Title: If You Care, You Do the Right Thing
Takes Place: A year after the epilogue of HTTYD: THW
Summary: While spending time at the Great Lake of New Berk, Nuffink catches six frogs and insists on keeping them. At first all goes well until one day, the frogs escape and wreak havoc (a little havoc but still havoc nonetheless). When this happens, Hiccup must pass onto his son the lessons he had to learn about love and letting go.
…
A small school of trout was swimming through their watery home, keeping close together and going around the green plants growing out from the ground and waving back and forth under the water.
Suddenly the face of what looked like in the eyes of the trout a furless monster with big eyes as green as the water plants around them and shaggy yellow fur on the top of its head appeared before them.
"Boo!" said the monster as bubbles emitted from his mouth.
The fish scattered away in different directions in order to get as far away from the monster as they could.
Well, it wasn't really a monster that had startled the trout. It was actually a small human child, Nuffink Haddock. And the body of water that Nuffink and the trout were in was the clear, cool, sparkling Great Lake of New Berk. Nuffink had just been standing in the shallows of the lake when he saw the trout coming and decided to do a little fooling around.
After he had playfully spooked the trout, Nuffink stood up again, pushed his dripping blonde bangs out of his face and observed his surroundings.
At the edge of the water just a few inches away from him, his big sister, Zephyr was lying on her belly, waving her feet in the air and sketching something in her cherished notebook.
Their parents, Hiccup and Astrid were not too far away. They sat at the edge of the lake, keeping a close watch on their children while dipping their tired feet. Well actually, Astrid was dipping both of her feet while Hiccup was dipping his right foot and his nubby left leg. Astrid's two boots and Hiccup's single boot and metal prosthetic leg sat on either side of them.
A bunch of the other children of New Berk were also splashing, playing and fooling around in the water on this early summer day. Some of the children's parents were playing and splashing along with their youngsters while others just sat by the shore and watched. Some boats were much further out from the shore full of fisherman catching, well, fish.
Nuffink looked over back at his sister and smiled sneakily as an idea popped into his head.
"Hey, Zeph, I have something for you!" he called, scooping up some water into his hands.
Zephyr looked up from her notebook and at her brother.
"Here it is!" he said rapidly and tossed the handful of water at her.
Zephyr let out a startled cry as she pulled her notebook under her body and the water splashed onto her thick, braided auburn hair. Then she pulled her notebook out from under her and after making sure it wasn't wet, she glared at her little brother.
"Nuffink!" she said in an annoyed tone. "You could've gotten my notebook wet!"
"Sorry, Zeph. I was aiming at your face not your notebook."
"Well, you were pretty close but next time, try to splash me when I'm not holding it?"
"I'll try," Nuffink said apologetically.
"All right, I'll just put it away for a while," Zephyr said.
And she put it behind a rock sitting beside her so it wouldn't get wet. Then she took off her boots and stepped carefully into the water.
"Here you go again!" Nuffink said, splashing water at her again.
This time it splashed right in her face.
"Ah!" cried Zephyr.
Nuffink laughed hysterically. Zephyr glared at her brother before smiling deviously.
"Okay, now you get yours!"
She scooped up some water and splashed it in Nuffink's face.
"Hey!" Nuffink laughed and he started to run away from her and she started to chase him and splash more water on him.
"Don't go too far, kids!" they heard Astrid call after them.
"Right, Mom!" the two kids called back.
The siblings chased each other towards a part in the shore where a bunch of lily pads floated. There they continued to splash at each other until…
Ribbit.
"Ah!" Zephyr cried as a small green frog leapt through the air right past them.
The frog landed on top of one of the green pads.
"Relax, Zephyr, it's just a frog," Nuffink reassured his sister.
"I can see that," Zephyr said looking towards the frog that leapt over them.
Ribbit ribbit ribbit.
"Look, there's more frogs on top of the lily pads," Nuffink said, pointing.
Indeed there were about five more green frogs resting on the lily pads and croaking.
"I almost didn't see them sitting on the lily pads," Nuffink said.
"It's called camouflage," Zephyr said matter-of-factly. "They keep hidden against something that's the same color as their skin to protect themselves from danger. That's what Uncle Fishlegs told us once, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember," Nuffink said.
The blonde boy just couldn't keep his eyes off the six frogs resting on the lily pads, their chins bulging like bubbles as they croaked.
Ribbit ribbit ribbit.
"I really like frogs. If you look very, very closely, they kinda look just like Toothless and his wife, the Light Fury and their three babies…uh, without the wings of course," Nuffink said.
"Hmm," Zephyr said, squinting her eyes at the tiny green creatures. "They do, a little."
Nuffink's eyes popped open. "Hey, what if I brought them home with me? Then maybe Mom and Dad will let me keep them!"
"Do you really think Mom and Dad will let you keep them?" Zephyr asked skeptically.
"Sure," Nuffink said with confidence. "They had pet dragons and so did everyone else in the village before they let them go."
"But Dad said that Toothless was more like a friend to him than a pet," Zephyr pointed out.
"Then these frogs will be my friends too," Nuffink said.
"Well, I suppose it would be nice to have some animals in the house," Zephyr said. "Then maybe I can study them further."
"You can study them," Nuffink said. "As for me, I'll walk them, feed them, play with them and rock them to sleep."
"And clean up their messes," Zephyr said.
"Uh, yeah," Nuffink said slowly. "All right. Let's catch them."
"With what, your bare hands?" Zephyr asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh…" Nuffink said looking down at his hands.
"If you want to catch some frogs, we need something to catch them with and we need something to carry them in," Zephyr told her brother.
"You're right," Nuffink said, nodding. "We could use your butterfly net to catch them with."
"And we'll need a bucket of water to carry them in and keep them wet," Zephyr said.
"Okay, let's go," Nuffink said just as he was about to make a run for it.
"Hold on!" Zephyr called.
"Now what?" Nuffink asked a little impatiently.
"We'd better tell Mom and Dad where we're going," Zephyr pointed out. "If we leave without telling them, they'll get worried."
"Then let's go tell them then," Nuffink said, making a run for it again.
Zephyr followed after him and on the way, she picked up her notebook from behind the rock. Then she and Nuffink approached their parents who were still soaking their legs (legs in Astrid's case, leg and stump in Hiccup's).
"Hey, kids, we saw you over by the lily pads," Hiccup said. "What were you doing over there?"
"Just admiring the pretty pink flowers on top of them," Nuffink said. "And now if you'll excuse us, Zephyr and I are quickly gonna stop at the house to get some…some…"
"Snacks," Zephyr concluded for her brother.
Astrid gave her children a knowing smile. "Just some snacks?"
"Yeah, the snacks will give us more energy to play," Zephyr explained. "And you know how grumpy Nuffink gets if he doesn't have something to eat in a long time."
"Oh, yeah, I get pretty grumpy," Nuffink said.
"Yeah, you're almost worse than your mother when she's grumpy," Hiccup teased.
"I don't get that grumpy," Astrid said, playfully elbowing her husband's arm.
Hiccup chuckled as he rubbed his arm. "Well, how about I come with you two kids?"
"No!" Nuffink exclaimed.
"No?" Hiccup echoed, surprised.
"We can go by ourselves," Nuffink said. "It's a short walk from here to the house."
"We'll come back here after we get the snacks," Zephyr added.
"Well…" Hiccup said thoughtfully.
"Plus, you won't be walking us to places forever," Nuffink added.
"Yeah, we're growing up and we're growing up fast," Zephyr said.
"They have a point, honey," Astrid said.
Hiccup smiled and nodded. "Okay, you kids can go by yourselves. But then come right back here, understand?"
"Yes, sir!" Zephyr and Nuffink said, saluting before they headed towards the direction of their house.
…
About ten minutes later, Zephyr and Nuffink returned from their house back to the Great Lake. Zephyr held her butterfly net while Nuffink carried a bucket full of fresh water. The two children headed back to the spot where the lily pads floated. Standing at the water's edge, they looked towards the direction of their parents and waved at them. Hiccup and Astrid waved back at them.
Ribbit ribbit ribbit.
Their attention was drawn back the frogs' croaking. Sure enough the six frogs they had seen earlier were still resting beside the pink flowers on top of the green floating pads.
"Good, they're still there," Nuffink said happily.
"Now be quiet and slow," Zephyr advised. "We don't want to scare them."
"Right," Nuffink said, slowly stepping into the shallow water and still carrying the bucket.
Zephyr sloshed in after him keeping her grip on the net tight.
"Hello, froggies," Nuffink whispered, looking over the bucket at the frogs on the pads. He turned to his sister. "Now?"
"Now," Zephyr whispered back. "Better step away."
Nuffink nodded and stepped away to give his sister room. And with that, Zephyr raised her net and brought it down on top of some of the lily pads, catching three of the frogs.
Ribbit ribbit.
The frogs croaked in surprise as Zephyr carefully slid them off the lily pads and down into the net. Then she carefully dropped them into her brother's water bucket.
"Only three more to go," Nuffink said.
"Here's another one," Zephyr said, slowly moving the edge of her net towards another frog sitting beside the pink flower on top of the pad.
Once the edge of the net brushed against the frog's skin, it tried to hop away but Zephyr managed to scoop it up into the netted ropes and place it into the bucket. Then she brought the net to the edge of another lily pad and the fifth frog hopped right into the net.
"Huh, that was easy," Zephyr smiled as she placed the frog into the water bucket.
Ribbit ribbit ribbit.
Zephyr and Nuffink looked towards the direction of the croaking frog and saw it hopping from lily pad to lily pad.
"There's the last one," Nuffink called. "Get it!"
Zephyr kept bringing down her net amongst the pads but the frog kept hopping away.
"I'm trying but this one's too fast!" she said.
"I'll help you!" Nuffink announced. He hurriedly waded out of the shallows and placed the bucket containing the remaining five frogs on the ground.
….
Still sitting beside Astrid with his leg and stump in the water, Hiccup kept his eyes on his children who were near a part of the ponds where some lily pads floated. Zephyr seemed to be scooping up something from the pads and placing it in the bucket held by Nuffink. And now both children seemed to be desperately trying to catch something.
"What do you suppose those kids are up to, Hiccup?" Astrid asked with a knowing smile.
"I don't know, but I'd better go find out," Hiccup said, picking up his prosthetic and latching it onto his stump.
….
"I've got him!" Nuffink said, grasping the last frog in his hands but then it slipped from his fingers. "I don't got him! He's so slippery!"
Zephyr grunted as she kept trying to catch the frog with the net.
"Come on, Thor," she muttered. "Let us catch that frog."
"Oh, give me that!" Nuffink said, snatching the net from her. "I'll do it, myself!"
"Hey!" Zephyr exclaimed as Nuffink took her net.
"YAAAH!" Nuffink yelled as he lifted the net as high as he could and let it down and…
…it landed on top of the last frog.
Nuffink grinned from ear to ear as he slid the frog off the lily pads and held it up proudly to Zephyr.
"I caught it, Zephyr, I caught it!" he cried triumphantly.
"Caught what?" came the familiar voice of their father.
Nuffink turned around startled still holding out the net in front of him. Hiccup was standing in the shallows in front of them and he caught a full glimpse of the frog in the net in front of his face just as it let a croak complete with its chin bulging out.
Ribbit.
"AH!" Hiccup yelled, stepping and leaning backwards. "Woah, woah, WOAH!"
Still leaning backyards, Hiccup lost all balance and landed back first into the water with a big, loud splash.
"Dad!" Zephyr and Nuffink cried.
"What's going on?" Astrid asked, wading over.
Hiccup sat up, drenched from head to toe with a lily pad resting on his head. He spit out some water and looked annoyed at first but then a smile formed on his lips.
"Well, that cooled me off," he said.
"Nice hat, babe," Astrid laughed.
The children laughed as well.
"Yeah, Daddy, you look so cute," Zephyr teased playfully.
"Yeah," Nuffink laughed.
Looking up, Hiccup noticed the lily pad on his head and blushing and chuckling embarrassedly pulled it off his head and placing it back on top of the water.
"So, what's with the frog, Nuffink?" Hiccup asked.
"I caught it," Nuffink said proudly. "Along with those other frogs in the bucket." He glanced over at the bucket on the shore.
"Ahem," Zephyr said, nudging her brother's elbow.
"And Zephyr helped," Nuffink added with a sheepish smile.
"Well, that's very nice," Astrid said, looking from the frog in the net and the rest in the bucket. "Now if you'll just put them back…"
"No!" Nuffink cried.
"No?" Astrid echoed, surprised and confused.
"Why not?" Hiccup asked also surprised and confused.
"I caught them right?" Nuffink asked.
"Right," Hiccup said.
"So that means they're mine, right?" Nuffink continued.
"Uh…" Hiccup started to answer before pausing to glance over at Astrid.
"I suppose so," Astrid replied.
"Good, then they're our new pets," Nuffink announced.
"New pets?" Hiccup echoed. "Now just a second, Nuff."
"Come on, Dad," Nuffink pleaded. "Don't you and Mom missing having the dragons around?"
"Of course we do, honey, but…" Astrid replied.
"Then why don't we have some pets to make you and me and Zephyr happy?" Nuffink asked.
"Well…" Hiccup said slowly.
"Don't you think they look like Toothless and his family without the wings?" Nuffink asked, holding out the net with the frog again.
Ribbit.
"Well, kinda," Hiccup said.
"They may not be the dragons but they're still cute," Nuffink said.
"And we could take the time to study them and other animals just like you did with the dragons," Zephyr added.
"That's true," Hiccup said as he looked at Astrid.
"Well, I have to admit, I do missing having animals around," Astrid said.
"And like Nuffink said, even though they wouldn't replace the dragons, they'll have to do," Hiccup said. Turning to his son, "All right, buddy, you can keep them. They're your responsibility now."
Nuffink's green eyes lit up. "Really? Here, Zeph." He handed the net with the frog to his sister before wrapping his arms around his father's drenched body. "Oh, thank you, Dad. And thank you, Mom. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll take good care of them, I promise."
"I'm sure you will, kiddo," Hiccup smiled, ruffing his son's blonde hair. Then he shot and uneasy sideways glance at his wife.
…
Later, the four Haddocks carried a small trough into their house and filled it with fresh water and topped it with lily pads from the lake. Once the new home for the frogs was ready, Nuffink picked up the bucket containing the frogs and poured them into the trough.
Ribbit ribbit ribbit.
Everyone watched as the frogs either swam through the water or hopped up onto the lily pads to rest.
"Welcome to your new home, guys," Nuffink said.
"Yeah, guys, welcome," said Hiccup, smiling at first before glancing sideways at Astrid, again looking uneasy.
"I've already given them names," Nuffink announced. "You wanna hear them?"
"Sure, buddy, by all means," Hiccup said.
Nuffink pointed to the frog that he had attempted to catch with his bare hands. "That one is called Slippy because of the way he slipped out of my hands when I tried to catch him."
One frog whose green skin was lighter than the others hopped out of the water and onto one of the lily pads.
"And that one's called Hoppy," Nuffink said pointing to said frog on the lily pad. Then he pointed to the one whose back was speckled with dark green spots. "And that one is Spotty."
The frog resting on the lily pad opposite of Hoppy let out a series of croaks.
Ribbit ribbit ribbit.
"And that one's Croaky," Nuffink explained.
"What about that one?" Astrid pointed to the frog with the dark green stripe on its head.
"Stripey," Nuffink replied, "because of the stripe on his head."
"Now what should we name the last one?" Zephyr asked, pointing to the last frog which was dark green.
"I think I'll name that one…Greeny," Nuffink declared.
Astrid chuckled. "But Nuffink, they're all green."
"I know but it was the only name I could think of," Nuffink said, shrugging.
"Well, now that we've named them, I guess the next thing we should do is feed them," Hiccup suggested.
"Good idea," Nufiink agreed. "They look hungry."
He sauntered over to the kitchen table, climbed up on his chair and reached for some apples from the bowl of fruit that rested on the table. He jumped off the chair with the apples cradled in his arms and returned to the trough.
"Here you go, guys," Nuffink said, holding out one of the red juicy fruits. "Dig in"
But the six frogs either just sat on the lily pads croaking or swimming from corner to corner of the trough.
"Here, Spotty, have some," Nuffink said, holding out the apple to Spotty.
Spotty just sat and croaked.
"Stripey?" Nuffink asked holding the fruit out to the striped frog. Then he held it out to Greeny. "Greeny?"
None of the frogs seemed to be interested in the apple.
"I don't think frogs eat apples, Nuff," Astrid said.
"Then what should we feed them?" Nuffink asked, looking up at his mother.
"Well, whenever I saw frogs, they were always trying to catch flies and other bugs with their long tongues," Hiccup explained.
"Yuck," Zephyr said, wrinkling her nose.
"Then we'll just have to go out and catch some," Nuffink suggested. "If I can catch frogs, uh, with Zephyr's help, then I'm sure I can catch some bugs too."
"Catching bugs won't be as easy as you think, buddy, but we can try," Hiccup said.
"Great, Zephyr bring the net," Nuffink said.
"Uh, I think we'll have more luck catching and holding the bugs with some mason jars," Hiccup said. "And luckily, we have a few empty ones in the cupboards. And we'll gather our friends to help us out."
…..
Later, the four Haddocks along with Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were in the forest area outside the village, each one holding a small, empty mason jar and keeping an eagle eye out for any tasty bugs for their new frog pets.
"There's gotta be some bugs around here somewhere," Nuffink said, looking worried. "If we don't find them soon, the frogs will starve."
"Don't worry, Nuffy, we'll find some bugs," Snotlout assured the boy. "When I was your age, my dad and I caught bugs all the time. He said it was good practice for me for when the time would come that I would catch dragons like him and I couldn't wait for that time to come...until your old man showed us that dragons were good and not meant to be caught. Don't get me wrong though. I was glad to have Hookfang by my side and doing everything together but still, all that bug catching practice for nothing."
"Hey, I'm not that old," Hiccup protested.
"Are you sure, Hicky?" Tuffnut asked. "Cause you look a lot older since the last time I saw you."
"The last time you saw me was just this morning, Tuffnut," Hiccup pointed out.
"But my brother's right, Chief," Ruffnut insisted. "Your hair is looking a lot grayer." She pulled tugged at a tuft of Hiccup's hair.
"Ow!" Hiccup exclaimed.
Ruffnut gasped. "And are those wrinkles I see forming on your face?" She pressed a finger against Hiccup's cheek.
"Cut it out!" Hiccup scolded, turning his head away.
"Shh, listen," Fishlegs said.
"For what?" Tuffnut asked.
"Just be quiet," Fishlegs said, holding up a hand.
And everyone remained silent. Sure enough, they could hear what sounded like chirping.
"I hear it," Hiccup whispered.
"Me too," Astrid also whispered.
"Sounds like…" Hiccup started.
"Grasshoppers," Fishlegs concluded.
"Where are they?" Nuffink asked anxiously.
"All we have to do is follow our ears as well as our eyes," Astrid explained. "I'll listen to where they're coming from. I've had some experience with hearing for things from that time I temporarily lost my sight."
"All right, Astrid, I trust you," Hiccup said.
Astrid looked all around their surroundings as the chirping wherever it was continued. Everyone else was looking around and listening to where the grasshoppers might be.
"They're coming from…over there," Astrid said, pointing and heading towards a grassy area.
"Come on everyone, follow the wife," Hiccup instructed.
Everyone followed Astrid to the small field until she stopped and pointed.
"There they are," she said.
Sure enough, there were a few grasshoppers hopping on the blades of grass and chirping away.
"Now we just have to catch them," Nuffink said.
"Stand back, everyone," Snotlout said, making his way though the small crowd and pushing away anyone who was in his way. "Even though it's been years, I probably still have a little bug catching in me."
(Note: Try to picture this scene below in slow motion)
And with that, Snotlout jumped from his spot and soared over the grass towards the spot where a single grasshopper was resting on a tall blade of grass.
"Snotlout, Snotlout!" he cried, holding up his mason jar, ready to clamp it down over the bug.
But just as he was about to land, the grasshopper hopped right off the tall blade.
"No, no, no!" Snotlout complained and he landed face first in the ground with his arms stretched out in front of him, still clutching the still-empty mason jar.
(Note: Now we return to normal speed)
Everyone burst into laughter at Snotlout's failed attempt to catch the grasshopper. Groaning, Snotlout turned his head to glare at his friends.
"Not to worry, everyone, I'll do what Mr. So-Called-Years-of-Bug-Catching failed to do," Tuffnut offered.
"Uh, no you won't," Ruffnut said, grabbing her brother by the arm.
"And why not may I ask?" Tuffnut asked, annoyed.
"Because everyone knows I have better grace than you," Ruffnut insisted with a hit of pride in her voice.
"I have just as much grace as you," Tuffnut protested.
"Uh, the last time I checked, you have just as less grace as me," Ruffnut said.
"No, you have just as less grace as me," Tuffnut spat.
"Guys, if we don't catch them soon, they're gonna get away," Nuffink said worriedly.
"Don't worry, sweetie, I'll catch them," Astrid offered, ready for action.
Stealthily, she stretched out one leg across the field and then the other. Then at just the right moment, she performed a somersault dive and clamped the top of her mason jar right on top of the grass…and three grasshoppers.
Chirp chirp chirp.
Following the sounds of the remaining grasshoppers, she crawled through the grass cat-like before leaping forward and catching seven more grasshoppers. Then she clasped the cover on top of the opening so they wouldn't escape.
"I got them!" Astrid declared, proudly holding up the jar full of grasshoppers.
Everyone cheered and clapped for Astrid.
"Now we can bring them home for the frogs to eat," Nuffink said.
"Yuck!" Zephyr said. "I don't think I can stand the sight of frogs eating live bugs."
"Ooh, come to think of it, me neither," Fishlegs shuddered.
"If it makes you feel any better, Legs and Zeph," Hiccup started, "I'll make sure you look away when they're eating. And we'll take them over to Gothi first so she can knock them out with her sleeping medicines. That way they won't feel a thing when the frogs…you know."
"Thanks, Dad," Zephyr said, leaning her head against her dad's waist.
"Yeah, thanks, Dad, uh, I mean Hiccup or Chief, uh, that is Chief Hiccup," Fishlegs said. "But you know, I'd like to see those frogs that you caught today. I'm curious to observe them and learn more about them."
"We can do it together, Uncle Fishlegs," Zephyr offered.
"Well, why don't you guys come over to our place for dinner?" Hiccup offered. "Then you can all meet our new frogs."
"Yeah!" Ruffnut cheered.
"Count me in," Tuffnut said.
"All right, that failed bug-catching attempt has worked me up an appetite," Snotlout said.
"Can Grandma and Gobber join us for dinner too, Dad?" Nuffink asked. "I want them to meet the frogs too."
"Sure, buddy," Hiccup said.
…
So later that evening, Fishlegs, Snotlout, the twins, Valka and Gobber were all gathered in the Haddock house for both dinner and meeting the new frogs.
Fishlegs, Zephyr, Ruff, Tuff and Valka were gathered around the trough admiring and observing the frogs. Snotlout was seated at the table because he had no interest in frogs, just dinner. Gobber was standing over the fireplace stirring a pot of vegetable stew. It was he who had offered to cook the dinner.
"Whatever for, Gobber?" Astrid had asked with a knowing smile.
"Because cooking for the people I love is what I live for," Gobber had answered.
Not only that but he also secretly didn't trust Astrid or Valka anywhere near the kitchen.
"The one with the slippery skin is Slippy," Nuffink was explaining to Valka, Fishlegs and the twins. "And the one with the spots is Spotty, the one with the stripe on his head is Stripey. That's Croaky because he loves to croak. The light green one is Hoppy and the dark green one is Greeny."
"But they're all green, Nuffink," Fishlegs pointed out.
"I know but it was the only name I could think of," Nuffink said. "So there you have it. All six frogs."
"At first it'll start out as six frogs," Gobber teased, "but soon it'll be a hundred frogs. Maybe even a thousand."
"Why would there be a thousand frogs, Gobber?" Nuffink asked.
"Because you might end up taking after your dad and grandma who brought home enough dragons to eat us out of house and home," Gobber replied.
"Mom and I didn't rescue that much dragons, Gobber," Hiccup insisted.
"Oh, I don't know son, I did rescue enough dragons to fill up an entire ice mountain," Valka said. "And you rescued twice the amount as I."
"All right, maybe I did rescue a couple of trapped dragons," Hiccup admitted. "But it was just a couple."
"Judging by how much dung I had to clear out of the stables, it was more than just a couple," Snotlout griped.
As the twins snickered, Fishlegs craned his neck to get a closer look at the swimming or sitting frogs.
"Judging by their size, I'd have to guess that these frogs are young adults," he declared.
"Young adults, got it," Zephyr said, writing it down in her notebook.
"Hey, Fish and Zeph, the sister and I just thought of something that would your help with your studying of the frogs," Tuffnut announced.
"What's that?" Fishlegs and Zephyr asked.
"You've got six frogs, right, Nuffy?" Tuff asked.
"Right," Nuffink answered.
"And Gobber, that pot of stew your cooking is hot enough, right?" Tuffnut asked.
"Sure, but what does that have to do with studying frogs?" Gobber asked.
"Well, it is said that if you put a frog in a hot pot, it'll jump right out," Ruffnut replied. "So, Nuffink why don't you let us borrow one of your frogs and…"
"No!" Nuffink shouted, holding out his arms and shielding the trough. "I won't let you hurt them! They're mine! Mom, Dad, don't let them do it!"
"Don't worry, Nuff, we won't let them hurt your pets," Astrid said, pulling the twins by their braided hairs.
"Ow!" the twins exclaimed.
"Of course we won't, darling," Valka reassured her grandson, patting him on the shoulder. "Attempting to put frogs in a pot of boiling stew is no different than stabbing a dragon's heart with a sword."
"We didn't want to hurt anyone," Tuffnut said apologetically.
"Yeah, we were just curious to see if it was true or not," Ruffnut added.
"If you're curious, why don't you just find your own frogs to boil?" Astrid suggested.
Or even better, why don't I drop you muttonheads into this pot?" Gobber offered, pointing to the bubbling stew. "Then you'll see just how hot it is."
"No!" the twins shouted, holding up their hands.
"All right, we don't we all get washed up?" Hiccup suggested hastily. "I'm sure Gobber's stew is almost done."
"Good idea, come on everyone," Astrid said, shooing everyone away.
"Hold on, I need to feed the frogs and Zephyr and Fishlegs, be sure to look away," Nuffink said, going to get the mason jar full of grasshoppers.
"With pleasure," Fishlegs said.
"Yeah," Zephyr added.
As everyone lined up to wash their hands, Nuffink picked up the grasshoppers who had been drugged by Gothi's sleeping medicine earlier. Now they were lying absolutely still. Approaching the trough, he twisted the cap and poured the motionless grasshoppers into the water.
"Dinnertime, guys," he announced.
One by one, the frogs stuck out their long, pink tongues and caught the sleeping grasshoppers, one for each of them.
Smiling, Nuffink went to wash his hands. As he did, he kept his head turned towards the trough to make sure the twins didn't try to do that hot pot experiment they had just mentioned. Luckily, they didn't.
…..
The next morning, still sprawled out on her bed, Zephyr stretched out her arms and legs then rubbed her eyes with her forearm.
"Morning, Nuffink," she yawned.
But there was no answer.
"Nuffink?" Zephyr asked.
Still no answer.
Zephyr craned her neck over at Nuffink's bed next to her own but he wasn't there. His quilt and pillow were gone as well. All that sat on the bed were the stuffed toys of the Night Lights (the baby dragons that Toothless and the Light Fury had conceived).
Panic rising, Zephyr hopped out of bed and hurried out of her bedroom and into her parents' room.
"Mom! Dad!"
"Ah!"
Hiccup and Astrid sat upright in their bed, startled and messy-haired.
"Zephyr?" Astrid asked. "What is it?"
"I woke up and said 'good morning' to Nuffink but he didn't answer," Zephyr explained, on the brink of tears. "I looked over at his bed and he wasn't there. And his pillow and quilt were gone too."
"All right, don't panic, honey," Hiccup said calmly as he and Astrid slid out of bed. "He's gotta be around here somewhere."
"Come on, let's look downstairs first," Astrid suggested.
So the parents and their daughter walked down the stairs.
"Nuffink?" Hiccup called.
"Nuffink, where are you?" Zephyr called.
"Here," came a sleepy voice from the kitchen.
Hiccup, Astrid and Zephyr entered the kitchen and sure enough, there was Nuffink sitting up on the floor with his green-and-blue quilt covering him and his pillow right underneath his back. He was just a few feet away from the trough where the frogs were croaking away.
Zephyr ran over to her brother and threw her arms around him. "There you are! Where have you been?!"
"I was sleeping down here," Nuffink replied. "I couldn't sleep last night. I kept worrying about the frogs so I decided to sleep down here just to make sure nothing happened to them."
"And nothing did, apparently," Astrid said.
"But you know, you did give your sister quite a fright," Hiccup pointed out.
"I'll say you did," Zephyr said, glaring at her brother. "I thought you were kidnapped."
"Kidnapped? Me?" Nuffink asked, gesturing to himself. "Never."
"Well, next time you want to sleep with your frogs, let me know," Zephyr insisted. "And Mom and Dad too."
"Okay, okay," Nuffink said, holding out his hands.
"All right, now how about some breakfast?" Hiccup suggested. "That should calm everyone down."
So everyone at their breakfast and they all did calm down. Although, Nuffink did look worriedly over at the trough.
"We'll have to find more bugs for the frogs to eat," he announced.
"Uh, right, of course," Hiccup said, with a smile towards his son right before shooting an uneasy look at Astrid.
There was a knock on the door.
"Door's open, come in," Hiccup called.
The door opened revealing a boy and a girl with amber-colored hair. They were Pinky and Sparky, they were brother and sister to each other and also good friends of Zephyr and Nuffink.
"Hi, Chief and Chieftess, Zephyr and Nuffink," they greeted.
"Hi, Pinky and Sparky," the Haddocks greeted.
"What brings you over?" Hiccup asked.
"We and some of the other kids are gonna play hide and seek," Pinky explained.
"You wanna join us, Zephyr and Nuffink?" Sparky asked.
"Uh, sure," Zephyr said shyly. "You coming, Nuff?"
Nuffink didn't answer. He looked worriedly over at the trough.
"I'll keep an eye on the frogs for you, Nuff," Hiccup offered. "You go play with your friends."
"Are you sure?" Nuffink asked.
"You can trust your old man," Hiccup said, patting his son's shoulder.
"I thought you said you weren't that old," Astrid teased.
Hiccup chuckled embarrassedly. "I'm not. But I guess we all get old someday."
"Yep," Astrid said with a nod.
The four children giggled.
"Okay, I trust you, Dad," Nuffink said. "Can I bring a mason jar with us? Maybe we'll find some bugs for the frogs."
"What frogs?" Sparky asked.
"My frogs," Nuffink replied. "I caught some frogs yesterday…uh, with Zephyr's help and now they live with us."
"Can we see them?" Pinky asked.
"Sure but be careful," Nuffink said leading them to the trough.
Pinky and Sparky approached the trough and looked into it.
"Cool," Sparky said in awe watching the frogs doing their routinely swim.
Then Nuffink proceded to point out to the respective frogs. "That's Slippy. And that's Spotty, Greeny, Hoppy, Croaky and Stripey."
"Hi, Slippy, Spotty, Greeny, Hoppy, Croaky and Stripey," Pinky greeted.
"Hey, I thought we were gonna play hide-and-seek," Zephyr announced.
"Sure, Zeph, just let me get a mason jar," Nuffink said.
"No need to," Astrid said, handing her son an empty jar. "Here it is."
"Thanks, Mom," Nuffink said.
"No problem," Astrid said, playfully shooing her son out the door with the other kids. "Now go have fun."
"And be careful too," Hiccup added.
"We will," the kids called as they hurried outside.
…
For most of the morning, Zephyr and Nuffink played hide-and-seek with the other kids of the village. Well, Zephyr had every intention of playing the game. Nuffink was more interested in finding more bugs for his precious frogs.
During their most current round, Nuffink clutched his mason jar as he looked around and kept his ears open for any chirping or buzzing while Sparky was counting.
"Nuffink!" Zephyr whispered sharply. "Come here!"
Nuffink turned to his sister who was hiding behind a bush and gesturing him to join her. Nuffink nodded and hid behind the bush with her.
"You'll be found in two seconds flat by the time Sparky's finished counting," Zephyr whispered, annoyed. "Why don't you just find bugs after the game."
Nuffink sighed and nodded. "Okay."
"Ready or not, here I come!" Sparky's voice called out.
Chirp chirp.
Nuffink's eyes lit up.
Grasshoppers!
They sounded close.
Nuffink crawled quietly towards the chirping sounds.
"Nuffink, where are you going? Get back here!" Zephyr hissed.
"In a minute," Nuffink whispered. "First I gotta get the grasshoppers."
"Nuffink!" Zephyr hissed.
"Did I hear a voice behind those bushes?" Sparky's voice asked.
As Nuffink crawled further away from the bushes, his green eyes lit up at the sight of nine grasshoppers hidden in the grass. Just enough to keep his frogs' bellies full. Like a wildcat, he crawled quietly half-hidden in the tall grass before he lunged towards them.
"YAH!" he exclaimed as he pinned the open top of the jar on five of the grasshoppers.
Covering the top with its cover, Nuffink chased the remaining grasshoppers.
"HA!" he shouted as he lifted his foot and brought it down on the last four grasshoppers, crushing them underneath.
Opening the cover carefully so the moving grasshoppers wouldn't escape, Nuffink placed the squished bugs inside as well.
"I found you, Nuffink," came Sparky's voice from behind.
Nuffink turned around to see Sparky standing in front of him with his hands on his hips and a proud smile on his face. Right next to him was Zephyr with a look of utmost annoyance on her face.
"All that noise you made as you were going towards those bugs as well as the noises you made me make blew my cover," Zephyr told him.
"Sorry, Zeph," Nuffink said softly. "Uh, Sparky, is it okay if you finish the game without me? I have to go feed my frogs."
"Uh, sure," Sparky said slowly.
"Thanks," Nuffink said, heading towards the direction of his house with the jar full of grasshoppers.
Zephyr watched her little brother walk away, her eyes narrowed furiously. At first she had been happy that her brother had brought home some pets. And she knew that she should still be happy for him. So why wasn't she?
…..
A whole week had passed since Nuffink had brought the six frogs home. And every day throughout that week was the same old routine. Every night, Nuffink would sleep next to the trough to guard his precious pets and wake up right next to it. And every day he would watch them swim or rest on the lily pads, sometimes even turning down playing with his sister and friends. Then he along with his parents, sister and their friends would carefully search through the forests and meadows in search of bugs for the frogs to eat and once they did, they would successfully catch them even if it took many, many tries to get them into the mason jars.
By the end of the week, Hiccup, Astrid and the former Dragon Riders were showing signs of tiring over catching the bugs every single day and Zephyr was showing signs of jealousy towards the frogs.
That very afternoon at the end of the week, after Zephyr and Nuffink had left to go play with their friends, Hiccup and Astrid sat at the kitchen table and talked privately.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, being the one who loves action so much and being the one who refuses to sit still even for two minutes, but I'm exhausted, Hiccup," Astrid admitted. "Exhasuted from chasing down all those bugs for the frogs every single day."
"I'm exhausted too, honey," Hiccup said, patting his wife's shoulder.
"You know, I'm just wondering if we should consider encouraging Nuffink to return the frogs to the lake," Astrid suggested.
"That's what I thought too," Hiccup said uncertainly. "But he loves those frogs. If we encourage him to give them up, it'll break his heart. And I don't want to upset him."
"I don't want to upset him either, babe," Astrid said sadly, "but this can't last forever."
"Tell you what? Why don't we give it three more days and see how things go?" Hiccup suggested.
"Well, I guess I can handle three more days," Astrid admitted.
"Okay," Hiccup said, sitting up from the table. "I'm going down to the forge to see if Gobber needs any help."
Hiccup headed out the door and just as he was starting down the path to the village, he heard some sniffling noises and quiet weeping. Surprised, Hiccup looked around to see where the noises were coming from. Finally, he decided they must be coming from those berry bushes. Walking towards the bushes, he looked over to see Zephyr sitting up with her knobby knees up to her flat chest, her face buried in them.
"Zephyr?" Hiccup asked softly.
Zephyr looked up at him with bloodshot, swollen eyes and tear-stained cheeks. "Hi, Dad," she whispered, wiping her eyes.
"Is something the matter?" Hiccup asked, concerned.
"No, nothing's the matter," Zephyr said, her voice cracked. "You go do your chiefly duties. That's more important."
"My chiefly duties are never more important than my family," Hiccup said kindly. "Now why don't you tell me what's wrong and while we're at it, let's snack on these berries. I know how much you love berries."
"Okay," Zephyr said, giving in.
Hiccup sat down next to his daughter and they both plucked their own handfuls of berries and munched on them one by one.
"I hate those frogs," Zephyr admitted, anger creeping into her tearful voice. "I wish I had never helped Nuffink catch them and I wish we had never brought them home. I know I should be happy for Nuffink that he has his own pets but it's hard to be happy. I was at first because I was able to observe and study them up close but now…"
"I know it's hard, sweetie," Hiccup said sympathetically before popping a berry into his mouth. "Believe me, your mom and I are all worn out from helping him chase those bugs every single day. Not that we mind of course. And I'll bet you're exhausted from chasing bugs too."
"It's not just catching the bugs," Zephyr blubbered. "He never has time for me anymore. Whenever we try to play games together, he would either get worried about the frogs to check on them or he would go look for some bugs for them to eat. And that's what happened right now. We were in the middle of playing a game and then Nuffink announced that he was going to look for bugs for the frogs and he just left. Then I excused myself too and came right here."
"Aw, I'm sorry, sweetheart," Hiccup said softly, stroking her thick, braided auburn hair and handing her some more berries.
"And he never sleeps in our bedroom anymore," Zephyr continued, taking the offered berries into her palm. "He prefers sleeping next to those frogs because he's afraid something might happen to them. And I blame the twins on that after they wanted to see if they could hop out of Gobber's stew if it was too hot for them."
"Believe me, I blame them too," Hiccup said. "Even on my best days I can barely control them. And I'm the Chief, for Thor's sake."
"I miss having talks with him at night before sleep," Zephyr lamented. "And I miss saying good morning to him when we wake up and having more talks before getting out of bed. And I miss playing our games together. But I don't want to drag him away from the frogs without him worrying about them."
Hiccup thought about this for a minute before an idea popped into his head and his eyes lit up.
"Then I have just the idea," he said. "You wanna hear it?"
"Yeah," Zephyr said, her blue eyes also lighting up.
"How about after Nuffink gets home, we all take this evening's dinner outside and eat it in the fields?" Hiccup suggested.
"You mean like a picnic?" Zephyr asked, a smile creeping on her face.
"Yeah, a picnic," Hiccup said, nodding. "And I'll have Nuffink take the frogs with us. We'll put them in that bucket you carried them in the day you caught them and bring them to the fields with us and then we'll put the bucket next to the basket and blanket. That way, we'll all spend some time together as a family and Nuffink can watch the frogs at the same time."
"What a great idea, Dad!" Zephyr said, looking and sounding a lot cheerful than she did a few minutes ago. "I just hope Nuffink will agree."
"I'm sure he will," Hiccup said.
"Thanks, Dad," Zephyr said, giving her daddy a hug.
"No problem, Zeph," Hiccup said, stroking the top of her head.
"Now help me pick some more berries," Zephyr said, pulling herself out of her father's grasp and starting to pluck more berries. "If we're gonna have a picnic dinner, we need some dessert to go along with that."
Hiccup laughed as he proceeded to help his daughter with the berry picking.
…
Later after he returned back to the house with Zephyr, Hiccup explained to Astrid what their daughter had told him and about his picnic idea.
"I think that's a great idea, Hiccup," Astrid said with a smile. Then she frowned. "But do you think bringing the frogs with us is a good idea?"
"It's the only way I can get Nuffink to do something with us without him worrying about them," Hiccup shrugged.
Just then the door opened and in stepped Nuffink and Fishlegs carrying mason jars full of grasshoppers. Nuffink looked quite proud of himself but Fishlegs looked like he hadn't slept in a week.
"Hey, Nuffink, Fishlegs," Hiccup greeted. "I see you got some grasshoppers."
"Yep, thanks to some help from Fishlegs, my frogs won't go hungry today," Nuffink said proudly.
"But are you all right, Fishlegs?" Astrid asked, concerned.
"Oh, yeah," Fishlegs said proudly but wearily, setting his mason jar on the table. "It was easy as pie."
But right after he said that, he moaned and fainted face first to the floor.
Grimacing, Astrid whispered into Hiccup's ear. "Like I said, this can't last forever."
"What are you whispering, Mom?" Nuffink asked.
"Uh, well, your father and I were just wondering…" Astrid said slowly. "How would you and Zephyr like to join us for a picnic later this evening out in the fields? It's been a while since we've done things together as a family."
"Plus, you could bring Slippy, Croaky, Hoppy, Spotty, Stripey and Greeny with you," Hiccup added.
"I can?" Nuffink asked, his eyes lit up.
"Of course," Hiccup smiled. "We'll bring them in that bucket of water you put them in when you caught them."
"That way you can keep an eye on them and spend family time with us at the same time," Astrid added.
"Well…I suppose I could do that," Nuffink said slowly.
"Yeah, Nuffink," Zephyr piped up. "You've just got to join us."
"All right, I'll do it," Nuffink decided.
"Uh…Hiccup and Astrid," said Fishlegs who had just woken up and lifted his round, mustached face off the ground. "I couldn't help overhearing but may I join you guys? I just love picnics."
"Sure, Fishlegs," Hiccup said. "And the rest of the gang can join us too. They're just a part of our family as you are."
….
So later in the early hours of the evening, the Haddocks and the former Dragon Riders were all settled in the fields for their picnic. Other Viking families were also in the fields playing, resting or eating. Because it was summer, the sun was still up providing light for everyone and everything and it would not set until much, much later in the evening.
The Haddocks, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins were all seated on a Viking patterned blanket. In the center of the blanket was a basket containing everyone's dinner. In the corner of the blanket, sat a bucket of fresh water containing Slippy, Croaky, Hoppy, Greeny, Stripey and Spotty. Nuffink was currently standing over the bucket and holding the two mason jars containing the grasshoppers he and Fishlegs had caught. Just before they left for the fields, they stopped at Gothi's place to drug them with her sleeping potions.
"You want a pickled herring sandwich, Nuff?" Astrid offered.
"In a minute, Mom, I'm just feeding the frogs," Nuffink said, opening one jar and offering it to the frogs. "Look away, Zephyr and Fishlegs."
"No argument there," Fishlegs said.
"Yeah," agreed Zephyr.
All six frogs popped out their heads and stuck out their six long pink tongues. Each tongue latched onto a grasshopper which disappeared into their mouths. Satisfied that his frogs had their fill, Nuffink sat down to eat with his family.
"This was a great idea, Hiccup," Fishlegs said as Ruffnut let him bite into a sandwich she was holding.
"I'll say," Snotlout said, munching on his third yak chop. "I needed a well-deserved break from chasing all those stupid bugs."
"He needs a well-deserved break from any kind of work," Astrid whispered into Hiccup's ear.
Hiccup smiled at his wife and then suggested, "Hey, how about we play a game now?"
"Yeah, a game," Tuffnut said excitedly.
"What kind of game?" Ruffnut asked.
"Oh, that's my favorite game," Tuffnut said. "The Guess-What-Game-You-Want-to-Play Game."
"Every game is your favorite, Tuff," Astrid said.
"I know," Nuffink piped up. "Let's play the Toothless-Fights-the-Alpha-and-Then-Becomes-the-New-Alpha Game."
"Hey, that's a good game, Nuffink," Hiccup smiled.
"Better than the Guess-What-Game-You-Want-to-Play Game," Snotlout muttered, shooting an annoyed look at Tuffnut.
"Okay, Nuff, since this was your idea to play the game, I'll let you play Toothless," Hiccup said.
"All right!" Nuffink said excitedly.
"I'll be Drago's Alpha," Hiccup offered. "And the rest of you can be the dragons that the Alpha had taken control of."
"Oh we can do that best," Tuff said.
"Yeah, we do a great job pretending to be under an Alpha's control," Ruff added. "Just watch."
And with that the twins remained absolutely still. Their eyes remained wide open but completely blank.
"Ugh," Astrid scoffed but she sat next to the twins and remained still like them but still looked annoyed.
Snotlout, Fishlegs and Zephyr also joined them and remained still but kept their expressions normal. Nodding to the group, Hiccup turned to his son and made a pretend scary face.
"Roar!" he growled, holding out his arms like the long, curved tusks of Drago Bludvist's Bewilderbeast. "I am the Alpha and I have taken control of all of Berk's dragons!"
"Roar!" Nuffink growled back holding out his arms on either side of him and flapping them like wings. "I am Toothless the Night Fury and I will save the dragons you have taken control of."
"Oh, no you're not," Hiccup snarled.
"Why not?" Nuffink snarled back.
"Because I'm going to put you under my control too," Hiccup replied in his pretend growly voice.
"Oh, no you're not," Nuffink said. "Because I am going to cover my ears and eyes so I won't have to hear and see you."
The boy squeezed his eyes shut and placed his hands over his ears.
"See I can't see or hear you or anything else," Nuffink said, walking backwards.
Hiccup's face softened into an alarmed look when he saw that he was walking backwards towards the frogs' bucket.
"Uh, Nuffink…," he started.
"I'm not Nuffink, I'm Toothless," Nuffink said, still walking backwards with his eyes closed and his ears covered.
Astrid held out her arm in alarm. "Nuffink, watch where you're going!"
But it was too late. Nuffink bumped into the bucket and fell backwards which caused the bucket to tip over spilling both water and the frogs. The frogs scattered in different directions.
"Oh, no!" Nuffink cried, looking up and realizing his mistake. "Slippy, Hoppy, Croaky, Spotty, Greeny, Stripey, come back!"
He lept forward and attempted to grab Slippy but the light green frog slipped right out of his hands. Then he crawled towards Stripey.
"Stripey, come here," he cried.
"Buddy, you can't catch them by yourself," Hiccup said. "We'll help you."
"Come on you guys," Astrid ordered.
"Right-o," Fishlegs said importantly.
Fishlegs, Zephyr and Snotlout all got up from their spots to help. But Ruff and Tuff remained where they were, their eyes still wide open and unblinking as if they really were hypnotized.
"Hey, muttonheads, snap out of it!" Astrid snapped, whacking both twins on the noggins.
The twins shook their heads and put their hands on the spot where they had just been whacked.
"What?" Tuffnut asked dumbly. "Is Toothless the New Alpha now? No, not Toothless, Nuffink."
"Nuffink's frogs escaped and you're going to help us find them," Astrid demanded. "And as your Chieftess, that's a direct order."
"Yes, ma'am!" the twins said, saluting.
"Now which way did they go?" Ruff asked.
"All over the place," Astrid answered. "Just listen carefully for their croaks."
"And look carefully at green things because they can camoflauge," Zephyr added.
"Camo-what?" Tuff asked.
"Camoflauge," Zephyr replied. "It means they can blend into their environment."
"Very good, Zephyr, you've been paying attention," Fishlegs said proudly.
"Fishlegs, as much as I appreciate you congratulating my daughter, we've got my son's frogs to find," Hiccup reminded him.
"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah," Fishlegs said, remembering himself.
Hiccup picked up the frogs' bucket and announced, "Okay, we'll have better luck finding those frogs if we split up. Astrid, Zeph, Nuff, Legs, you follow me this way. Lout, Ruff and Tuff will go that way."
"Yes, sir!" everyone said together.
And both parties headed for the directions they were assigned to go.
"Slippy, Hoppy, Croaky, Greeny, Stripey, Spotty, where are you?" Nuffink called looking up and down, left and right for any sign of his beloved pets.
"AAAAAHHHH!" a woman screamed.
"Over there!" Astrid pointed.
A Viking husband and wife were sitting on a blanket a few feet away from them. The woman appeared to be trying to pull her hair out while her husband looked on startled and confused.
"Look!" Nuffink cried, pointing.
Spotty was hopping all over the wife's head and she was waving her arms as though trying to catch him.
"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" the wife was screaming.
"I've got it, dear," the husband offered.
Spotty hopped right off the wife's head just a second before the husband's hands landed on him and the husband ended up grabbing a good handful of his wife's hair.
"AAAAHHHHH! AXEL!"
"Sorry," Axel said sheepishly, letting go of his wife's hair and holding up his hands.
"Now, Astrid!" Hiccup shouted.
"Ha!" Astrid shouted, leaping forward, holding the bucket in front of her.
Spotty leaped right inside the bucket. Astrid placed her forearm on top of the bucket to prevent the spotted frog from escaping.
"All right, Mom!" Nuffink cheered.
"Yay, Mom!" Zephyr cheered.
"And that's why I married her, kids," Hiccup said proudly.
"Well, one down, five to go," Astrid said, obviously not looking forward to whatever was to happen next.
"Look, there's another one!" Fishlegs said, pointing. "And it's using camouflage,"
Everyone looked to where Fishlegs was pointing. And what he was pointing at was Greeny. And Greeny was blending in to the lettuce leaves mixed with tomatoes and cucumbers in a bowl resting on a picnic blanket. And resting next to that bowl was Snotlout's father, Spitelout.
And Spitelout was now picking up the bowl with an excited grin and getting ready to stick a wooden fork right into it.
"SPITELOUT, WAIT!" Hiccup shouted, holding out his hand.
"SPITELOUT, NO!" Nuffink screamed, charging towards Snotlout's dad.
"NUFFINK!" Astrid called.
Nuffink leapt at Spitelout, pinning him right onto his back. His helmet flew right off his head and he dropped his bowl. Salad scattered everywhere.
"My salad!" Spitelout cried, half-stunned, half-annoyed. "Nuffink, what's gotten into you?!"
Ribbit, croaked Greeny as he hopped away.
"That's what's gotten into me!" Nuffink said angrily, pointing to the frog. "You almost ate my frog!" Then he hopped off of Spitelout's chest and hurried after Greeny. "Come back, Greeny!"
"I got him!" Astrid said, lowering the bucket and scooping Greeny into it before he could escape again.
"Thanks, Mom," Nuffink said.
"AAAAAHHHHH! GET IT AWAY! GET IT AWAY!"
"WAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Everyone looked up to the sounds of another woman screaming and a baby crying. A woman wearing her black hair in a tight bun and carrying a baby boy in her arms was backing away from something as though it was extremely poisonous.
"There's Hoppy!" Nuffink said pointing.
Sure enough the hopping light green frog was at her feet.
"I'll get him, Zelda!" Astrid called.
And she scooped up Hoppy into the bucket with the other frogs.
"Oh, thank you, Astrid," Zelda said, shaking and trying to comfort her crying baby. "That thing could've done Thor knows what to my little Garrett."
Baaa! Baaa!
"What in the name of Thor?!" Hiccup exclaimed.
A flock of sheep stampeded into the fields. Everyone scattered away in order to get out of the way of the sheep. Amongst the sea of white wool was a black sheep. That meant that this flock belonged to Silent Sven. And sure enough he was running right behind the flock along with Snotlout and the twins.
"Come back here, my wee ones! Please come back!" Sven called.
Snotlout and the twins stopped running, panting heavily with their hands on their knees. Hiccup approached them.
"What happened?!" he asked.
Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit.
"Does that answer your question?" Snotlout asked, exhausted and annoyed.
"It's coming from over there!" Astrid said, pointing.
"There they are!" Zephyr said, also pointing.
Hopping down the path the sheep had just run were Stripey and Croaky.
"Stripey, Croaky, come here, boys!" Nuffink called, running towards them with Astrid right after them.
Astrid scooped up Stripey into the bucket while Nuffink managed to grab hold of Croaky and place him into the bucket as well.
"Okay, so far we've got Hoppy, Greeny, Spotty, Stripey and Croaky," Astrid said, looking into the bucket and counting the frogs. "Now all we've got to find is…"
"Slippy," Nuffink concluded.
"Right, Slippy," Astrid said.
Ribbit ribbit ribbit.
"LOOK OUT!" Zelda cried out.
Everyone in the fields stepped back as Slippy hopped in all different directions.
"Slippy!" Nuffink called.
He hurried forward and tried to catch Slippy but he hopped away.
"Slippy, come back!" Nuffink cried.
"I've got him!" Zephyr cried, grabbing hold of the frog…until he squirted out of her hands.
"Oh, no!" Nuffink cried.
Hiccup also tried to grab the frog but it kept hopping away. Even Astrid had trouble catching the slippery amphibian.
"This one's difficult to catch!" Hiccup said exasperatedly.
"If only I had my butterfly net!" Zephyr moaned.
"No need for a butterfly net," Tuff announced. "We'll catch him.
"Yeah, we will," Ruff said determinedly.
The twins stood on either side just as Slippy was hopping towards them. Then at the very same time, the twins leapt forward and – SMACK! – bumped right into each other and landed face first onto the grass. Slippy hopped right away from them.
"Ruffnut!" Fishlegs cried, rushing over to the female twin and pulling her up by the arms. "Are you okay?"
Ruffnut smiled gratefully at her friend. "I'm just fine, Fishy."
Fishlegs smiled back at her.
"But Slippy's getting away again!" Nuffink cried.
Slippy hopped further and further away from the group until he hopped…
…right into a long, fur sash that had been held out in front of him.
And holding the sash was Valka.
Then she gently tied up the folds of the sash and cradled it to her chest where the sash had been hanging from right before she removed it.
"Gotcha!" she said.
"Yay!" Nuffink cheered and running over to Valka. "Thanks, Grandma!"
"Yeah, thanks, Mom," said Hiccup in relief.
"No trouble at all," Valka said. "I heard all the commotion out here and went to investigate."
"And you came just in time, Val," Astrid said.
"Where'd you learn to do that trick you just did, Grandma?" Nuffink asked as Valka handed him squirming frog still wrapped up in the sash.
"When you spend twenty years rescuing dragons in the mountains like I have, you learn a trick or two," Valka said with pride.
"And that trick paid off," Astrid said, holidng out the bucket to Nuffink who carefully unfolded the sash and placed Slippy inside.
Hiccup smiled in relief but that smile soon faded when he heard the sheep baaing and Silent Sven a short distance away and saw the annoyed looks on the faces of the people who had been spooked by the frogs.
"Astrid, why don't you take the kids and the frogs home while the gang and I help round of Sven's sheep and clean up these messes?" Hiccup asked his wife.
"Right," Astrid said with a nod. "Come on kids."
She herded Zephyr and Nuffink away with her free hand while carrying the bucket full of frogs with the other leaving Hiccup to set things right…and face the music.
…
After Sven's sheep had been herded back into their pen and the messes in the fields had been cleaned up, Hiccup found himself speaking before the people who had been spooked by the frogs in the middle of the Great Hall. Gobber and Valka stood on either side of him for support.
"Now I understand that a lot of you are still a little spooked and/or annoyed about all the chaos that had just happened," Hiccup said. "But please don't blame Nuffink. If the chaos is anyone's fault, it's mine. I encouraged Nuffink to bring the frogs to the fields with us."
"You got that right, Chief," Spitelout said, annoyed. "And because of that, I never got to taste my salad."
"Well, I'm very sorry about your salad, Spitelout," Hiccup said apologetically. "But at least no one got hurt."
"Except for my hair!" Axel's wife complained. "If my Axel had been much quicker, he would've grabbed hold of that frog instead of a chunkful of my beautiful hair!" She shot an annoyed look at her husband.
"Again I apologize and you have a point, my dear," Axel said regretfully.
"Uh, right," Hiccup said awkwardly.
"Not to mention that those creatures frightened my Garrett," Zelda said irritably, still clutching her baby son. "Thor knows what kind of deadly diseases it could've been carrying."
"Zelda, if the frogs were carrying deadly diseases I don't think I would've let Nuffink keep them," Hiccup said, half-joking, half-serious.
"Well, if you ask me, I don't think your boy should be keeping them at all," Spitelout insisted.
"Uh, what Spitelout is trying to say, Hiccup is that…is that…" Silent Sven said slowly.
"Is that maybe Nuffink should return the frogs to the Great Lake where he found them and where they belong," Gobber concluded. "You know, just to avoid any more chaos."
"I second the motion," Spitelout declared.
Zelda and Axel's wife murmured agreements.
"I can't," Hiccup blurted.
"Why not?" Spitelout demanded.
"Because if I tell Nuffink to give the frogs up, he'll get very upset," Hiccup explained. "Knowing him, he won't want to return them to the lake. It'll just be too hard for him to let them go."
Valka gently placed a hand on her son's shoulder and he looked up at her. She wore a sympathetic and understanding smile.
"You're right, Hiccup, it will be hard for him," she said kindly. "But don't forget how hard it was for you to let Toothless go and how hard it was for all of us to do the same thing with our dragons."
"But we let them go anyway," Gobber added. "And we let them go because…"
"Because we loved them," Hiccup concluded, remembering the pain he had endured saying good-bye to Toothless and all the love he had for him.
He noticed that the expressions of his gripers had softened into sadness and sympathy.
"And we understand how much your lad loves his frogs," Gobber continued.
"And does he love them enough to want for them to swim in a large lake where they have plenty of room to swim instead of some puny trough?" Valka asked.
"And to catch grasshoppers on their own instead of having humans do it for them?" Gobber asked.
"I notice how tired out you and Astrid have been looking from catching bugs every single day," Valka pointed out. "If this keeps up, you won't have the strength to do other things you're supposed to do."
"You just repeat those things we've just told you to Nuffink and let him make the decision himself," Gobber encouraged.
"That's right, the most important thing is not to force him to do it," Valka agreed.
Hiccup considered the words of his mother and mentor. Finally, he said, "All right, I'll do it. But it's not gonna be easy though."
…
Hiccup trudged all the way from the Great Hall back to his house clearly not looking forward to telling Nuffink what had to be done. He could already imagine the tearful, reluctant look Nuffink would wear in a short period of time.
Opening the front door, he could see Nuffink kneeling in front of the trough, Astrid and Zephyr standing side by side just a little ways from him. He could hear the frogs croaking from inside the trough.
"I know you guys are still scared from what almost happened to you in the fields but don't worry, you're all safe now," Nuffink was saying.
Hiccup rubbed the back of his head as his reluctance increased.
"Uh, hey, guys, I'm home," he said softly.
"Hi, Dad," Nuffink greeted, glancing up at his father before looking down at the frogs again.
"Hi, Daddy," Zephyr greeted, running over to hug him.
"Hi, babe," Astrid said, also approaching and pecking a kiss on his cheek. "How did it go?"
Hiccup gave a look that said it all. Astrid's expression turned just as grim and nodded before turning to Nuffink. Hiccup slowly approached his son and the trough with Astrid and Zephyr walking on either side of him. Hiccup couldn't bring himself to speak but only when Astrid patted him on the shoulder encouragingly did he find the words.
"Uh, Nuffink?" he said.
"Yeah, Dad?" Nuffink said, looking up.
"Uh, Nuffink, look, buddy, uh, we need to talk," Hiccup said, an old pain creeping into his heart.
"If it's about what happened in the fields today, Dad, I promise it won't happen again," Nuffink said apologetically.
"Aw, what happened today wasn't your fault, it was mine really for making you bring the frogs," Hiccup said. "And just to make sure that it doesn't happen again…well…um…" He heaved a heavy sigh. "I think it would be best if you returned Croaky, Stripey, Spotty, Greeny, Hoppy and Slippy back to the Great Lake."
"What?" Nuffink whispered, his eyes wide with shock and sadness.
It was the very look Hiccup had pictured Nuffink would wear before he even got here. He tried his best to fight back his own increasing heartbreak.
"Your father's right, Nuff," Astrid said, looking just as reluctant and sad as her husband and son. "They don't belong in a trough. They belong in the lake. It's for the best."
"No!" Nuffink cried, holding out his arms in front of the trough, tears rapidly leaking out of his eyes. "They're mine! I won't take them back! You can't make me! You can't!"
"Hey, buddy, we're not making you do anything," Hiccup said, holding up his hands and forcing a smile. "This is your decision not ours."
"That's right, sweetheart, we're letting you decide if you want to take them back or not," Astrid added, also forcing a smile.
"But if I decide to take them back to the lake, I'll miss them so bad," Nuffink sobbed.
Hiccup knelt down in front of his son and smiling sadly, lifted his chin with his palm.
"Hey, you think I don't know that?" he asked. "Did you think I was happy saying good-bye to Toothless?"
"No," Nuffink admitted, no longer sobbing but his voice still choked with tears.
"And did you think I was happy saying good-bye to Stormfly?" Astrid added, also kneeling.
"No," Nuffink said again. "But you let them go anyways. And so did everyone else."
"And do you know why we Berkians let our dragons go?" Hiccup asked.
"Because you loved them," Nuffink replied.
"That's right, we loved them just as much as you love your frogs," Astrid said.
Nuffink looked over at the trough and Hiccup was glad to see that he was slowly and somwaht considering their words.
"We loved our dragons enough to let them stay in a world where all humans both good and bad can never harm them," Astrid said.
"And we loved them enough to let them spend more time with their own kind than with just humans," Hiccup added, thinking about Toothless and the Light Fury together. That got him thinking about their three Night Light babies and added, "Enough to let their babies grow up and live long lives instead of dying so early at the hands of evil men. And do you love the frogs enough to let them swim in a great big lake where they can swim wherever they'd like and not just swim in circles inside a little tiny trough?"
"I guess," Nuffink admitted, his tear stains on his cheek visible in the light of the fireplace.
"Not to mention that the lake is also surrounded by grasshoppers and all kinds of bugs – bugs that they can catch on their own without having humans to catch them for them."
"Has it been exhausting for you continually catching hard-to-find-and-catch grasshoppers?" Hiccup asked.
Nuffink rubbed the back of his head. "I guess."
"And do you miss playing with me and the other kids when you had the time?" Zephyr spoke up.
Nuffink looked at his sister, surprised.
"I do," Zephyr admitted. "I admit I at one point hated the frogs and regretted catching them because they were taking all your attention and didn't give you any time for me. Don't get me wrong though. I was happy for you but I still missed you."
"Your sister has a point," Hiccup said. "In fact this afternoon, I found her crying by the berry bushes and she told me how she felt about you and the frogs. That's what gave me the idea of the picnic. And…" He forced a chuckle. "You can guess how that ended up."
The whole family couldn't help but laugh over the incident at the fields.
"I guess I have been paying more attention to my frogs than my favorite big sister, huh?" Nuffink said.
"Nuffink, I'm your only big sister," Zephyr reminded.
"Oh, right," Nuffink said.
Nuffink gave his sister a hug and she hugged him back. Pulling back, he looked over at the croaking frogs again.
"I guess it would be best if I returned them to the lake," he said slowly. "But I'm worried about someone finding them and hurting them. What if someone comes along and does something awful to them like putting them in hot pots of stew just like the twins wanted to? I know that the twins aren't really bad but I'm still worried about other people wanting to hurt them."
"Well, that's where your mother and I come in," Hiccup said reassuringly. He cleared his throat. "As Chief and Chieftess of Berk, we hereby pass a strict law that all frogs in New Berk should be protected. No one and I mean absolutely no one is to harm them."
"And if anyone does harm them?" Nuffink asked nervously.
"Then whoever harms them will be a given a sentence so severe and so harsh that they'll wish they never harmed them in the first place," Astrid said.
"What's the sentence?" Nuffink asked.
"They have to clear out yak dung from dawn until dusk every single day for three whole months," Astrid replied.
This time everyone burst out laughing.
"I like that sentence, Mom," Zephyr said.
"Me too," Nuffink added giggling. "It's funny."
"And that's one of the ten million reasons why I married your mother," Hiccup said proudly, wrapping his arm around Astrid's shoulder.
"Well, after hearing the law and the sentence that goes with it, I feel a little better," Nuffink said.
"Glad to hear it, buddy," Hiccup said.
Nuffink heaved a heavy sigh. "All right, I have made my decision. I'll return Hoppy, Greeny, Stripey, Spotty, Croaky and Slippy back to the Great Lake because I love them."
Hiccup ruffled his son's hair, smiling proudly. "Good choice, buddy."
"But can I do it tomorrow and spend one more night with them?" he asked.
"Certainly, sweetheart," Astrid said.
"And Zephyr, I want you to sleep right next to me and the frogs," Nuffink said.
Zephyr smiled. "I'd be happy to, little brother. In fact, why don't we all sleep with the frogs tonight. All four of us?"
"Excellent idea, Zeph," said Astrid. "I'll go grab our pillows and blankets."
Hiccup, Zephyr and Nuffink watched Astrid go up the stairs.
"And Dad, will you, Mom and Zephyr and everyone else come with me when I put the frogs back in the lake?" Nuffink asked, tugging the edge of Hiccup's tunic.
"Of course we will," Hiccup said. "Will we, Zeph?"
"We sure will," Zephyr replied.
About five minutes later, Astrid returned with everyone's blanekts and pillows and spread them out on the floor. Soon everyone was all bundled up and cuddled together.
"Well, this is very comfortable," Hiccup said, his arm around Astrid's shoulder.
"Yep," Astrid said, snuggling up against Hiccup's chest.
"And nothing but the sounds of the frogs croaking to lull us to sleep," Nuffink said, snuggling up under Hiccup's other arm.
And indeed the frogs were croaking sleepily from within the trough.
"They really are soothing to hear," Zephyr said. "I can see why you liked sleeping with them every night, Nuff."
"Yeah, I remember when the sounds of Toothless' purrs used to lull me to sleep," Hiccup said.
"And Stormfly's snores putting me to sleep," Astrid sighed.
Hiccup yawned. "Nothing like hearing gentle animal noises again."
"Nice to hear anything again," Astrid said, also yawning.
The children also began to yawn.
"I'm gonna miss it," Nuffink yawned.
"Me too," Zephyr said, yawning.
Soon everyone was yawning and drifting off into a deep, deep sleep.
…
The very next morning, the light of rising sun sparkled against the Great Lake's surface. At the edge of the lake stood Hiccup, Astrid, Zephyr and Nuffink who was tightly hugging the bucket that contained water and the six frogs Hoppy, Croaky, Greeny, Stripey, Spotty and Slippy against his chest. The four Haddocks stood before a group which consisted of Gobber, Valka, Ruff, Tuff, Snotlout and Fishlegs. Everyone wore sad looks upon their faces, Nuffink looking worst of all.
"Today is a tough day for the Haddock family," Hiccup announced. "Today we release our beloved pet frogs Slippy, Greeny, Hoppy, Stripey, Spotty and Croaky back to the Great Lake where we had found them and where they truly belong. I want to thank each and every one of you for being here with us today to offer your sympathy and your support."
Everyone nodded solemnly. Even Snotlout wasn't afraid to hide his tears.
Hiccup looked down at Nuffink and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It's time, buddy."
Nuffink nodded, clutching the bucket even closer to his chest. Then he took a few steps towards the edge of the water, knelt down and tilted the bucket downward. The six frogs and the water poured right out and into the lake. Once they were back in their birth home, the frogs spread out swimming all around the lily pads before hopping onto them. Some flies buzzed around the aquatic plants and the frogs stuck out their long tongues at the flies successfully catching them.
"Good-bye, Hoppy, good-bye, Stripey, good-bye Spotty, good-bye Croaky, good-bye, Greeny and good-bye Slippy," Nuffink said, waving as tears streaming down his soft, pudgy cheeks. "I love you all and I'll never forget any of you."
Zephyr wrapped her arms around her brother, drawing him close. Then Astrid and Hiccup knelt down beside their children and hugged them too. Nuffink looked at Hiccup and was surprised to see him also shedding tears and attempting to dry them.
"Why are you crying, Dad?" he asked. "You're not the one letting them go."
"No," Hiccup sniffled. "But I was just watching you setting your frogs free got me thinking about the day I had to say good-bye to Toothless."
"And from the looks of it, I bet everyone is thinking about the time we said good-bye to the dragons," Astrid said.
"You can say that again," Fishlegs sniffled.
Ruffnut handed him a handkerchief. "Here, I always carry one just in case."
"Thanks, Ruffy," Fishlegs said gratefully, taking the handkerchief and blowing into it hard.
"Yuck," Snotlout muttered before going back to sniffling.
Gobber and Valka approached the Haddocks.
"You did the right thing, Nuffink," Valka said. "And doing the right thing is never easy. I should know."
"Your grandmother's right, lad," Gobber added kindly. "You may not know it yet, but I'll bet my skivvies that someday you'll be proud that you made the right decision, letting those frogs go. I know we were all proud after letting the dragons go…though that took quite some time."
"You know, I'm starting to feel a little proud already," Nuffink said.
"I'm glad to hear that, buddy," Hiccup said, tousling his son's hair. "Glad to hear it."
…
Don't go away. July's drabble will be here before you know it!