People with a hearing loss easily misunderstand the spoken word. After all, there are certain sounds that we don’t hear very well, particularly high-pitched sounds such as s, f, sh, etc. In addition to that, there are so many words that sound similar because they rhyme.
So it happens quite often at our house where one of us will misunderstand what’s being said. This happened to me recentlhy, and I’m still chuckling over it, so thought I would share it with you.
Family Member: “I threw the drapes away. They didn’t look good.”
Viki: (Startled, I’m thinking to myself, how could that be? We don’t have any drapes in the house. We use blinds for all our window coverings.) “What do you mean?”
Family Member: “They were moldy.”
Viki: (Light bulb clicks on) “Oh, you mean the GRAPES. I thought you said DRAPES!”
Hee hee! 
Some years ago, I came across this fictional story of a deaf frog and found it inspiring. I’ve discovered that what this story illustrates has been true in my own life. There are situations when it is actually an advantage not to hear, whether physically or mentally, and this story touches on one of them. Enjoy…and be inspired!
The Frog Story
Author Unknown
A group of frogs were hopping contentedly through the woods, going about their froggy business, when two of them fell into a deep pit. The other frogs gathered around the pit to see what could be done to help their companions. When they saw how deep the pit was, the rest of the dismayed group agreed that it was hopeless and told the two unfortunate frogs in the pit that they should prepare themselves for their fate, because they were as good as dead.
Unwilling to accept this terrible fate, the two frogs tried with all of their might to jump out of the pit. The other frogs shouted into the pit that it was hopeless, and that they wouldn’t be in that situation if they had been more careful, more obedient to the froggy rules, and more responsible. They continued shouting that they should save their energy and give up, since they were already as good as dead.
But the two frogs continued jumping as hard as they could and became quite weary. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to the calls of his fellows. Spent and disheartened, he quietly resolved himself to his fate, lay down at the bottom of the pit, and died as the others looked on in helpless grief.
The other frog continued to jump with every ounce of energy he had, although his body was wracked with pain and he was completely exhausted. Once again, the crowd of frogs started yelling for him to accept his fate, stop the pain and just die. The weary frog jumped harder and harder and—wonder of wonders—finally leapt so high that he sprang from the pit. Amazed, the other frogs celebrated his miraculous freedom and then, gathering around him asked, “Why did you continue jumping when we told you it was impossible?”
Reading their lips, the astonished frog explained to them that he was deaf, and that when he saw their gestures and shouting, he thought they were cheering him on. What he had perceived as encouragement inspired him to try harder and to succeed against all odds.
The moral of the story: Turn a deaf ear to people who discourage you. With hard work and a positive attitude, you can do almost anything you set your mind to and overcome any situation, no matter how hopeless it may seem. You CAN do it!
