Chapter 3:

A Visit from a Witch

"Please… Come to our farm… As soon as possible… Signed, Hopadiah Plantar…" Hop Pop read out loud as he wrote, finishing his letter with his distinguishable signature on the bottom corner of the page. "That about does it."

When the elderly Planter woke up to the first sight of the rising Sun in the morning, his first course of action was to write a letter to the witch frog addressing his grandson's predicament, just as he said that he intended to do to his family earlier. Usually, he would make breakfast for his grandchildren to start off the day, especially when they have work at the vegetable stand. But Sprig's woes were more urgent, hence why Hop Pop decided that it was best to write the letter first so that they can deal with it sooner than later.

He put aside his plume pen and stretched his back to shake off any remaining rust that he had on his bones from his slumber, then at the sight of a butterfly flying past the window of his room, he looked up to the sky while still seated at his desk. The beautiful green sky was mostly clear, occupied by small clouds that were few and far between, as well as a group of dragonflies soaring through as part of their daily routine.

One of the dragonflies was noticeably carrying a frog who had been abducted from the main plaza for almost three months, as far as Hop Pop knew. One has to wonder if that poor frog was ever going to be freed from the dragonfly's clutches… Not that anyone would bother to help, for some reason. Not even his supposed beloved.

After a bit of sightseeing from within the comfort of his own room, he inserted the letter inside of an envelop, sealed it with a stamp, got up from his desk and left the bedroom with the letter in his possession, making his way to the front door.

"It's a good thing that I finished writing the letter this early in the morning, so Sprig wouldn't have to wait that long." Hop Pop said to nobody in particular. "But if my memory serves me correctly, little Maddie might be busy helping her father open up the bakery around this time. So she might not come until sometime later. Well, better to send this letter now."

He reached the front door as he placed his hand on the handle, right after he unlocked it. "Now to call in the mosquito messenger." He then opened the door, and upon doing so…

"AAAAAHHH!" He screamed and jumped at the sight of a creepy creature.

"Hi, Mr. Plantar." greeted Maddie, standing right in front of the entrance.

"Oh, hi, Maddie. Didn't expect to see you here." Hop Pop returned the greeting with smile, instantly recovered from his freakout upon realizing who it is. "My apologies for screaming my lungs out right in your face."

"It's fine, Mr. Plantar, sir." Maddie reassured him, having gotten used to people freaking out at the sight of her, especially when she shows up out of nowhere.

"You know, you tend to show up where we least expect it. Have you been using some kind of teleportation magic, perhaps?" Hop Pop asked.

"Don't be silly, sir." Maddie replied. "… That's a spell reserved only to Level 3 witches and above."

As the two frogs began to talk to each other, a human girl emerged out of the basement, looking like she had gotten little sleep since a few hours ago. "Mm… Hey, Hop Pop." Anne yawned as she rubbed off the dust that accumulated in the corner of her eyes. "What's with all the screaming?"

When she gazed at Hop Pop at the entrance of the house, she was taken by surprise by the appearance of a familiar blue frog standing at the door. "Whoa, Maddie? Is that you?" Anne asked as she quickly joined the two frogs.

"Good morning, Anne." Maddie said with a wave. "You didn't get much sleep last night, did you?"

"Uh… How do you figure?"

"Because you're wearing the same look as I do after a long night of practicing the dark arts, well into the dawn of the day. Last night is no different." Maddie replied.

"Oh really?" Anne scratched the back of her head as she tried to look for some signs of tiredness from the witch frog. "But… You don't look tired."

"A result of a spell that I casted on myself to keep myself awake." Maddie replied. "It'll last for at least three days, by the way."

"Starting to question how healthy this is. Then again, it's the dark arts, so…"

"Sorry if I cut this chitchat short, girls." Hop Pop cut in, as he attempted to steer the conversation towards what matters currently. "But we have some urgent matter that needs attending to. In fact, it's good that you're here already, Maddie, because we could really use your help here."

"I think I already know what it is that you need help with." Maddie said. "It's why I came here this early in the morning in the first place."

"Oh cool!" Anne exclaimed. "So that means you know that Sprig got turned into a human being!"

The witch frog raised a confused eyebrow. "Wait… A human being?"

"Yeah, like me! Isn't that why you're here? To turn him back to normal?"

Maddie lowered her head and placed a hand on her chin, as she began to process what Anne told her about what happened to the young boy. "That's strange… In theory, he's supposed to transform into a mess of an abomination. If you said that he's been turned into a human being like you, then…"

She could only spare a few seconds to contemplate the information before deciding that it was best to deal with it first hand. "Do you mind if I go see Sprig right now? I want to see what he looks like myself."

"Certainly. Follow me, Maddie." Hop Pop obliged, as he was about to lead the older Flour child up the stairs where his grandson was located.

As the three of them turned towards the stairs, they were met with the sight of a small, pink tadpole jumping down the steps, looking like she had woken up some time ago already. "Morning, family! What's happening down here?" Polly shouted, looking more energized than the last time that she was awake. "Oh hey, Maddie."

"Hi, Polly." Maddie waved at the pink tadpole.

"Good morning, Polly." Hop Pop greeted his granddaughter. "Say, do you know if Sprig is awake right now? Maddie here wants to see what's been going on with him."

"Oh yeah, he's up." Polly replied. "… Sorta."

"What do you mean?" Anne asked.

"I mean, I took a look at his room a minute ago, and yeesh! It's like a jungle in there. Like Sprig was wrestling with himself and sent a bunch of stuff flying across the room, ripped clothes and all. It's kinda funny, in a sad way."

"Oh, that doesn't sound good." Hop Pop said, worried about Sprig's state of being based on what Polly told them. "Let's go check up on him quickly, then."

The group of four people quickly made their way up the stairs and towards Sprig's room. As they stood in front of the door with the tapped sign that says 'Sprig's room', Anne was the first person to step in and opened the door slowly.

"Hey, Sprig, buddy?" asked the worried human. "Are you okay in heeeeeooooh wow, you're not kidding about this, Polly."

Once the door was fully opened, the group were presented with the sight of a completely untidy mess that is Sprig's bedroom. Well, more untidy than usual, that is.

Numerous of clothes were scattered across the room, each of them having varied amount of tears in the fabric ranging from small tears to big ones that completely destroyed them. Some of the objects that were hanging from the ceiling fell on the floor, as if someone had thrown something at them, which resulted in the rope keeping them suspended in the air to give out. Even Sprig's precious action figures that he had displayed on the shelves over his bed had fallen off, joining the rest of the jumbled mess on the floor.

A person was found laying flat on the floor with blankets covering his entire body and a large cloth sprawling underneath him. It used to be the hammock bed, but the hooks keeping it up were unable to support his weight, which resulted in the hammock becoming no more than a large, unraveled rug on the floor

Anne quickly went to where Sprig was and got down on her knees next to him, carefully pulling the blankets down to reveal his now-human head, which was still something that she had trouble getting used to.

Sprig squinted as a ray of light hit him through his closed eyes, which only soured his already foul mood. He slowly opened his eyes and tirelessly turned his head towards his best friend.

"Hey, dude." Anne spoke to him softly. "You, uh… You doing alright?"

"Ngh… Not really…" Sprig groaned.

"Mind telling me what happened here?"

"Urgh… It all started when I got back up to my room…" Sprig began to explain. "My clothes started to rip, which sucks a lot, because they were my favourite. I tried going through the rest of my clothes, but one by one, they all got teared apart because they didn't fit me anymore. Then I tried to sleep it off, but, well… You see what happened to my bed, right? Then I got frustrated and just threw a bunch of stuff on the wall and before I know it, it's morning already. So, you know…"

"Jeez. Sorry, Sprig. That really sucks…" Anne said, feeling sorry for her best friend having a terrible experience during his first few hours of being a transformed human that is different in shape and weight from his usual frog self. "But hey! You don't have to worry about it anymore! 'Cause guess who's here to see you~?"

"Huh?" At first, Sprig had no idea what Anne was talking about. But once he looked at who's behind her, besides his grandfather and sister, there was another person standing at the doorway, wearing a black tunic and her hair covering her right eye.

He perked up when he realized who it was. "Oh my frog! Maddie!" he shouted as he sat up from the floor, his blankets falling off from his upper body. Just as he was about to stand up next…

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" A blushing Anne stopped him.

"Huh? What is it, Anne?" The confused boy asked.

"Uh… W-when you said that all of your clothes got ripped, does that mean…?" Anne had trouble finishing what she wanted to ask Sprig, as she looked up and down at his body partial covered by the blankets. "A-are you wearing something under there?"

"Um, no." Sprig replied. "Why?"

Her blush deepened, as she instantly stood up from the floor. "You know what? Let me get you my spare clothes! Pretty sure that they're gonna fit you perfectly! Just stay right here and don't move, okay? Seriously!" She quickly said as she made her way out of the room, slipping past the three Amphibians standing at the doorway. "'Kay, be right back!"

Sprig watched the Thai-American girl fleeing the scene quickly in confusion. He could only wonder why she asked him if he was wearing clothes and why she told him to not move from his spot. Hop Pop, Polly and Maddie shared the same feeling as him.

The frog-turned-human boy let out a loud yawn, the strength of it causing him to close his eyes. It was very evident that he did not get any sleep at all after the revelation of his transformation. "Mm… This is seriously the worst…" he groaned.

When he opened his eyes, he nearly jumped out of the covers when Maddie suddenly showed up on her knees next to him. The witch frog stared intently at the uncomfortable boy, as if to study his new appearance. She then grabbed hold of his head, turned it around to one side for one moment, then shifted it to the other side. Next, she picked up one of his arms that were laying besides him and leaned her face closer, as she analyzed every inch of the skin, down to the pores.

"Incredible…" she said as she let go of his arm, having her curiosity satisfied for the time being. "It's just like Anne said. You somehow got turned into a human being like her."

"It's horrible, isn't it?" Sprig frowned. "I'm not a cute and cuddly pink frog that everyone loves anymore. Now I'm just an ugly human being with absolutely no endearing qualities. Even Hop Pop and Polly are disgusted by me…"

"Uh, Anne's been living with us for almost three months, remember?" Polly reminded her overreacting brother. "At least stop acting like such a cry baby. That's usually my role in the family, except for the crying part."

"Easy for you to say, Polly…" Sprig bemoaned, as he seemed to the only one of the family to be distraught over his sudden change. Then suddenly, Maddie plucked a bit of his orange hair from his head. "Ow! What was that for?" he asked as he rubbed his head.

"Sorry. I need a sample from you that might help me concoct some kind of cure for your situation." Maddie explained.

"So does that mean you can turn me back to normal?"

"I said 'it might'. I don't know for sure if there is a way to turn you back to normal, unless I consult my spell book."

"Oh please, Maddie! I beg of you!" Sprig desperately pleaded as he brought his hands together and shook them in front of the witch frog. "I can't live like this! I don't wanna be stuck as horrible, horrible monster who walks around and scares people away! Being human sucks!"

"Hop Pop," Polly started to speak to their grandfather. "You think Anne is gonna be mad that he keeps dissing her species each and every second?"

"Oh, absolutely." Hop Pop replied. "Here's hoping that he realizes this before it's too late."

"Calm down, Sprig." Maddie attempted to alleviate the poor boy. "This is exactly why I'm here. To find a way to turn you back to normal after what happened last night. But to do that, I'll need to go back to my house and search through my books for some answer. I'll need you to come with me for this one."

"W-wait, you mean you want me out of the house?! Out in public with everyone in Wartwood?!" Sprig asked. He received a nod from the blue frog, which caused him to panic even more. "No! I can't go out there! I don't want people to see me like this!"

"You're gonna have to." she said. "I need you with me so I can compare your changes to what is written in the books. It'll be much faster than just taking a shot in the dark."

"You don't understand, Maddie! I have a reputation to keep out there! I can't afford to let my cute image go south in everyone's minds!"

Sprig let out a frustrated groan as he furiously scratched his head with both hands, unable to comprehend how everything led to this. "Dang it, Maddie! This is your fault, you know!" He glared at the witch frog. "If you hadn't splashed me with your stupid, magic potions, none of this would have happened! I'd still be me, Sprig Plantar the cute frog of Wartwood!"

"In case that you've forgotten, I spilled my potions on you because you crashed into me without looking!" Maddie shouted as she glared back. "If you had been in your right mind back there, then for sure, none of this would've ever happened! So don't you shift the blame on me, you stuck-up idiot!"

Sprig was taken aback by Maddie's sudden outburst at him, which was a first for him. He then took a second to process what she said and realized that she was right. If he hadn't reacted poorly to Ivy's decision for the two of them to stay friends, then he would not have bumped into Maddie in his haste, which led to his human transformation overnight. Maddie being there at all was just a complete coincidence. It was outside of either of their control.

"Maddie, I… I'm sorry." He apologized as he looked down in shame.

Maddie's expression softened, as if she realized that her exploding at him was inappropriate. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry." she said. "I shouldn't be mad at you for behaving the way you did last night. Especially not after what happened between you and Ivy…"

The young boy was shocked to hear what she just said. He looked up to her and saw that she was staring at him with a sympathetic look, hinting that she had a good idea on what occurred between him and Ivy last night. She said nothing else afterwards, as if she knew that it was a sore subject for him, and he would not want his family to find out about it.

After considering everything that she said, Sprig decided that there are no other alternatives to the solution to his predicament. "Okay… I'll come with you back to your place, Maddie…"

The blue frog smiled. "That's good to know."

"Hey, Sprig!" Polly called out to her brother, managing to attract his attention towards her. "If you don't want people to see you like this, just wear a cloak or something! You might get weird looks, but at least you can hide your face!"

"That's a good idea, Polly." Hop Pop said, praising his granddaughter's quick thinking. "What is also a good idea is that you should bring Anne along with you. She might offer a bit more help to this, since she is a natural human being."

"I was just about to suggest that, sir." Maddie said as she turned her attention towards the elderly orange frog. "With both Sprig and Anne with me, I might be able to figure out what to do to fix his problem sooner than later."

"Great. We'll tell Anne all about it, as soon as she comes back with some spare clothes."

"Hey, Hop Pop?" Sprig gazed at his grandfather as their eyes meet. "We're supposed to work at the vegetable stand today, right? Is it really okay to leave you and Polly alone over there?"

"Oh, I'm sure that we'll manage, boy." Hop Pop reassured him with a smile. "Besides, today will most likely be a slow day at the stand. And even if it's not, Polly is surprisingly very good at attracting people to the stand as of late."

"The trick is to guilt-trip them into buying our vegetables by showing them your sad eyes." Polly explained. "That, or threaten them to come by destroying everything and everyone that they love. Too bad Hop Pop wouldn't let me do that."

"For good reason, Polly." Hop Pop clarified. "And while we're at it, we should stop by the tailor shop and ask them to make new clothes for you, Sprig. Just in case your human problem doesn't get solved on the same day."

"Thanks, Hop Pop." Sprig smiled.

"Well, in any case, I should start making breakfast for all of us. Have you eaten yet, Maddie?"

"Just a piece of bread, Mr. Plantar." The blue frog replied. "But if you don't mind having me for breakfast, then I wouldn't object to eating your food, sir."

"Alright then. You're welcome to join us." Hop Pop smiled at Maddie.

"That way, I can use your terrible food as a potential ingredient for my spells…" She murmured under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, sir."

Once everything was said and done, with each person having an idea on what they should do for the day, Hop Pop left the room in order to start cooking breakfast for the whole family plus one, with Polly coming along with him as they made their way to the stairs, leaving Sprig and Maddie alone in the former's bedroom.

Sprig looked down at his human hands once again, as he let out a huge sigh. "I hope everything goes well today…"

"We won't know until we find out for ourselves." Maddie said before placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "But I'll definitely try my best to help you deal with your problem, Sprig."

"Thanks, Maddie…"

Meanwhile, as Hop Pop and Polly climbed down the stairs, a thought came to the latter's mind, considering what they were planning to do.

"Hey, Hop Pop? We've been going to that tailor shop a lot lately, right?" she asked.

"Indeed we did." Hop Pop replied with a smile. "Ever since Anne came here, because she only brought a few set of clothes with her, getting new clothes for her is something that I consider to be necessary. Sprig's case is no different. I'm not surprised that we've gone to that shop a lot often for the past three months. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was just wondering… How much copper did you spend getting those clothes made?"

"A word of advice, Polly: Nudging people into exposing their crippling pain and sorrow can only lead to disaster." Hop Pop gave a rather cryptic response as his smile became strained and his eye twitched.

End of Chapter

Hey, everyone. HiddenKurogawa here. Sorry if this chapter doesn't have a lot going on. It's mostly setting up for the next chapter, which will contain scenarios relevant to the plot. Hopefully, the interactions between the characters in this chapter are a treat to you, since I tried my best to make sure that the conversation flows naturally with respects of the characters, as well as replicating the humour of the source material whenever it is apparent. I might not do a good job at it, but better than nothing, right?

As always, feel free to comment, follow and/or fave this story, though I would appreciate these very much. Until next time.