Tracy's Pet Frog

...

One beautiful sunny morning in Tarrytown, Tracy was playing at Lightning Bug Lake with her friends Jay Jay, Herky and Snuffy. They were playing Leap- Jet, which was Tracy's favourite game, but just as it was her turn to leap over her friends, they all heard a strange noise coming from the lake.

"What was that?" Herky asked.

"It's a monster!" Snuffy exclaimed in fright. "Quick we need to get back to the airport and warn everyone!"

But Tracy and Jay Jay laughed.

"It's only a frog!" Jay Jay said.

"Yeah guys, it wouldn't hurt you!" Tracy added. She saw that the frog looked lonely. "Aw, I think the frog needs a friend." She said. "I shall keep him as my pet frog!"

"Are you sure, Tracy?" Jay Jay asked.

"Of course I'm sure!" She replied. "I think I'll call him Henry. He looks like a Henry to me."

The others didn't know what to say, but they could see Tracy was happy with Henry, so they decided not to say anything about it.

"So Henry, what do you want to do?" Tracy asked her friend. But Henry just croaked loudly, so Tracy thought about it for a moment. "I know! How about I fly you back to the hangar and show you to Brenda and Savannah!" She suggested.

The frog just croaked again, and hopped on her wing and then inside her.

"Well, here we go!" She called, and she flew off to show Henry to Brenda Blue. But when she took off, she heard Henry making strange noises. He sounded as if he was scared of flying with Tracy.

"Hm, sounds like you don't like flying. Sorry Henry- but don't worry, I'll have you down again in no time!"

So she flew back towards the ground, and allowed Henry to hop out. "I'm sorry Henry. I didn't know you don't like flying, but how will you be able to get back to the hangar now? Hey, I have idea- let's see if hopping back to the hangar is faster than flying!"

With that, she zipped off. But poor Henry wasn't very fast, and he wasn't a very slim frog either, so he slowed down quite quickly, and so he hopped along, croaking.

...

When Tracy arrived back at the hangar, she found Jay Jay, Herky and Snuffy all talking to Savannah, Brenda and Big Jake about their trip to Lightning Bug Lake.

"Hi everyone!" She called out cheerfully.

"Hello Tracy!" Her friends chorused in response.

"We heard you got yourself a new friend at Lightning Bug Lake." Big Jake said. "Where is he?"

"Henry couldn't come with me, because he hates flying." Tracy explained. "But he'll turn up any minute."

"Are you sure?" Jay Jay asked. "I don't see him."

Tracy was worried. What if something had happened to Henry? She didn't want him to get hurt. "Well, maybe he's lost. I better go and find him." She told them, and so she started to leave the hangar. But on her way out, she heard a familiar noise- and then she saw Henry right in front of her! Fearing she might hit him, Tracy swerved to avoid a collision with him – and toppled over!

"Oof!" She exclaimed.

"Are you alright, Tracy?" Snuffy asked, as he and Jay went over to help her up again.

"I'm fine. It was just an accident." Tracy replied. Once she was up on her wheels again, she wondered what she could do with her pet. "How about we play fetch?" She asked Henry, but he just gave her a funny look.

"Uh, Tracy, frogs can't play fetch." Big Jake told her.

"Okay, how about you do tricks?" She asked. "Henry, sit!"

"He is sitting though." Herky pointed out.

"Well, then roll over!" Tracy commanded, but Savannah told her gently that frogs couldn't roll around.

Suddenly, Henry hopped away again!

"Henry wait, come back!" She called to the frog, but it was no use. The amphibian was making his way to the door of the hangar.

Unfortunately, Mr E.Z O' Malley, owner of E.Z Airlines, came into the hangar to talk to the planes about something important when he saw Henry hopping about. He moved his foot to avoid the frog, but tilted too far to the left and fell down, horrifying the planes, especially Tracy.

"I'm sorry sir, that wasn't meant to happen!" Tracy gasped. "He was just so excited to hop about, that he went for the door. Are you alright?"

"Yes I am. But I feel that the...frog might be best returned to its natural habitat." He said.

"The frog's name is Henry, and he's my pet!" Tracy defended, but Mr O' Malley wasn't having it.

"I'm sorry Tracy, but I think its best that Henry goes home." Mr O' Malley told her, and Tracy knew there was no point in arguing.

"Yes, sir." Tracy said sadly. "I'll take him back to Lightning Bug Lake."

"But how? He hates flying." Snuffy pointed out. They all knew he was right, so they wondered how they would be able to get him home to Lightning Bug Lake.

Then Jay Jay had an idea. "Do you know what Henry likes?" He asked.

"I've heard that frogs like lily pads." Brenda suggested. "They also require moisture to survive."

"Well, we could take him by flying, by putting him in a box filled with water and with holes on the lid to breathe and if we went slowly." Jay Jay explained.

"It's worth a shot." Brenda said. "I have an old lunchbox we can use."

"Okay then!" Tracy said. But she felt sad at having to put Henry back home. "I guess this is goodbye, Henry." She said sadly.

Henry just croaked in response.

"I'm gonna miss you." She told him, as she saw Brenda return with the old lunchbox. It had holes in the lid, it had water for Henry and it was clean.

Brenda picked Henry up, and gingerly placed him in the box, before shutting the lid. She then handed the box to Tracy's pilot.

"Slow and careful, remember?" She reminded Tracy.

"I know- so I don't scare Henry." She sighed sadly. "Brenda, why does Henry have to go back?"

"Well, animals have their own habitats, Tracy. They need their own space to live in. But you can always go back and see him when you're not busy."

"I suppose I could..." Tracy said, a smile lighting her face. She felt a bit better about goodbye to Henry, but she was still going to miss her amphibian friend.

So with these thoughts in mind, Tracy set off to Lightning Bug Lake.

...

The flight was even longer than usual, as Tracy had to deal with going at a slower pace than what she was used to, but she eventually arrived at Lightning Bug Lake. "There you are, Henry." She said, as her pilot got out, carrying the box to the lake before opening the lid carefully.

Henry hopped out, looking much happier to be home. He hopped over to the lake and went into some marshy reeds nearby. But before he did, he turned round, and croaked a 'goodbye' to Tracy.

"Goodbye Henry. I hope you'll be a much happier frog." She said. Then she decided to return to Tarrytown and talk to her friends.