What do you wanna do today? What do you mean what do I wanna do? Let’s do something fun. I’m gonna sit here and do what I do every day. Lenny grumpily replied. With a lightening fast snap of his tongue, he snatched a fly out of mid air.
Lenny, Willie and Marvin spend day after day lazing around under the cool shade provided by thick trees that canopy their beautiful forest; this is their home. Nothing out of the ordinary, they are, after all, frogs. Not exactly a fast paced life, but a stress free life to be sure.
Marvin rarely speaks. He simply stares at the water, occasionally he’ll take a refreshing dip from his lily pad but he mostly just sleeps the day away. Lenny is the ring leader. A title with duty that he’d accidentally earned as a young frog. Lenny is the only one of the three who has actually been out of the forest! Not only had he been out of the forest, he lived in the big city for a while!
Lenny was captured a long time back by a curious little boy. He lived for almost a year as the boy’s pet before being released back to the forest. He entertained the others with magnificent tales of his adventures in the city. He’d been to baseball games, picnics, he was even once taken on a family vacation to the beach!
Lenny doesn’t talk about the old days much anymore. Long ago he grew weary of telling story after story, time and time again. He’s perfectly content with sitting around watching the lazy days pass; watching the world drift by from the comfort of his lily pad.
Willie, on the other hand, holds adventure in his heart. He‘s a dreamer. Willie longed for experiences that would expand his mind. What he would give to have an opportunity such as Lenny. Why couldn’t the three of them just go on a hike once in a while? Willie often wondered. On occasion, Willie hopped away to explore, sometimes returning late at night to Lenny’s scolding.
You’re gonna get hurt or snatched away one day if you’re not careful, Lenny warned. Or even worse, you’ll get hit by a car if you go near the highway! Lenny also had a darker experience in his younger adventures.
After returning to the forest, he found it nearly impossible to sit still. His time away from the forest made him feel as though he were bullet-proof. One day, while he was on one of his day trips, Lenny hopped across an animal trap. Before he knew what hit him the trap jaw swiftly closed around one of his hind legs, neatly severing half of it.
This marked the beginning of Lenny’s careful and, somewhat, sour attitude toward action and adventure in life. Plus, he looked different from the others now and it was difficult for him get around. Lenny was perfectly content with perching on his pad, nothing more, nothing less.
Willie always viewed Lenny’s worrying and warnings as being a party pooper. I don’t wanna sit around all day today; that’s all we ever do! Willie complained. Marvin…you wanna go with me for a hop? Willie begged. Marvin had been napping. He looked blankly to Lenny then back to Willie. He snatched a fly from a piece of nearby driftwood and fell soundly back to sleep. Willie sighed.
Why can’t you just sit still for a minute and relax? Lenny snapped. With age, Lenny had grown quite modest; he no longer felt the need to brag about his life experiences. He was most definitely done with adventure. What’s wrong with slow and boring? He reasoned.
Willie hopped from his lily pad to a nearby strip of land. I’m gonna go explore; you two can sit here all day if you want, Willie exclaimed as he hopped along the edge of the stream to his next conquest.
Later in the day Willie stumbled across a group of children who were on a guided hike through the forest. Willie hopped closer for a better look; this might be his big chance! Maybe he would finally have an exciting journey like that of Lenny.
He landed next to one of the children and let out a load croak. Cool!! One of the kids shouted. All of the other children quickly gathered around Willie; they took turns holding him until one of the scout leaders approached.
The scout leader bent down and scooped Willie into a small box filled with grass. We’ll take him back to the camp with us so you can study this little guy a bit more, the man said.
Lenny stared at the stream while Marvin spent the afternoon napping. He wondered why Willie hadn’t returned home; after all, it was late in the day. Lenny’s attention diverted as he heard quite a commotion high above his head. It was a little bird, briskly flapping around in his nest.
Be still up there! Lenny yelled. Your parents will be back soon, he assured. The bird grew restless in the confines of his tiny nest. He was approaching the age where he would soon learn to fly but the nest became most uncomfortable with each passing day. You’re going to fall if you don’t sit still, Lenny warned.
Suddenly, the little bird tumbled over the side. He flapped wildly all the way to the ground in order to cushion his fall. He finally landed on the opposite side of the stream…stranded! See, I told you! Lenny scolded.
Now you’re in a most difficult situation little bird. The Bobcats will find you for sure when the sun goes down, Lenny warned. The bird frantically flapped on the ground, he tried desperately to lift himself in flight. Be still! Lenny yelled. You’re going to draw attention to yourself!
All of the commotion rousted Marvin from his nap. Marvin spotted the bird perched on a small rock on the ground. He stared at Lenny for a moment then yawned and went back to sleep.
Back at the camp, Willie enjoyed an action packed afternoon. The kids took turns passing him around. Willie jumped and jumped, trying his best to entertain. He hammed it up with the children, enjoying the spotlight. Once in a while he would stop for a moment and let out a loud croak, causing the children to burst into laughter.
The camp leader finally announced to the scouts that the little frog needed to return home. The children groaned. The leader explained that they were only here to explore and learn, not to disrupt the natural cycle of life that made the forest unique and beautiful. He explained why Willie must return to the stream to be with his friends.
They scooped Willie up to the box and walked down to the stream and released him back to the forest.
Farther downstream, Lenny racked his brain trying to figure out a way to save the little bird from this most dangerous situation. He knew that unless the bird could fly, just enough, he’d never make it to the safety of his nest, or at least to a branch high enough for refuge from the Bobcats.
Try to jump little bird, Lenny ordered. It’s the only way you’ll be able to get off the ground. The bird tried and tried, each time crashing to the ground. Flap harder! Lenny urged. The bird tried again; he floated a foot from the ground for a few seconds before crashing once again. Lenny sighed. This is not going well, he mumbled.
If only there were a way to get this little guy farther from the ground, he might just be able to get high enough to flap his way to a safer place.
Upstream, Willie slowly hopped his way toward home. He stopped from time to time to snatch an occasional fly and to rest from his antics with the children. Lenny never has any fun like this, he grumbled to himself. I’ll bet those two are sitting there like bumps on a log…boring! Willie thought.
Out of nowhere, a Bobcat raced swiftly past Willie, nearly knocking him into the stream. Wonder where he’s going in such a hurry? Willy mumbled, before moving on.
Back at home, Lenny had a brainstorm. It was a long shot, but it just might work. He called for the stranded little bird to come closer to the edge of the stream. The bird hopped closer, hoping that Lenny had a solution. As the Bobcat inched closer, Lenny told the bird of his plan. When I say go, hop onto my back. I’m gonna jump as high as I can to get you farther off the ground. Flap as hard as you can and try to make it to one of those branches up there.
The bird readied himself; he knew that this would be his only shot at safety from the hungry cat. Lenny counted down. Get ready! He yelled. Get set! The bird readied himself to jump onto Lenny’s back.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from a nearby bush. It was a Bobcat! The Bobcat spotted the stranded little bird and slowly crept toward the edge of the stream. His tail lowered, hovering an inch from the ground. A classic cat prowl, ready to pounce.
GO! Lenny yelled. The little bird jumped from the edge, landing squarely onto Lenny’s broad back. Lenny, even though he was missing half of his hind leg, used all the strength that he had to leap as high as he possibly could.
The bird flapped and flapped in circles. He hovered for a few seconds before crashing directly onto Marvin’s back. Marvin, startled from a deep sleep, leaped straight into the air, higher than Lenny had ever seen ANY frog leap in his entire life.
The bird flapped his wings feverishly, rising higher and higher above the stream. He soared awkwardly until he crash landed. This time, onto a small branch, far enough from the Bobcat‘s reach.
Lenny sighed with relief; the stranded bird was finally safe.
The Bobcat circled the tree for a few minutes, trying to figure out how to get at the bird. The cat soon realized that It would be impossible. The bird was perched too far out on a flimsy limb. Finally, the Bobcat moved on to search for his next meal.
Marvin climbed back to his pad, still rattled from this rude awakening. He looked up and down, to the left, then the right, trying to figure out what had just happened. Lenny sat, motionless, on his pad. He felt completely drained from the excitement that had long been absent from his quiet, boring little world. He smiled up at the bird. Now, you sit still! He yelled. I don’t think I have enough energy to do that again, and I’m most certain that Marvin doesn’t.
A few minutes later Willie hopped into the stream and climbed up to his lily pad. Marvin and Lenny stared at the stream. Willie broke the silence. So, what did you two do today? He quizzed.
Lenny thought of his days filled with big adventures but, for all of his earned bragging rights, he no longer felt the need to impress. He also gained comfort with what some would call a disability. Lenny proved today that, even though he was missing part of his leg, he still helped to save a little bird in need…simply by trying.
He was happy that Willie liked to learn about the world around him, for he finally realized that Willie came home each and every day with something new to share. Lenny also figured it was about time for him to share more of his experiences and knowledge more often than he did.
Well?? Willie pressed. Anything going on around here today? Nope…just another day in the stream, Lenny casually replied. He figured there’d be plenty of time to share the excitement with Willie soon enough; right now he wanted to hear about Willie’s latest big adventure.
The little bird happily chirped above the stream. Marvin stared at the branch and then looked at Willie and Lenny.
Lenny and Willie waited anxiously to see what in the world Marvin might say. After all, he hardly spoke at all! Was he about to share some important advice? Perhaps he would talk about some of his past experiences that no one knew about. Finally, Marvin spoke…
I’m tired, he said with a yawn. He snatched a fly from the air and resumed his nap.
copyright Pontchartrain Press
