The celebrated jumping frog

Once upon a time, there was a man named Jim Smiley. Now, Jim Smiley was no ordinary man—he was what you might call a gambler. Do you all know what a gambler is?

Well, a gambler is someone who likes to make bets on things, hoping to win some money. And Jim Smiley would bet on just about anything! He'd bet on horse races, dog fights, and even which bird would fly away first. But what Jim loved most of all was winning. And boy, was he good at it!

Now, Jim Smiley had a horse that looked as sick as a horse could be—so sick that people thought it could barely walk, let alone run. But when the time came for a race, that horse would suddenly take off like a rocket, surprising everyone and winning the race! And Jim would just smile, that sneaky grin on his face, because he knew his horse had a little extra kick.

But wait, there's more! Jim also had a bulldog named Andrew Jackson. Now, this wasn't a big, scary bulldog—he was actually quite small and scrappy. But Andrew Jackson had a trick up his sleeve. Whenever he got into a fight with another dog, he'd let the other dog bite him and push him around until everyone thought he was going to lose. But then, just when the bets were at their highest, Andrew Jackson would grab the other dog by the leg and hang on tight until he won! Jim made a lot of money with that little bulldog.

But you see, one day, Andrew Jackson met his match. He fought a dog with no hind legs! Poor Andrew Jackson tried his best, but there was nothing for him to grab onto, and he lost the fight. Jim was heartbroken, and so was Andrew Jackson. 

Now, don't be too sad, because Jim had another trick up his sleeve—a frog named Dan'l Webster. 

Now, this wasn't just any frog; it was the best jumping frog in all of Calaveras County! Jim had trained Dan'l Webster to jump higher and farther than any other frog you could find. Jim was so proud of that frog, he was sure no one could ever beat it.

One day, a stranger came to town—a tall man with a sly smile. Jim, being the gambler he was, immediately challenged the stranger to a frog-jumping contest. 

The stranger, pretending he didn't know anything about frogs, said he didn't have one to compete with. So, Jim offered to go catch a frog for him. Off Jim went, leaving Dan'l Webster with the stranger.

But guess what? That stranger was up to no good! While Jim was out catching a frog, the stranger poured tiny little lead pellets—called quail shot—into Dan'l Webster's mouth, making him too heavy to jump!

When Jim came back, the contest began. Jim was so sure Dan'l Webster would win, but when the frogs were set to jump, Dan'l could barely move! 

The stranger's frog jumped easily, winning the contest, and the stranger took the money and left town before Jim even realized what had happened.

Poor Jim was so confused. He picked up Dan'l Webster, trying to figure out what went wrong. When he opened the frog's mouth and found it full of quail shot, he knew he had been tricked. But by then, the stranger was long gone.

And that's the tale of Jim Smiley and his celebrated jumping frog. It's a story about being clever, but also about how sometimes, even the cleverest of us can be outsmarted.