,β said the scorpion. βIf I stung you Iβd certainly drown myself.β Β
βThatβs true,β the frog acknowledged. βCome aboard, then!β But no sooner had the scorpion mounted the frogβs back than it began to sting, repeatedly, while still safely on the riverβs bank.
The frog groaned, thrashing weakly as the venom coursed through its veins, beginning to liquefy its flesh. βAh,β it muttered.Β βFor some reason I never considered this possibility.β
βBecause you were never scared of me,β the scorpion whispered in its ear.Β βYou were never scared of dying. In a past life you wore a shell and sat in judgement. And then you were reborn: soft-skinned, swift, unburdened, as new and vulnerable as a child, moving anew through a world of children. How could anyone ever be cruel, you thought, seeing the precariousness of it all?β The scorpion bowed its head and drank. βHow could anyone kill you without killing themselves?β
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