1 Chapter I: Some Explaining To Do
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As my 49 siblings plus one adopted sister stared inquiringly at me, waiting for an explanation, I could only be bothered by one thought; what was I going to tell Mamma?
"Oh me, oh me! Gracie! Jimmy!" Suddenly, my mother had enveloped us both within her forearms. It was unusual, to say the least, as Mamma detested doing anything too unfroglike, but Daddy had shown her their beauty. My little heart ached within that moment of shock as I remembered Daddy and the little dilemma he had put me in.
"Come away, children. It's time to sleep." A round of groans came from all around, but Mamma was adamant. "We've had an exciting day, but now we need rest. In the morning, Gracie will tell us all about what happened."
She thought Gracie had saved the pond as well! I wanted to shout my indignation, but thought better of it. If she didn't know that I was involved, or that the man—Daddy—knew my name, there would be nothing to tell her! Even if it was deceitful, I don't want to hurt her, but Gracie, how I loathed her in the next moment, blew my plan to pieces.
"But, Mamma, that man knew Jimmy's name! How did he know his name?"
A quick, barely discernible flicker went through Mamma's eye, something she does whenever she's remembering something. Probably the time when the man had called out her name the day Daddy disappeared. A sharp glance from her left eye told me I had a lot of explaining to do.
"In the morning, Gracie," she said in a tight voice, then did a croaky sort of cough as she continued with a more subdued tone, "In the morning, we'll talk. It seems that you've been through quite a bit and could use a rest. Now, to sleep, all of you!"
Glancing around, I saw many tired, little faces nod and hop away onto some various lilies and stones. Mamma took several large leaps and landed, Gracie looking between Momma and me in confusion before settling herself to sleep. Taking as many little leaps as I could, I reveled in the feeling of having my strong legs back; I eventually joined Mamma on the rock where we used to spend happy days with Daddy.
"Will you tell me, Jimmy, what happened when you left and how the man knew your name?" Sadness and pain dripped over every word as she stared up at the waxing, gibbous moon. She had suspicions, I knew, but now, my wretched fate, I had to confirm them.
Counting 50 sleeping bodies, to make sure only one heard the tale, I sighed and began with the spell the hag had put on me. Keeping one eye to the sky and one on me, she nodded every now and then to show she was listening. At some point, I had crawled into her lap and she was soothing me as mammals soothed their crying offspring. There were often times where I could hear her mental shouts of "Oh me, oh me, oh me!" but being the sensible frog she is, she remembered that I was safe and in her arms.
The soft, moist hand that rubbed gently on my back faltered just a moment when I got to the part where I asked for Pin. Trembling with joy, she fought to keep her movements steady as I told her Daddy sent his love and that as long as the prince lived, he lived. How could I go on with what I had to tell her next?
"The Prince told me, to tell you, that frogs are frogs and people are people. I didn't understand at first, but I do now, do you?" A nod.
Finishing with when Daddy picked up the ring and said he would keep it, until we needed it, I told her that, in his heart, he must've been human. Not wanting to, but needing to, I looked up at my mother. Tears streamed from her eyes and I realized how uncomfortable it must've been for her. I know what it's like to cry, but she has cried only once before. "Crying is unfroglike. Frogs don't cry," she had said. Even so, she didn't wipe away at that tear and merely watched as it fell into a once occupied spot. I was never really a frog, but a fawg, partly frog and now partly human.
"Mamma? You know what this means, right?" I didn't want to say it, but, oh, how I had to. "Daddy's a human. The hag changed him into a frog but the kiss from the princess broke that spell. He became human again."
"Yes, yes. I understand, Jimmy. Oh me, oh me, oh me," she answered, just barely above a whisper.
"It explains so much," she continued to mumble," Those clothes in the road, his horrible jumps, the funny way he talked, the cow… everything! Oh me…"
Was she going mad? What was she talking about? She wasn't foaming at the mouth, so I went on, " He's going to marry Marissa," she stopped mumbling, "in two days."
Marriage. What a funny word. Daddy once explained to us, before the other fawgs came home, what "marriage" was. In the eyes of God (a great, unseen, all-powerful being who lived in a place called "heaven"), a female and male are spiritually and physically linked to one another for all of eternity. This bonded pair, husband and wife, stayed together for their entire lives and mated with only one another. He told us he felt married to Mamma and she had even said she felt the same. If that were true, and marriage lasted forever, why was he marrying Marissa? I remembered when Sally and I had seen him, the Prince, singing his mating song to the Princess. Shouldn't Mamma have been the only one to hear it? Why did he love someone other than her? Is their marriage different because they had no priest or church or weddings bells and wedding rings? Why did being human null his marriage to Mamma?
Sometime during my silent tirade, Mamma had silently leapt away. Anger and sadness welled up in my little amphibian heart as I thought of my poor Mamma. A curious little frog that fell in love when frogs were not meant to love but be happy. And then, this love of hers turns out to be human! My poor, froggy mother.
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As my 49 siblings plus one adopted sister stared inquiringly at me, waiting for an explanation, I could only be bothered by one thought; what was I going to tell Mamma?
"Oh me, oh me! Gracie! Jimmy!" Suddenly, my mother had enveloped us both within her forearms. It was unusual, to say the least, as Mamma detested doing anything too unfroglike, but Daddy had shown her their beauty. My little heart ached within that moment of shock as I remembered Daddy and the little dilemma he had put me in.
"Come away, children. It's time to sleep." A round of groans came from all around, but Mamma was adamant. "We've had an exciting day, but now we need rest. In the morning, Gracie will tell us all about what happened."
She thought Gracie had saved the pond as well! I wanted to shout my indignation, but thought better of it. If she didn't know that I was involved, or that the man—Daddy—knew my name, there would be nothing to tell her! Even if it was deceitful, I don't want to hurt her, but Gracie, how I loathed her in the next moment, blew my plan to pieces.
"But, Mamma, that man knew Jimmy's name! How did he know his name?"
A quick, barely discernible flicker went through Mamma's eye, something she does whenever she's remembering something. Probably the time when the man had called out her name the day Daddy disappeared. A sharp glance from her left eye told me I had a lot of explaining to do.
"In the morning, Gracie," she said in a tight voice, then did a croaky sort of cough as she continued with a more subdued tone, "In the morning, we'll talk. It seems that you've been through quite a bit and could use a rest. Now, to sleep, all of you!"
Glancing around, I saw many tired, little faces nod and hop away onto some various lilies and stones. Mamma took several large leaps and landed, Gracie looking between Momma and me in confusion before settling herself to sleep. Taking as many little leaps as I could, I reveled in the feeling of having my strong legs back; I eventually joined Mamma on the rock where we used to spend happy days with Daddy.
"Will you tell me, Jimmy, what happened when you left and how the man knew your name?" Sadness and pain dripped over every word as she stared up at the waxing, gibbous moon. She had suspicions, I knew, but now, my wretched fate, I had to confirm them.
Counting 50 sleeping bodies, to make sure only one heard the tale, I sighed and began with the spell the hag had put on me. Keeping one eye to the sky and one on me, she nodded every now and then to show she was listening. At some point, I had crawled into her lap and she was soothing me as mammals soothed their crying offspring. There were often times where I could hear her mental shouts of "Oh me, oh me, oh me!" but being the sensible frog she is, she remembered that I was safe and in her arms.
The soft, moist hand that rubbed gently on my back faltered just a moment when I got to the part where I asked for Pin. Trembling with joy, she fought to keep her movements steady as I told her Daddy sent his love and that as long as the prince lived, he lived. How could I go on with what I had to tell her next?
"The Prince told me, to tell you, that frogs are frogs and people are people. I didn't understand at first, but I do now, do you?" A nod.
Finishing with when Daddy picked up the ring and said he would keep it, until we needed it, I told her that, in his heart, he must've been human. Not wanting to, but needing to, I looked up at my mother. Tears streamed from her eyes and I realized how uncomfortable it must've been for her. I know what it's like to cry, but she has cried only once before. "Crying is unfroglike. Frogs don't cry," she had said. Even so, she didn't wipe away at that tear and merely watched as it fell into a once occupied spot. I was never really a frog, but a fawg, partly frog and now partly human.
"Mamma? You know what this means, right?" I didn't want to say it, but, oh, how I had to. "Daddy's a human. The hag changed him into a frog but the kiss from the princess broke that spell. He became human again."
"Yes, yes. I understand, Jimmy. Oh me, oh me, oh me," she answered, just barely above a whisper.
"It explains so much," she continued to mumble," Those clothes in the road, his horrible jumps, the funny way he talked, the cow… everything! Oh me…"
Was she going mad? What was she talking about? She wasn't foaming at the mouth, so I went on, " He's going to marry Marissa," she stopped mumbling, "in two days."
Marriage. What a funny word. Daddy once explained to us, before the other fawgs came home, what "marriage" was. In the eyes of God (a great, unseen, all-powerful being who lived in a place called "heaven"), a female and male are spiritually and physically linked to one another for all of eternity. This bonded pair, husband and wife, stayed together for their entire lives and mated with only one another. He told us he felt married to Mamma and she had even said she felt the same. If that were true, and marriage lasted forever, why was he marrying Marissa? I remembered when Sally and I had seen him, the Prince, singing his mating song to the Princess. Shouldn't Mamma have been the only one to hear it? Why did he love someone other than her? Is their marriage different because they had no priest or church or weddings bells and wedding rings? Why did being human null his marriage to Mamma?
Sometime during my silent tirade, Mamma had silently leapt away. Anger and sadness welled up in my little amphibian heart as I thought of my poor Mamma. A curious little frog that fell in love when frogs were not meant to love but be happy. And then, this love of hers turns out to be human! My poor, froggy mother.