Frog Goes Up, Up, Up
The wind made ripples on Frogâs pond.
When he woke up from his sleep he saw something floating on the water. Something he had never seen before.
It was BIG, BIG.
It was Orange.
It had a tail.
Frog called his friends. âCome see. There is a THING in my pond.â
âIt does not talk. It does not move. It just lies there on the water.â
âI think it is a big egg. Maybe a hippopotamus egg,â Rabbit said.
âWe do not have any hippopotamus-esssss here,â Frog told her.
âI think it is a big, big bubble,â Possum said.
Frog shook his head, âWho ever heard of an orange bubble?â
âI think it is a humongous seed,â Raccoon said.
âI think it is a THING with a long, ugly, skinny tail,â Squirrel said.
Frog swam closer.
âPull its long, ugly, skinny tail,â Squirrel said. âThen see what happens.â
âDo not,â Possum advised. âIt might do something bad.â
âBe brave,â Squirrel urged.
Frog swam closer. He took hold of THINGâs tail.
Just then the wind came strong. It skidded THING across the pond.
Suddenly THING rose UP, UP, UP.
âLet go! Let go of the tail,â Rabbit called.
But Frog was too far above the pond. He was scared to let go.
Rabbit ran for the long, ugly, skinny tail and caught it. She swung behind Frog. They went UP, UP, UP.
Then Squirrel ran and swung behind Rabbit.
Then Possum.
THING began to sink DOWN, DOWN, DOWN.
Possumâs feet were on the ground. Then Squirrelâs.
Then Rabbitâs.
Then Frogâs.
They fell in a Froggie, Rabbitty, Squirrely, Possumy heap.
THING started to rise again. It bumped into the oak tree and . . .
BANG!
It was the loudest bang in the world.
Drifting down from the oak tree were little pieces of THING.
âWe killed it!â Frog moaned. âOh, that is so sad.â
âWe will have a funeral,â Rabbit said. âA nice one.â
âTo show we are sorry,â Frog added.
They dug a small hole under the oak tree and buried all the little bits of THING. Then they held paws and sang a sorry song.
âI wonder what THING was?â Rabbit asked.
Frog shook his head. âI suppose we will never know.â
Frogâs Pretty Blue Scarf
Raccoon came by Frogâs home.
âI was told you have a bad cold,â she said. âI knitted this pretty blue scarf for you. It will keep you warm and help your cold.â
âOh, thank you,â Frog said. âIt will be perfect.â
But it was not perfect.
Frog tried to wrap it around his neck. âBut I have no neck,â Frog said to himself. âAnd I am too slippery.â
The scarf slipped up to cover his face. âHelp, help! I cannot breathe.â
Then it slipped over his eyes. âHelp, help! Now I cannot see. I will give this pretty blue scarf to my friend, Rabbit. There is nothing wasted that you give to a friend.â
âOh, thank you,â Rabbit said. âThis will be perfect.â
She wore the scarf all day.
But it was not perfect.
âMy own fur is so soft and cozy. This pretty blue scarf makes me too hot. I will give it to my friend, Squirrel. He will look spiffy in it.â
Squirrel did look spiffy in it. âThis is perfect,â he said.
But it was not perfect.
âThis pretty blue scarf is scratchy,â he said. âIt makes me itch. I know, I will give it to my friend, Possum. She can cuddle her babies in it.â
âOh, thank you,â Possum said. âThis will be perfect.â
She tucked her babies in the pretty blue scarf.
But it was not perfect.
Her babies did not like it one bit.
âLet us out, let us out,â they squeaked. âHelp, help! We are trapped.â
They squeaked and squealed and bit their mother and each other.
âOh dear,â Possum said, untucking them. âI know. I will give the pretty blue scarf to Frog.
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