Yesterday was rainy and Jack and Poppy had got wet on the way home from school. But today the sky was blue, no clouds anywhere, and the big gooey sun was beaming down warm and happy as. “We should go up the hill and check on you-know-what,” Jack said to Poppy as they walked through their gate. Poppy nodded and said today would be perfect for that.
So they threw their school bags on the kitchen floor, gave their mum one of those big ‘we’re home’ hugs, and asked if they could go up the hill. “You certainly can!” mum said. “But first I wouldn’t mind if you … you know …” and she smiled that mum smile and Jack and Poppy also grinned. They picked up the school bags and mum poured a drink of milk for them.
Then they were off! Racing out the kitchen door, through the gate, along the footpath and up onto the hill. Soon they were pushing through long grass that was still wet from the rain. “Squelchy!” Poppy said. “It’s soaking, Jack!” Jack didn’t mind. He was sodden wet from his knees down, but he just laughed and swished his feet around to make water drops spray where was walking. Poppy sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “Boys!” she muttered to herself and followed along after Jack.
Up they went, around the side of the hill and on to where the big rocks began. The rough sides of the rocks were warm in the sun and Poppy let her hand run along them as they trudged past, up and still further up. And finally they came around a steep edge of the hill and Jack said they were nearly there.
A faint wind snuggled into them and they liked that; it had been hot work coming up so far so they stopped for a short break. Underneath them the hill sloped away, going down steep and grassy with some trees and bushes here and there. Then even further down there was the town. They could see their home off to one side, with Mrs Threadbare’s house next door; the house with the weeds under the letter box. Jack pointed to their school and around in the other direction they could see the place where kids played sport. “This is so cool,” Poppy said. “All the suburbs are visible.” Jack said he didn’t know about that, but from there they could see everything.
Then Poppy said they should now go quietly and creep around to the place they’d come to see. Jack whispered, ‘yes’ and they moved slowly forward past a really big rock, lifting their feet and trying to not make noise. A few minutes later they heard what they were hoping for. A little trickly drip, drip, drip. Around another rock they went and there it was. A little pond. The water was black and still and deep. Around the edge tiny ferns and green grassy stuff was growing, like a fringe or a skirt. And above it a big branch was stretched out like a sun umbrella.
Jack and Poppy stopped and slowly lowered themselves to the ground. Poppy put her finger to her lips and quietly said ‘Shhh’. Jack knew he had to be quiet, but he didn’t say ‘I know!’ Instead he just crouched and searched. Where was it?
Then Jack gently tapped Poppy on her elbow and made a tiny pointing movement with his finger. ‘There he is!’ And sure enough Poppy could see him now; a big green frog. A really big green frog. Big like a rain coat when it’s rolled up and stuffed into a school bag. So big.
Jack and Poppy had discovered him a few days ago and here he was again today, sitting in the same place, on a smooth rock at the edge of the water. The frog was looking straight at them with great big yellow eyes. Still and not moving, mouth open, ready to make a huge ‘croak!’ sound.
“So beautiful,” Poppy whispered. Jack nodded. The frog was truly magnificent. It was green, but some of the green colour was light and some a darker, almost green-brown colour. There was a row of small bumps running along its back from the head to its big strong back legs. It’s long tummy was gently pumping in and out, in and out. Like a clock ticking, Jack thought.
And the frog didn’t seem to be scared. It sat right up like it was confident. Like it was the king of the pond. It was almost like the frog knew that nothing else at the pond was as beautiful and natural as he was. Poppy muttered, “He’s so regal.” Jack didn’t know about that but he did think it was like the ruler of the pond.
He and Poppy watched and looked and wondered and marvelled for a long time.
Then suddenly the frog jumped. ‘Splash!’ He disappeared under the water. In the blink of an eye he just wasn’t there anymore!
Jack blinked and started to jump to his feet and shout, ‘Bother! We’ve lost him!’ only, he stopped. Because the big frog had left something behind; a tiny little frog! It must have been sitting out of sight behind the first frog, so Jack and Poppy hadn’t noticed it. But when that big frog had jumped into the pond the little one had also jumped … in the wrong direction! Instead of landing safely in the still, dark water he’d crashed onto the land. And now he was trapped, struggling and guggling in the tangle of grass and ferns at the edge of the pond.
It stopped and looked up at Jack and Poppy with bulby black eyes. It had a narrow head, a thin wispy tummy and fragile back legs. In the bright sunshine it was absolutely gorgeous. Poppy said it was ‘iridescent’. Jack didn’t know about that but he thought it was almost shining.
He went over. The little green frog was stuck. Dangling and helpless gripping desperately onto a long stem of scratchy grass. “Poor wee thing,” Poppy said. Jack felt the same and put his gentle hands under and around the little green frog and said, “There, there. Everything’s alright little frog.” However, the tiny creature began to kick and wriggle and squirm, and was almost squeezing and pushing out of Jack’s hand.
He looked at Poppy. “What shall I do?” She said they should hurry and put the little frog in the pond. “So it can find its mother.” Jack lowered the tiny wriggler onto the surface of the pond and let the cold water ooze into his hands. The little frog flicked his legs, quickly circled on the top of the water, then dived. Down it went, swimming and kicking deeper and deeper into the water. It’s little green legs pushed and spurted and in no time it had disappeared in the darkness of the black pond. Frogs were the best ever swimmer, Jack thought to himself.
Poppy was smiling. She said, “That was fantastic, Jack. It was so good seeing the big frog again but now we’ve found this second one!” Jack grinned. “Even better than the first one, maybe,” he said. He and Poppy both let out fully rounded happy sighs and got up to walk back down the hill. Around the rocks they went, flicking and brushing through the long wet grass, talking and talking about their frogs.
They were still talking about them when they came through their gate and saw dad had just come home. “Hello, you two!” he called. “How was the hill today?” Jack and Poppy told him about the big frog and the new one they’d seen. “The little one was fantastic, dad,” Poppy said. “So very, very cool,” Jack added. “So little and helpless. Almost better than the other one that we already knew about.”
Dad looked at them and said he didn’t know they liked frogs so much. Then he added, “Your story reminds me of the time Jesus helped at a wedding.” Jack and Poppy looked at him with questions in their eyes. “A wedding?” Poppy asked. “Did we ever hear that Bible story one bedtime?”
Dad explained there had been a wedding and at the start it had been very enjoyable but then something went wrong. So Jesus helped out and he made the ending even better than the start.
Then dad smiled. “And I know how to make the end of our day even better than work and school. Can you smell mum’s cooking?” They could, and the three of them trooped inside to help set the table and lay out another one of mum’s delicious meals.