Misadventures in the Land of Fables #31

My latest fable, ‘The Frog and the Flowers,’ was inspired by this painting by Japanese artist, Kitagawa Utamaro.

What is going on in this strange image?

I don’t know for certain. The plant, I think, is a bonsai, a miniature tree planted in a container. Here the container seems to be the mouth of a frog, elsewhere it’s the mouth a turtle, and sometimes, perhaps more commonly the container is excavated from its shell. This suggests something decorative, as too does the surface on which it sits, with the choice of creature bound up with the local symbolism, the frog meaning good fortune, rebirth?

But the frog is also rendered expressively. Its upright front legs seem tense as if the bonsai growth had arrested its ability to move, and the small yellow eye framed by a dark, arching brow, appeals to us for aid or explanation.

My fable responds to that expression, and follows on from ‘The Frog and the Butterfly‘ in its fascination with the amphibian’s lengthy, predatory tongue. I’m afraid it is not a tale of good fortune, or rebirth.

You can read it here: ‘The Frog and the Flowers‘