The parable of the scorpion is also told with a fox or a turtle,
rather than a frog, providing the ride across the river. Sometimes the
poisonous creature is a snake rather than a scorpion.
Here is an interesting article about the fable:
Snopes.com
http://www.snopes.com/critters/malice/scorpion.htm
According to the above link, the fable has appeared in an episode of
"Star Trek: Voyager," in the 1992 film "The Crying Game," the 1994
film "Natural Born Killers," and the 1989 film "Skin Deep." To that
list I can add the 1955 film "Mr. Arkadin," which is almost certainly
the Orson Welles movie that you mention.
Here's a bit of documentation~
-------------------------------
"Mr. Arkadin" (alternative title, "Confidential Report"):
Arkadin tells a story: A scorpion wanted to cross a river, so he asked
the frog to carry him. The frog refused because the scorpion would
sting him. That would not be logical, explained the scorpion, because
if he stung the frog they would both drown. So the frog agreed to
carry the scorpion. Half way across, the frog felt a terrible pain -
the scorpion had stung him. There is no logic in this, exclaimed the
frog. I know, replied the scorpion, but I cannot help it - it is my
character.
Pocket Essentials
http://www.pocketessentials.com/film/orsonwelles/welles-mrarkadin.html
More on "Mr. Arkadin":
At a party in the protagonist's Spanish castle, Arkadin tells some of
his guests a fable. A scorpion, who could not swim, approached a frog
and pleaded with him to carry him on his back to the other side of a
stream. The frog was reluctant, given the scorpion's reputation for
stinging its victims. The scorpion calmed the frog's fears by pointing
out to him that if he were to sting the frog, he, too, would drown.
The frog accepted and halfway across he felt a piercing pain in his
back where the scorpion had stung him. "Is that logic?" screamed the
frog. "No, it's not," replied the scorpion, "but I can't help it. It's
my character."
To Welles, the point of the fable is "to show that a man who declares
himself in the face of the world, I am as I am, take it or leave it,
that this sort of man has a tragic dignity."
Kinema
http://www.arts.uwaterloo.ca/FINE/juhde/tiern952.htm
-------------------------------
"The Crying Game":
They exchange small talk when Jody tells Fergus the story about "The
Frog and the Scorpion." This allegory will become the major theme of
the film.
Epinions
http://beta.epinions.com/mvie-review-6251-1BEC83FA-39726CDC-prod5
Dialogue from the actual script of "The Crying Game":
Scorpion wants to cross a river, but he
can't swim. Goes to the frog, who can,
and asks for a ride. Frog says, "If I
give you a ride on my back, you'll go and
sting me." Scorpion replies, "It would
not be in my interest to sting you since
as I'll be on your back we both would
drown." Frog thinks about this logic for
a while and accepts the deal. Takes the
scorpion on his back. Braves the waters.
Halfway over feels a burning spear in his
side and realizes the scorpion has stung
him after all. And as they both sink
beneath the waves the frog cries out,
"Why did you sting me, Mr. Scorpion, for
now we both will drown?" Scorpion
replies, "I can't help it, it's in my
nature."
Bjørn Erik Hundland's Movie Page: The Crying Game
http://home.online.no/~bhundlan/scripts/TheCryingGame.htm
-------------------------------
A story involving a fox and a scorpion is a key metaphor for a
two-part episode of "Star Trek: Voyager." In the episode, entitled
"Scorpion," a Native American fable told by Commander Chakotay serves
as an allegory for the perilous relationship between the Federation
and the Borg:
CHAKOTAY:
There's a story I heard as a child. A parable. I never forgot it. A
scorpion was walking along the bank of a river, wondering how to get
to the other side. Suddenly he saw a fox. He asked the fox to take him
on his back across the river. The fox said: "No, if I do that, you'll
sting me and I'll drown." The scorpion assured him: "If I did that,
we'd both drown." So the fox thought about it and finally agreed. So
the scorpion climbed upon his back and the fox began to swim, but half
way across the river, the scorpion stung him. As the poison filled his
veins, the fox turned to the scorpion and asked: "Why did you do that?
Now you'll drown too." "I couldn't help it", said the scorpion. "It's
my nature."
McKinley Station
http://www.mc-kinley-station.de/voy/dialoge/d_ep067_3b.html
My search strategy for locating this information included several
Google searches using various combinations of the key phrase "my
nature" with the keywords "frog," "river," and "scorpion."
I hope this is useful. If anything I've said is not clear, or if any
of the links don't function, please request clarification before
rating my answer, and I'll gladly offer further assistance.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
