Once upon a time there was a frog who found a cow's hair and stuck it to his upper lip. He then hopped around in the meadow and shouted: "Look how strong I am, I've already swallowed a whole cow today!" All the animals who heard this admired the frog. Only the sparrow turned his head back and forth and said: "You're only as big as a tree nut yourself, how can you swallow a cow?" This annoyed the frog and he said: "Ah, you don't believe me! Didn't you see the cow hair on my upper lip?" Just then, a cow came running across the meadow. The sparrow saw it from afar and called out to the frog: "Now you can prove that you can swallow a cow, because there's one coming. Quick, swallow it!" But the frog said: "I've already swallowed a cow today, I'm not hungry anymore. But tomorrow, when my stomach is empty, I'll swallow this cow!" While he was still croaking loudly, the cow came so close that she almost crushed him with her big feet. Half-fainting with fear, he managed to jump to safety.

From that day on, the frog was no longer heard bragging so loudly.

Märchen der Uiguren, China. Fassung Djamila Jaenike, nach: K. Reichl, Märchen aus Sinkiang, Düsseldorf/Köln 1986,, englische Fassung Lysander Jaenike, ©Mutabor Märchenstiftung