Vekutah, The Frog that Wanted to Jump Back to the Moon

On a well, atop a mountain, lived a frog named Vekutah. Unlike the other frogs, Vekutah had a unique skin color and often felt out of place. The well offered a narrow view of the world, revealing only the clouds floating below and the vast sky stretching above with the occasional glimmer of the moon.

Vekutah was different not just in color but in spirit. He believed he must have fallen from the moon. His nocturnal habit of being active at night and resting during the day made him even more certain he was a moon being. He felt different from the other frogs, and the moon’s cool, beautiful light seemed to gaze at him with motherly eyes.

While the other frogs croaked tales of the well's history and safety, Vekutah pondered the nature of existence. He dreamed of a world beyond the well. At night, when the others retreated to their burrows in the depths, he would leap about, finally feeling free to be himself.

One summer, as if driven by a vision far greater than himself, Vekutah began training with fierce determination. His childhood dream of leaping back to his real home consumed him one more time. Night after night, he practiced relentlessly, occasionally glancing at the moon for inspiration. The other frogs mocked him, their laughter echoing off the well’s slimy walls. "The moon is no place for frogs," they ridiculed. "No tale, no scripture speaks of frogs on the moon. We are small creatures, and this well is the only eternal home there is."

But Vekutah felt the pull of the moon deep within him. He could sense its silence, its cool glow, and was certain it beckoned him. On a full moon night, as the tides within the well surged and the moon hung low in the sky, Vekutah’s energy stirred. Vekutah made his decision. He prayed to the heavenly sky, took a run along the well’s edge, and with every ounce of his strength, he leaped, soaring past the clouds and into the unknown.

Blinded by mist, Vekutah couldn’t see where he was headed, but he maintained his momentum, hoping to land far enough. When his vision cleared, he realized with dismay that he was falling, missing the stunning moon right before his eyes.

Defeated, Vekutah crashed into a great depth, hitting some surface with a force that nearly paralyzed him. Continuous tears streamed from his eyes, only to be washed away by the vast expanse of water he had fallen into. As he regained his senses, he realized that by a twist of fate, he had plunged into an ocean.

The ocean was endless, alive with waves and currents, teeming with life. It was nothing like the well. Vekutah understood he had found what he had been yearning for—something far greater than himself, something beyond his wildest dreams. He realized he, along with the other frogs, had been living in a tiny well on an island above the ocean.

He looked at the moon and saw his goddess mother smiling at him. “Perhaps I saw this life mirrored on the moon,” he mused, feeling her watchful gaze upon his humble self. At that moment, he knew he had always belonged to the great ocean; this was home. The moon was not merely a reflection of the sky, but a mirror of his dreams too.

In the ocean, Vekutah eagerly discovered an entire world of creatures he could only have imagined. He dived deep with seahorses, cruised along coral reefs, and made friends with wise old turtles. He found creatures bigger than his well, creatures more dreamy than his daydreams. Vekutah traveled wide and far and created a life rich with possibilities. Sometimes, in the quiet of the night, he would see the clouds in the sky and be reminded of the other frogs on the mountain who didn’t believe in the power of dreams. He often smiled, proud of his ambitious dream of aiming for the sky.

Vekutah’s dream of jumping back to the moon was a desperate idea of moving to a world where he’d be a better fit, but it wasn’t without a deeper purpose. He wanted to transcend his limitations. Although he couldn’t reach the moon, he knew in his heart that his journey had taken him exactly where he was meant to be. The jump that had seemed like a failure led him to his true home.

This story of Vekutah rediscovers that when one perseveres with unwavering faith, life’s intelligent and crafty hands guide them to where they truly belong, even if it isn’t immediately obvious. In a world full of conformists, one should be crazy enough to dream different and bold enough to take a leap of faith.