Evening star., 1903-10-03
FROG AND A FORTUNE.
Centuries-Old Incident Brought For
ward in Lawsuit in Ceylon.
From the CeyIon Times.

From the Cey1on Times.
A fortune worth many millions of dollars
once hung on the life of a bullfrog. The
frog died five centuries ago, and the story
might have died with 1t, except for law
suit which has now stirred up the whole is
land of Ceylon. In report of this law
suit the sad nature of the frogs death is
portrayed. and still sadder facts are also
made public which show how the fortune
went the way of the frog.
The claimants to the fortune assert that
they have an ancestor who was a veritabIe
Nimrod. On one occasion, they saw King
Parakrama Bahu VI, who ruled over Cey-
lon in the middle of the fifteenth century
held a great athletic tournament and in
Vited all the archers to contest for prize
OF those who entered this contest there
were two whose skill seemed to be equal
There was no target which they could not
hit The king was at q loss to decide how
TO bestow the prize, when bullfrog croak-
ed loud and deep in nearby pond At the
sound the monarch leaped from his throne
and shouted:
There, there! The man who can kill
that frog shall win the prize"
The two contestng archors looked al the
pond, but saw no frog. The willy reptile
was lurking beneath the water
You must shoot by the sound" said the
king. NJ our eyes are equally keen This
Is a contest of the ears"
The first archer drew his string and at
the next croak he sped his arrow It dis
appeared beneath the water; but a few
moments later there came another croak
The arrow had missed Then the second
archer bent his bow. and with the second
croak still ringing in his ears he shot aft
the invisible target. The arrow plunged
into the water. but soon reappeared float
ing upon the surface, transfixed In the body
OF the frog. The reptile had croaked it's
last as
Moved by his admiration of such a marks
man, the king presented him with a tract
o! n1ty thousand acres. including several
villages, and gave him as title to the estate
"sannas," Or copper plate on which were
inscribed the terms Of the gift
FOR some reason or other, so the present
Claimants TO this vast fortune saw the
copper plate was lost, and in order to SUBJ
stantiate their claim they had two school
teachers at Gale make another. This
they showed the court as identical with the
Sannas.' which King Parakrama Bahu VI
gave to the peerless frog killer
AS this whole territory is now crown land
C. M: Fernando, who appeared for the
crown. TOOK shot at the claimants much
as their distinguished ancestor took a shot
at the frog. According to his arguments
the frog was killed all right and the land
was granted by the king to the archer The
fortune might have peacefully descended
from father to son in the family of the
famous frog killer had not one of them
turned traitor and been beheaded for favor
ing the British AS the result of his untime-
ly end the land escheated TO the crown
the SannaS" was taken back and the for
tune was lost.
According to dispatches from Ceylon. the
judges who heard the case have not vet
rendered their decision The two school
teachers, however. have been sentenced to
hVe years at hard labor for forgery