Judge, 1915-09-11 · page 16 of 28
Judge — September 11, 1915 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a fable illustrated as social commentary. A boastful frog challenges a cautious turtle to a race. Despite the frog's superior speed and arrogance, an unexpected wild duck—representing unforeseen external forces—catches and kills the frog mid-race. The turtle, humble and conservative, survives by reaching the bank. The moral, attributed to R.A. Ballinger, warns that overconfidence and assumptions about outcomes are unreliable. Success depends not on apparent advantages but on factors beyond one's control. For Judge's readers, this likely critiqued American business culture and political confidence of the era—cautioning that boastfulness about competitive superiority (whether commercial or political) ignores unpredictable circumstances that determine actual outcomes. The "uncertainty of success" is the title's theme.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
FROG and a turtle were sitting on a log disputing as to their relative abilities in swimming. The frog loudly boasted how fast he could glide through the water, and that no creature could catch him. The turtle, being of a conservative mind, said, “T will race you if you will give me a strong handicap.” “Anything you want,” said the frog. This being arranged, away they went, the turtle laboring with his short legs and the frog making foam with his vigor ous strokes. A wild duck sitting in some reeds near by had heard the boasts of the frog. “Very well,” she said, to herself, “I see a good meal for me; and with the aid of foot and wing she soon had the frog in her bill. The turtle, puffing from his labors and seeing the race ended, crawled onto the bank, te- marking, “No man can foresee what the end may be; and many a race is won without being run.” kA. Ballinyer Aa) Mt Dry ee CRN d Pirhe