covered feet were too slippery to get a grip, and she couldn’t just leap over the rim. She was stuck,
felt helpless, and didn’t know what to do.
She could just go on swimming, she told herself. But, although she might enjoy herself for a
while, that wouldn’t fix her problem. She could wait for someone to come and rescue her, but that
might be a long time and, if the farmer found her, he might not be too happy about finding a frog
who had just visited the pigpen swimming in his cream. If she gave up and stopped, she might drown.
Oh dear, it all felt too tough for poor little Ms. Teresa Frog.
Not knowing what to do, she did the only thing that she could do: She kept swimming. She
swam round and round in the cream, doing the frog kick, as frogs tend to do. She kicked and she
kicked. She kicked and she kicked. Then she kicked some more. Ms. Teresa Frog was determined
that she wasn’t going to give up and drown. She had to keep going, so she kicked and kicked some
more. As she did, she started to notice that it was becoming harder and harder to swim through the
cream. At first she thought she was just getting tired, but then she realized that the cream itself was
becoming thicker. Her kicking was turning the cream into butter!
With this, her hope was restored and she swam harder and stronger, continuing to circle round
and round in the bucket until the butter became so firm that she could stand on it and leap... right
over the rim of the bucket. Tired as she was, she joyfully bounced back to the pond. As she bathed
in the pond, washing the butter off her body, Ms. Teresa Frog thought to herself, “I’ve always liked
cream, but I love butter better.”
STORY 10
SEEKING HAPPINESSTherapeutic Characteristics
Problems Addressed
■ Unhappiness
■ Loss of interest
■ Boredom
■ LonelinessResources Developed
■ Learning to laugh, play, and have fun
■ Discovering the value of friendships
■ Exploring the nature of happinessOutcomes Offered
■ Knowing that we do not always get what we want
■ Learning that happiness is more than what we possess
Once upon a time there was a princess who had everything... well, almost everything. She
lived in a huge palace. After the king and queen, she was the most important person in the whole
58 Healing Stories, Teaching Stories