After taking a ride on a solid gold snail carriage. Anne, Charlie, the Plantars, Wally and Wigbert arrived at a huge mansion that Wally and his dad live in. The manor featured a grand mansion made of white bricks which is located in the center of the grounds. Surrounding it are gold gates with elaborately designed carvings and frog figures at the top. Giant tame peacocks roam the gardens freely. They arrived at the front gate as it opened up and they walked inside it.
"Here we are." said Wigbert.
As they walked, they saw these huge peacocks that appear tamed as they were looking at them but they only stared at them and continued to keep to themselves. They were like big tamed dogs.
"Some of my prizewinning birds. Ever seen a frog torn in half by a peacock? Grizzly stuff." stated Wigbert.
"Where me and Anne are from, people like us have seen and heard worse happen to people." replied Charlie.
Wigbert looked at Charlie with surprise.
"How much worse?" asked Wigbert looking intrigued.
"You're much happier not knowing." Charlie answered with a grim tone.
Wigbert fell silent as he saw that Charlie wasn't joking and he complied. Wally shown a brief grin as if he knew how to control Wigbert or to command him. They walked inside the mansion and walked down a few hallways as Anne, Charlie and the Plantars were given a tour of the place.
"Just out of curiosity. What are your personal opinions on politics?" asked Wigbert.
Charlie raised a hand to signal for Anne and the Plantars to let him answer and they obeyed.
"Politics does no good for anyone. All it does is cause arguments, fights, conflict, scandals and possibly war and death. It corrupts the hearts, minds and souls of good people who mean no harm to anyone. We should have nothing to do with politics. You'll sleep better at night if you cut your ties with politics." Charlie answered.
Wigbert looked at Charlie with a shocked expression as if he was told something that he never figured he'd hear in his life time.
"Are you speaking the truth?" asked Wigbert curiously.
"About as serious as I am about being able to do this." said Charlie.
He smiled and Charlie sucked in a big amount of air and he sung a beautifully sounding operatic singing tone as he sung the operatic singing tone for a good ten seconds. After he stopped, Wigbert was astonished and got an answer, big time.
"Who sang such a beautifully powerful operatic note?" came a male's voice from a distance.
"Is the opera here for a concert already?" came another male's voice excited.
"It's just someone practicing out there, dear." said a female's voice in reply.
Wigbert was speechless for a bit at Charlie's operatic singing ability as if he witnessed a miracle of life.
"Well, we got our answer, that's for sure." said Polly giggling.
They were given a tour of the mansion and they were seeing more big rooms and met a few people. Other frogs were surprised to even meet Anne and Charlie since they never met anyone of their species.
Some of them made a rude remark towards Anne or Charlie and chuckled but Charlie would feel a sense of stern anger kick into him and he gave the frogs that made the remarks a grim yet stern, cold look which the frogs had their laughter smug expressions wiped off instantly when he made such a look.
"Answer me this, gentlemen. If someone said those rude remarks towards you just because you looked different from everyone around you, would you feel if they made the same remarks towards you as you made towards me and Anne. Look me in the eye and tell me." said Charlie calmly yet with a firm tone. "And look into my eyes, what do you see."
The frogs that made such remarks were speechless as if they didn't have an answer and the look Charlie gave them left them visibly shaken as well. It was as if Charlie's cold expression he shot at them sunk into them and had an epiphany of sorts.
"I say, if anyone said anything of that sort towards us because we looked different from other blokes around us. That would, that would feel dreadful if anyone said such a thing towards us." said a thin female frog with long, curly red hair.
"And the look in his eyes. It's dark...and cold." said a chubby male frog with a thick and bushy brown beard who shook in fear.
"The look you see in my eyes is your future. Saying rude remarks to others who look different is like insulting your own mother or your own father. Would you insult your own mom or dad?" said Charlie sternly.
The frogs looked each other and back at him with saddened expressions but they seem to understand the point that Charlie made.
"No, we wouldn't." they said in unison.
"Understood. When you're making such remarks at people who look different. Try to think about how they feel when others treat them like that. I'd even suggest you treat your servants with the amount of respect and compassion as you expect from others. The world's not all lollipops and rainbows, I know, but think about how someone else feels when you make such remarks towards them. You wouldn't want that happening to you." Charlie explained. "Always be compassion to others. They'll be compassionate towards you if you do so."
The frogs nodded and gave a salute when they uttered the words "Yes Sir" and Anne smiled at how Charlie was getting through to these wealthy amphibians. Wigbert was surprised at how Charlie was showing influence and how it was positively influencing others.
"That's my boy." said Anne with a proud grin.
They were walking down another hallway and Wigbert was surprised at how Charlie was showing compassionate influence that was actually working with getting through to others that live in the mansion. Even the servants were praising him.
"What did you say your name was?" Wigbert asked Charlie.
"Charlie Matsuda. This fine girl of mine is Anne Boonchuy, she's my honey. This here is the fam, Hop Pop Plantar, and his two grandchildren, Sprig and Polly." Charlie introduced them.
"I see. How is it your able to command such influence like you do?" asked Wigbert. "I'll bet you learned it from your father."
Charlie briefly went silent as they stopped and he gave Wigbert a visibly saddened look.
"I never learned it from my dad. I learned it from my mom, my aunt and the six other women in the house back where I'm from." answered Charlie.
Wigbert let out a cough as if he choked on water.
"You were raised by eight women in one house?" said Wigbert clearing his throat.
"Affirmative." answered Charlie.
As they stopped. Wigbert was not expecting to meet someone who was raised in a house full of women and was the only boy in the house. Wigbert suddenly stopped by gold double doors.
"It's, uh, one of our smaller rooms but please enjoy." said Wigbert as he walked off.
Anne, Charlie, Wally and the Plantars walked inside the room and it was much bigger than Wigbert led on. The room had one large bed that looked big enough for even Anne, Charlie and the Plantars to sleep in, a large and comfortable read seat that was in one of the corners of the room to the left next to a big window. There was a lot of big and beautiful portraits of beautiful nature sights and a large chandelier light hanging from the ceiling that hung in the center of the room. Everyone was wide eyed.
"What the heck, Wally?" said Anne looking wide eyed with amazement.
Hop Pop jumped towards the big and comfortable bed and landed on it. It felt comfortable, warm and the blankets, bed sheets and pillows felt like they were more comfortable and cozy than any bed they've slept in.
"This place is magnificent." said Hop Pop with a smile.
"What happened to "Look away from the fancy?" said Anne giggling.
"It don't count if ya don't have to pay for it." stated Hop Pop.
"You got me there." said Anne.
"Hey, let's go explore." suggested Sprig.
"Okay!" said Hop Pop looking eager.
The Plantars ran out of the room to go explore.
"Be sure to knock on the doors before entering!" Charlie advised.
Now, the room only had Anne, Charlie and Wally in the room. Both Anne and Charlie could see that Wally was looking as though he was about to break into a depressed state.
"So your real name is Walliam Ribbiton? This lifestyle of yours in your home that you were born and raised in. Well, that explains one thing." said Charlie.
"Like what?" asked Wally.
"The full head of gorgeous locks you got. Long, thick, flowing and beautiful like a lion." Charlie complimented.
"So... Walliam, what's going on here? I thought you were a fun‐loving tramp, not some little rich boy." said Anne looking confused. "I can Ricky saying it, right now."
""Lucy, you've got some 'splainin' to do." said Charlie mimicking a Cuban accent.
Wally sighed and knew that he had some explaining to do.
"Listen guys, one, I'm sorry my dad said some rude things towards you, I'm sorry I pretended to go along with it and I'm sorry I didn't stick up for you guys. The truth is I live like a bum in Wartwood because... Well, it's what I love. This life may look nice but there's so many rules. And if my family knew the real me, well, they'd disown me for sure." explained Wally. "It's been like this for years. Sometimes people around here feel awkward when someone, well, you know, decides to come out and admit they're preferring the company of the same gender."
Anne and Charlie were now seeing the truth and they were understanding that Wally isn't the only one with dad issues like Charlie. But Wally's case was a different sort apart from Charlie's case.
"Just be honest with them. Tell them the truth and I know they'll support you. Just like my favorite movie From Pointe to Poppin'." suggested Anne showing her support.
"Anne, I think this might be a different case from a movie. This is real life and it wasn't easy for me to get over my dad issues...or at least it wasn't easy for me to attempt it." said Charlie unsure of what Anne compared the situation to.
"Actually, Charlie is right about that. Charlie's dad was never there for him but my dad, this whole chestnut has been going on for years. It's just too risky, Anne." said Wally pulling out his accordion from a lose floorboard he hidden it from and started playing the instrument. "I have to hide these around the house, or I'd lose my mind."
"What about that time you told us not to care what people think about you?" asked Anne curiously.
"This is different. This is my family we're talking about. And many times when I tried to tell my dad, he'd tell me it would have to wait or not now Walliam." said Wally sadly.
"It's just like one of my school teachers told me about the wealthy and their kids. The life they live may seem like the land of milk and honey but sometimes, looks can be deceiving as the lifestyle of a world leader." said Charlie showing he understood.
"I still think you should be honest with them. I mean, what do you have to lose?" said Anne reassuring him.
"Well, come with me and I'll show you." said Wally getting up from where he sat.
The little male frog got up and accidentally bumped into a wall, letting out a groan of slight pain.
"Meant to do that." Wally lied.
"Happens to the best of us." said Anne and Charlie in unison.
Charlie and Anne got up and Charlie managed to bend down and scoop Wally up into his arms and placed the small male frog onto his shoulders as he carried him. The way Charlie carried Wally looked like he was carrying a toddler on his shoulders. Wally instructed where to go.
Wally led them outside onto the ranch and pointed to what looked like a stable for horses but since they were in Amphibia, they knew that from what Wally told them along the way, it was a stable for beetles. They entered the stable as Charlie let Wally walk on his feet as he set him down.
"So much of my past is here. It would break my heart to leave it all behind." said Wally.
Wally opened one of the door to the stables that shown a huge beetle with blue wings and dark blue shaded spots on her wings. The huge beetle let out a sweet, femimine chirping sound. She worn a large pink bow on her head.
"Meet Fiddle Leaf. I've been riding her since I was a wee tadpole." said Wally introducing the creature to them.
Anne and Charlie saw both Fiddle Leaf and saw a picture of Wally and Fiddle Leaf as young children. It was an adorable sight to see. But when they looked down to see Wally and Fiddle Leaf, both of them had a miserable expression on their faces with their eyes looking big and miserable.
"Well, if you're not gonna tell 'em, what are you gonna do?" asked Anne.
"Not to sound rude Wally but you know keeping this secret of yours may eventually spill out. It's like what my mom said: A parent has their way of finding things out. Than again, she said it was a mom thing." Charlie chimed in.
"Maybe if they could see how happy I was living in Wartwood, they'd understand and accept me for who I am." said Wally feeling some euphoria towards the idea.
Anne smiled as she gotten an idea in her mind. Wally somehow felt as though he didn't have the courage to talk to his dad about how miserable he feels when back in Ribbitvale, he let out a groan of sadness.
"Who am I kidding. Well, I better go get ready for dinner." said Wally sadly.
Wally had walked out of the stable and that's when both Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly walked inside. Anne and Charlie saw they had wide eyed expressions of shock as if they saw someone naked.
"Hey, where you guys been?" asked Anne and Charlie in unison.
"Around." said Hop Pop and Sprig in awkward unison.
"Rich people are messed up." answered Polly.
"Hold it! Front and center fam." Charlie commanded.
The Plantars came over to them and both Anne and Charlie explained to them everything that Wally has told them and they explained how Wally is miserable there but is happy living the way he does back in Wartwood and struggles to tell his dad and family about it. They saw that Charlie wasn't the only one they know who had dad issues.
Sprig wasn't so sure about trying to tell Wally's dad and his family about this but Anne reassured that they're doing this to help Wally since Wally himself has struggled to tell his dad about this issue for years but never had the courage to do so. So they complied and understood what they had to do.
One hour later
Anne, Charlie, the Plantars, Wally, Wigbert and other family members of Wally's family and other guests they've invited were in the dining room. The dining room had a large fire place on the right side of the room. gold candelabras standing on shelves on the sides of the room and a huge dining room table that was able to seat sixteen people.
Charlie was seeing that this was like seeing how royalty lives, even though Wally's family wasn't a royal family but just a rich family that made their money off something they've invented and more. Even Anne, Sprig, Polly and Hop Pop saw this. Charlie was attempting to convince Wigbert to have a father and son moment with Wally.
"Wigbert, I know this is none of my business but do you happen to remember having a father and son moment with Wally?" asked Charlie.
"Well, I do re-call a time when Walliam and I had a family road trip and he seemed to of had a good old time." replied Wigbert.
When Wigbert wasn't looking, that's when Wally looked at Charlie and he shook his head briefly at him and silently mouthed the word "No" with his dad seeing that. Charlie whispered something to Wally as it looked as though he was whispering advice to him and Wally appeared to show he liked what he heard, than he whispered something to Charlie which the human male liked what Wally whispered to him.
Wigbert picked up a spoon to gently tap a glass he was holding and it got everyone's attention. He cleared his throat.
"A toast to Walliam's valet." announced Wigbert.
They all smiled a toothy grin and let out an odd shriek that sounded like they were trying to laugh. Charlie looked at Anne and winked at her. She winked back and got up.
"Great segue. To thank you Ribbitons for your hospitality, I have prepared a special presentation." Anne announced.
"It talks. Oh, capital." said a male frog nearby.
Charlie looked at the male frog with a cold look and shook his head disapprovingly at him.
"What did I say about before?" Charlie reminded.
The male frog and others in there suddenly remembered what Charlie advised about before and let out a sigh as they knew what one of them said wasn't nice.
"Treat different people with compassion and respect and they'll treat you with the same!" said the frogs.
Anne winked at Charlie as he stood up for her. Anne continued.
"Now, please enjoy this video of Wally's life in Wartwood. Edited by me." said Anne pulling out her cell phone.
Wally's optimism was cut short as he dropped a spoon with a shocked expression. Wally looked as Anne pushed a button on the screen of her phone. There was a series of clips as the first shown Wally playing his accordion while dancing on a rock like fence.
"Oh, I'm a vagrant With a heart of gold"
Than it shown Wally falling off it and it looked like he was laughing in the video. Than the next clip shown Wally in a chicken coop but than a light on the phone shined on him as if someone opened the door to the chicken coop.
"Wally." came Anne's voice on the phone.
"What can I say? I sleep better with company." said Wally with a grin as if joking.
Another clip than shown Wally was bathing in a pool with what looked like a rubber ducky as he was looking like he was bathing in a wishing well when it looked like someone from Wartwood was tossing a copper coin or more in there to make a wish like a wishing fountain. Than a male frog officer blew his whistle and was coming to him in the clip.
"Ooh. Gotta go." said Wally getting out of the fountain.
Wally made his attempt to escape but fell and three male frog officers came over to stop him and it looked like they jumped on top of him to prevent him from escaping and that's when the video ended and everyone fell silent. Wigbert was about to get up from where he sat.
"Not what I had in mind." said Charlie under his breath.
"Cue emotional acceptance." said Anne with a grin.
Wigbert had an angry expression on his face and Anne's smile quickly turned into a frown as she saw this might not have resulted in what she's expecting.
"Walliam! That is how you've been acting outside of Ribbitvale? Unacceptable. You have brought shame onto the house of Ribbiton. Worse. You've been lying to us." said Wigbert in a harsh tone.
"I‐I only lied because I didn't think you'd accept the real me." said Wally looking afraid of him.
"Well, you weren't wrong. We do not accept this. You are henceforth forbidden to leave this town." Wigbert said looking as if making a final decision.
Wally looked shocked and felt like his heart would break but when he looked at Anne and Charlie, that's when Charlie gave a stoic expression and nodded to Wally as if to signal him to stand up to his father. Than Wally looked at his dad and shown a determined face.
"Then you leave me no choice." said Wally.
What Wally did next was something that a talented dancer could as he hopped up, took a knife and rolled a pink ribbon all around it. He dance across the table while it looked like he was dancing and twirling the ribbon as he danced across the table in front of a shocked group and did a few flips, than he landed on his feet and tossed the knife at a gold gong as it stuck to the gong like a dart being thrown at a dart board and it made a loud gong like ring, hitting the center.
"Bullseye!" said Charlie in a deep voice.
"What? What does that mean?" asked Anne curiously.
"Family challenge!" said the Plantars in unison.
"If my family won't accept me for who I truly am, then I don't want to be a Ribbiton anymore. I challenge you to a winner‐takes‐all duel." said Wally looking at his dad as if fed up with him.
"You tell him, Wally!" cried Charlie.
"Very well. One‐on‐one Beast Polo. You win, you can leave Ribbitvale and live however you like. You lose, you take over the family business and stay in Ribbitvale forever." said Wigbert with an evil grin.
A male frog who was probably a butler nearby gasped in horror and dropped a plate, it fell to the floor and crashed into pieces along with a teapot and teacups.
"I accept." said Wally accepting the said challenge.
It wasn't long till everyone was headed out of the room and both Anne, Wally and Charlie were the last to leave to dining room.
"Why did you do that?" said Wally exasperated.
"You told us this is what you wanted. You said, "I wish I could see me in Wartwood." said Anne following him.
"But I didn't actually mean it." said Wally annoyed.
"Look, I just wanted to help you be proud of who you are. A poppin' lockin' fresh don't stoppin' hip‐hop B‐girl." said Anne."
"A what?" said Wally confused.
"Never mind. What can we do to fix this?" asked Anne hopefully.
"You know what guys, you've done enough already. I've got to face the music on my own." said Wally looking angry.
Wally was about to walk off and now Charlie was angry as he took charge.
"Wally, you stop there right now!" said Charlie sharply. "We were trying to help you, alright."
Wally turned towards Charlie's direction and he shot an angry look.
"You stay out of this, damn it!" Wally yelled.
Charlie's rage instantly disappeared and what Wally just told him felt like a slap to his face and poor Charlie started to show tears slowly leaking out of his eyes and Wally's anger turned to guilt. Wally just realized that he did the same thing to Charlie that his dad to him and Anne was there to see this as she looked like she was ready to comfort him.
"Now wait, Charlie. I didn't mean what I've said. I didn't mean what I've said to you or Anne just now." said Wally panicking a bit.
Charlie let out a sniffle as if on the verge of bawling. Wally knew that what he said and his angry reaction hurt Charlie as both Charlie and Anne were only trying to help him.
"Alright, I'm sorry for snapping at you two. I know you two were only trying to help me here. Maybe it didn't go as planned at first but if it makes you two feel any better, you two shown me more support and acceptance towards me and who I really am more than my dad ever did." said Wally apologetically. "I'm sorry for what I said and for yelling at you two."
Wally saw Charlie begin to calm a bit and his tears stopped while Wally went up to him, jumped high into the air and landed on Charlie's shoulders, hugging him and he hugged the small male frog adult back while Anne came over to hug them as well.
"So what do you two love birds have in mind for helping me out." said Wally.
Charlie felt as though an idea popped into his mind along with Anne feeling the same way.
"Light bulb." said Charlie.
Charlie began to whisper what idea he had in mind to them and when he whispered it to them, they were wide eyed at first and afterwards, smiled and chuckled.
"And just in case if that doesn't work?" asked Anne curiously.
"We'll improvise." answered Charlie.