I dreamed last night of a battle field of frogs much like opposing human soldiers we have seen in their violent play: there was a general leading his battalion to war riding a bloated frog-soldier; and the frogs used reed to pound and beat their enemies; and some used green shoots as rifles and many a frog, I can assure you, they did croak in the battlefieldβ¦
What does this dream of the war of frogs presage for us mice and rats in the city? I have yet to ask the owl that hoots nightly in the hollow of the tree in the park but my instinct tells me there'll be a great human battle and we'll have plenty to eat for generations to come
poem based on a sketch by Kawanabe Kyosai (Japanese, 1831-1889), Ink; the rats mentioned in this poem are the rodents, not the human kind...