Author's Note: Hey, everyone. I'm back from break. Though, it won't last though. Recent development in my household is making me go through a few changes. It's nothing big, but I am going to need another break, which I will after next weekend and I upload another batch of updates. I will use that time to adjust and get used to said changes. I hope you understand.

For this chapter, I was uncertain to make it. But after a few requests and a rewatching of the episode, I decided to adapt with it. I hope I did well with it.

Thank you for your patience. Enjoy this chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.


The Wartwood Farmer's Market was the best place for the common frogs of the town to sell off their best goods, whether they're fruit, flowers, jellies, or bugs. But out of all the stands there, there's none more honest than the Plantar vegetable stand.

Anne and T'Challa joined the family as Hop Pop was selling his wares. It was a slow day, but Hop Pop was happy to see his oldest, most loyal customer, Sadie Croaker, passing by. She was eyeing the veggies until she found a gourd in a nearby basket.

"I'll take this here gangly gourd, Hopadiah." Mrs. Croaker said.

"Oh, I sense a batch of Croaker stew coming on." Hop Pop said before taking a good look at the gourd his customer was holding. "Hang on there, Sadie. You don't want that one."

"What do you mean?" T'Challa asked. "What's wrong with it?"

"I'll show ya." Hop Pop said leaping out of his stand to inspect the gourd. He knocked on it, shook it to his ear, and split it in half revealing a big, yellow maggot filling up the inside of the gourd. "Aha! It's a gourd maggot. These guys taste terrible."

The maggot crawled out of the gourd and climbed up the stand where Anne was. As soon as she saw it, she screamed and tried to throw it away before T'Challa grabbed it and pulled it off of her. He then proceeded to throw it as far as he could.

"Thanks, dude." Anne said relieved that the bug was off of her.

"No problem. Happy to help." T'Challa said.

"Here. Take this one instead." Hop Pop said giving Mrs. Croaker another gourd. "It's maggot-free."

"Classic Plantar honesty." Mrs. Croaker said. "I've been buying from this stand since your father was running it. And y'all have never steered me wrong." She turned around and continued browsing around the market.

"Very impressive, Hop Pop." Anne said.

"No joke. It was pretty cool." T'Challa said.

"That is the Plantar difference, kids." Hop Pop said. "You can't taste honesty, but if you could…"

"It'd taste like a Plantar salad vegetable." Sprig and Polly said at once as if they were tired of hearing it.

"This stand is the heart and soul of our family." Hop Pop said. "I don't know what I'd do if we ever lost it."

"Well, I guess this is a bad time for me to break this to you." Said a new voice. Stan Leap, the mayor, appeared with a sullen look on his face.

"Mayor Leap." Hop Pop said with a smile on his face. "What can I do you for?"

"How about a promise not to be mad?" Mayor Leap asked.

"Why would I be mad?" Hop Pop asked.

Mayor Leap looked nervous starting to sweat making everyone nervous.

"Uh, Mr. Mayor?" T'Challa asked. "Is everything all right?"

Stan Leap sighed before replying. "No. Unfortunately, Hopadiah, I'm forced to quadruple everyone's taxes."

"SAY WHAAAAAAAAT?!" Hop Pop gasped loudly. "But why?"

"It can't be helped." The mayor answered. "The toads sent me a note demanding a much higher price, and they want it to be sent to them in three days. I sent a note back pleading with them to settle with the original price, but until I hear back from them, there's nothing I can do. Sorry, Hopadiah. I know it's unfair."

Hop Pop sighed. "I understand. Thanks anyway."

Mayor Leap nodded before walking away. T'Challa, Anne and the Plantar kids surrounded Hop Pop to comfort him.

"What's all this about toads?" T'Challa asked.

"The toads are basically the bosses of us frogs." Sprig said. "They enforce the laws of Amphibia with an iron fist. We pay them taxes every year, but…"

"But at this rate, we'll lose the stand in three days." Hop Pop said. "What are we gonna do?"

"Hmm…" Anne said thinking for a moment. She then came to a realization. "I got it! Snugaroos. Blankets you wear over your clothes."

"Anne, this is a vegetable stand." Hop Pop said.

"Besides, where are we going to get the material to make those?" T'Challa asked.

"No. I mean we need our own Snugaroo. A flashy new product. Something like… Aha!" Everyone watched as Anne picked up half of the gourd Hop Pop broke and squeezed all the juice into a jar. "Introducing Plantar's Potion! A hearty mix of vitamins and minerals that'll extend your life and keeps you regular."

"Wowza. All that in one jar?" Hop Pop asked.

"Heck if I know. I just made all that up. But health drinks are all the rage back home."

"Maybe we should product test this first before selling it to everyone who loves Hop Pop." T'Challa said taking the jar from Anne. He held it up and poured a bit of the drink into his mouth. After his sip, he waited a minute before giving his response. "Huh. It's not that bad."

"Well, it's worth a shot." Hop Pop said before T'Challa gave him the jar.

"You do remember a maggot was swimming in that gunk, right?" Polly asked.

T'Challa's face dropped to be very disgusted. "I do now."

Hop Pop walked away from the stand and positioned himself to a crowded area. He held up the Plantar's Potion and gave his declaration.

"New product! New product, everyone! This here is a freshly made bottle of… What was it again? Oh, yeah. Plantar's Potion!"

"Does it taste good?" One-Eyed Wally asked.

"Well, T'Challa said it's not that bad." Hop Pop said.

"Hey, Hop Pop! Can we chat for a second?" Anne called summoning Hop Pop back to her. "Dude, if you wanna sell this stuff, you gotta sell this stuff."

"What was wrong with that?" T'Challa asked.

"Dude, it's gonna take more than saying one guy liked it to sell a product." Anne said. "Try making promises you can't keep and junk."

"Did you forget this stand was built on honesty?" Hop Pop asked.

"Hop Pop, in three days, there won't be a stand." Anne said.

"All right." Hop Pop sighed. "I'll give it a try." He returned to the crowd.

"You sure this is a good idea?" T'Challa asked. "This sounds morally compromising."

"We don't really have any other choice, T'Challa." Anne said. "Let's just watch Hop Pop work his charm."

"Folks," Hop Pop announced, "I'd really appreciate it if you bought this drink. Uh… Because it'll make you… I don't know… Stronger?"

That got a rise from the crowd. Suddenly, every frog murmured in excitement which made Hop Pop satisfied urging him to keep on going.

"And uh… Smarter too."

The crowd's excitement grew, and so did his confidence. He took a flat hat and placed on his head before presenting like a professional businessman.

"Folks, one sip of Plantar's Potion…" He proceeded to drink the whole jar before smashing it to the ground. "And you may very well LIVE FOREVER!"

The crowd cheered wildly and every frog threw copper coins for as many jars as they wanted. It was then that Hop Pop decided to use more of his vegetables to step up production quickly. While the other kids were happy to be swimming in the copper coins, T'Challa wasn't as excited as everyone else was.

"This could be a problem." He thought to himself. "Well, at least no one's getting hurt."


Throughout the day, Hop Pop's fake sales drew in a great crowd from all over the market. His stand now came with a silo-sized barrel where vegetables were stomped on and pressed the juices right out of them. The juices were then harvested and ready for Hop Pop to sell to the good people of Wartwood.

Hop Pop made many empty promises to sell his product, and it always worked. He faked having a dry tongue and pretended the Plantar's Potion returned its stickiness. He claimed he had no shine before drinking the potion which made him extra shiny. Growing warts. Less kids talking back. Removing regrets. He said whatever he had to so he could sell every jar of Plantar's Potion he could.

Finally, nighttime came and the stands were all closing. Hop Pop checked his goal chart and saw that it was almost full. He laughed as everyone else was cleaning up.

"I know I doubted you, Anne, but this is really working." Hop Pop said.

"I gotta say, Hop Pop, you've gotten really good at this." Anne said.

"Why, thank you, young lady."

"Just try not to go too far." T'Challa said. "One bad lie and we'll be losing more than just the stand."

"No need to worry, T'Challa." Hop Pop said. "We're almost at our goal. One last day of good sales, and we'll save the stand."

"Guys, guys!" Sprig called from the vegetable cart.

"Big problem!" Polly yelled.

Everyone gathered around the cart and gasped. It was empty. All that remained were little specks of vegetables left around.

"We used up all our produce." Sprig said. "There's nothing left."

"No! We're so close!" Hop Pop gasped. "We can't fall short now!"

"Don't we have any spare vegetables back home?" T'Challa asked.

"We used all in our reserves." Polly said.

"Let me think for a second." Hop Pop said thinking hard. Just then, something caught his eye. He stared and smiled at a pile of rotten compost. "Aha! Jackpot!"

"Uh…. Yeah, that's literally garbage." Anne said.

"Garbage? Or Plantar Potion's new secret ingredient?" Hop Pop asked.

He quickly searched around the market and picked up all the broken eggshells, dead bugs, and every piece of garbage he could get his hands on. Once he was done, he dumped it all in the silo.

"Hop Pop, you can't do this!" T'Challa protested.

"Why not?" Hop Pop asked. "Everyone's hooked. They'll buy anything I sell them."

"Look, I was willing to go along with your false advertising today because it was for your family's stand and no one was getting hurt," T'Challa said, "But this might actually make people sick!"

"I'm with T'Challa, HP." Anne said. "Maybe we should find something else to use."

"No time, kids." Hop Pop said. "Trust me. It'll be fine." He proceeded to keep dumping garbage into the silo.

"So… we both know this won't be fine, right?" T'Challa asked.

"Oh, yeah." Anne said.


The next morning, the Plantar family opened the stand with Anne and T'Challa more nervous than ever about letting Hop Pop fill his jars with black, moldy liquid. Flies were beginning to swarm over Wartwood without anyone noticing. Hop Pop was delighted to see the large crowd gathering around so early in the morning.

"Friends and frog folk, step right up!" Hop Pop presented the black drinks with pride. "New limited edition Plantar's Potion! Only 20 coppers a bottle!"

"20 coppers?" Anne asked. "No one's gonna buy…"

"GANGWAY!" the crowd yelled running past the humans paying Hop Pop for all the 'limited edition Plantar's Potion' they could get their hands on. Very quickly, all the unsold black jars were replaced with tons of money.

Once most of the jars were sold, Anne and T'Challa approached Hop Pop.

"Tell me it's over." T'Challa said.

"Almost." Hop Pop said. "We gotta sell to one more sucker, and we'll be home free."

Just then, a single foot graced the presence of the stand and the crowd. It belonged to Mrs. Croaker.

"I'll take a bottle, Hopadiah."

Hop Pop gasped. "Sadie Croaker, the stand's oldest and most loyal customer."

"Usually, I find potions and the like to be a bunch of malarkey," Mrs. Croaker said approaching the stand, "But if Hopadiah Plantar says it works, then it must." She picked a gold coin from her purse. "Been saving this gold farthing for a while now waiting for something special to spend it on. One bottle, please."

"Hop Pop, this is going too far." T'Challa whispered to the old frog. "She's way too trusting."

"Uh… Well…" Hop Pop said nervously, "Sorry, Mrs. Croaker, but… We're all sold out."

"No, we're not!" Polly said pulling out a last jar of black gunk making Hop Pop extra nervous

"Thank you, deary." Mrs. Croaker said exchanging her gold coin for the jar which she held up as if presenting a toast. "To Hop Pop and the Plantars, the most honest folks in the business."

"Oof. Even I felt that one." Anne said.

After thanking the Plantars, the citizens of Wartwood readied to drink their gunk, even Mrs. Croaker. Hop Pop meanwhile was breathing heavily with the upmost worry. He looked at the stand which had the tagline "Honesty First" and made his decision.

"NO!" Hop Pop yelled before swatting the jar out of Mrs. Croaker's hands. It shattered once it hit the ground.

"What has gotten into you, Hopadiah?" Mrs. Croaker asked.

"That was no health potion! IT'S GARBAGE!" Hop Pop admitted.

"Finally." T'Challa sighed in relief while every disgusted customer dropped their drinks. They then turned angrily at Hop Pop.

"Folks, I'm so sorry. I never meant any harm." Hop Pop said. "All I was trying to do was save my stand and…"

Before Hop Pop could continue, the crowd gasped seeing something in the sky. Hop Pop followed their gaze and screamed seeing the giant flies gather around his stand's silo. One of them grabbed and picked up Sprig and Polly.

"THEY WANT THE GARBAGE POTION!" Sprig shouted pointing at the flies which knocked the silo on its side.

The flies swarmed around looking for any trace of the black gunk that had them drawn. The crowd screamed and panicked as they ran for their lives.

"Hey! Let go of my bumpkin frog family!" Anne shouted before being taken herself.

"Oh, no, you don't!" T'Challa said before tapping his pendant and putting on his Black Panther outfit. With it, he leaped to the stands and jumped again to slash his claws at the fly holding Anne. It let go of her, and he caught her as she fell.

"Thanks, but what about the others!" Anne shouted.

"HEY!" Hop Pop shouted waving a jar of black gunk for them to see. "Ain't this what you want?" He threw it and an armful of other jars into the silo and jumped on top of it. "T'Challa, Anne, you save the townsfolk while I work on saving my grandkids!" He rolled the barrel to attract a few flies, including the one that had Sprig and Polly.

"You heard him, T'Challa!" Anne said as she pointed to the remaining flies that were picking up the citizens.

Seeing them in trouble, T'Challa jumped up to the flies and swung his claws at them one after the other. Anne joined in the fight by pulling out her tennis racket, grabbing a large vegetable, and swatting it to fly straight at the flies' heads. This went on until all the flies were chased out and the citizens were safe. By then, it was sunset and Hop Pop safely returned with Sprig and Polly by his side.

"What happened to the silo?" T'Challa asked.

"Eh. I dropped it over a cliff and made the flies go after it." Hop Pop said. "Kids, I messed up big. I was so desperate to save the stand, I forgot what the stand was even about. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, T'Challa."

"It's all right, Hop Pop. We all make mistakes." T'Challa said.

"So now what?" Anne asked.

"We go make things right." Hop Pop said. "That's the Plantar way."


The next day, a long line of customers stood in front of Hop Pop's stand, but it wasn't to buy any more jars from him. It was to get their refund. One at a time, Hop Pop gave each customer all the money they had given him while apologizing to them. Lastly, Mrs. Croaker stepped up to get her gold farthing back.

"Well, Hopadiah, looks like you're going to have to earn our trust back." She said. "That being said, I think your father would be proud that you did the right thing today."

"Thanks, Sadie." Hop Pop said. "I'll work hard to earn your trust back."

"That's sweet to hear." Mayor Leap said approaching the stand behind Mrs. Croaked.

"Hi, Mr. Mayor." Hop Pop said. "Any word from Toad Tower?"

"I'm afraid not." Mayor Leap frowned. "And it's the due date, so you know what that means." He handed Hop Pop a piece of paper with the words "Eviction Notice" written as the headline. "I'm really sorry, Hopadiah."

Hop Pop sighed. "That's okay."

"So there's really nothing you can do?" Anne asked.

"I'm afraid not." Mayor Leap said. "Strange though. It's not like the toads to just raise the taxes this much so close to Tax Day. I'll do everything in my power to make this right, though. You have my word as mayor. For now, I suggest you head back home."

The Plantars complied and packed up all the decorations they put on the stand. They loaded them onto Bessie and rode on her shell.

"So what's the plan now, Hop Pop?" T'Challa asked.

"You know, maybe the end of one tradition means the start of another." Hop Pop said. "Maybe I ought to start over the Hop Pop way. Experiment with those new seed varieties I always wanted to try."

"That's the spirit, Hop Pop." Anne said.

"Yeah. We're gonna make it after all." Sprig said.

"The future is ours." Polly said.

"Looking good." T'Challa said.

The family rode quietly for a moment before Hop Pop broke the silence loudly.

"OH, FROG, I'M UNEMPLOYEED!"


After returning to city hall, Mayor Leap sighed as he walked over to his office. What he didn't know was that Toadstool and Toadie were watching him from around the corner. Seeing the mayor's sadness made the toad chuckle.

"It worked, Toadie. His confidence is shaken, and his future in this town is at stake." Toadstool said.

"Uh, sir," Toadie asked, "I gotta ask one question."

"Let me guess. You want to know why I doctored the order from Toad Tower demanding for Leap to quadruple the yearly taxes." Toadstool said with a mischievous grin. "Oh, it's part of my plan to guarantee my victory at the polls. And when the toads come to Wartwood to collect, we will ruin Leap's career for good."

"Actually, sir, I was going to ask for a restroom break." Toadie said.

"Oh. Sure. You know where to go."