Chapter 5: The Toad Family

Somewhere deep in the river, was a boat floating with a walnut bed in the center of the boat and the mouse clutching onto her bag like it was the only life saver she had.

The two girls started to wake up, yawning, finding out that they weren't inside the house they called home.

"Thumbelina?" Poppy asked.

"Shh…yes, Poppy, I'm here and I'm okay," Thumbelina replied.

"Oh, Thumbelina." The mouse girl set her bag aside and went to hug her best friend.

Their tender moment was ruined when someone popped her head from behind a curtain. "Buenos Dias. I hope you sleep very, very good," she said.

"Huh? Who are you?" Thumbelina asked, horrified.

Mrs. Toad removed her scarlet hat and cloak, revealing her sleeveless green dress with blue polka-dots, long pink hair in a pony-tail, red beads, yellow feather, black opera gloves and tights, and teal blue high-heels. She also had big pink gloss lips, red rouge on her cheeks, and blue eyeshadow.

"Nosotras? We are the very happy family, Singers de Espana," she replied and she gestured for her family to come and greet the mouse and the tiny girl. "These are my sons: Mozo, Gringo, and Grundle."

The first two toads hopped in front of the girls cheerfully, while the last one appeared to have a bad morning. His younger brothers grabbed onto his cheeks, forcing him to smile.

"We are very rich and famous," Mrs. Toad continued.

"Rich and famous?" Thumbelina repeated.

"Si si. Mucho. I bring you ladies to become very famous singers, like me." As Mrs. Toad said this, she did the Shakira dance moves.

"Goodbye," Thumbelina said as she crawled out of her bed and took Poppy by the hand. "My mother will be very worried. Come on, Poppy."

Just as they were about to leave the boat, three toads jumped into their way, preventing their escape.

"Mama no worry," Mrs. Toad assured them. "Mama proud. When you two are stars, she make big fiesta and invite all the neighbors to see her little ninas who have become big, big, big, very big!"

"Actually, I'm her-" Poppy started to say.

"Big?" Thumbelina asked, imagining she'd be big as a human being, "You mean BIG?" She stood on top of her bed.

"I mean important," Mrs. Toad clarified, "And loved by everyone."

"But Cornelius loves me already," Thumbelina told her, "I think I'm gonna marry him."

Mrs. Toad's smile faded upon hearing this. "Marry him? Ay chihuahua! That will be a very big mistake. It'll get in the way of your careers in show business; doing things domesticos."

"What things?" Thumbelina asked, getting off her bed. What the female toad said made her feel uneasy.

"Yeah, what things exactly?" Poppy chimed in, also getting the sneaky feeling she wasn't liking it.

The female toad began to sing in response.

The scrubbings and the washings,

And the noses with the drippings,

And the sopas always boiling.

The trio of her sons nodded. "Si."

The panes of windows falling,

With the diapers changing,

With the roof, she's leaking,

And the enchiladas spoiling.

Mozo, Gringo, and Grundle:

Ooh.

Mrs. Toad:

Do you know how to do these things?

Like you will have to do these things

Or does the thought of it make you wince?

The two girls cringed at the remark.

"I thought so," Mama Toad spoke and added in song form:

Then don't marry

The prince!

"Oh, dear," Thumbelina said as she watched Mrs. Toad doing her same dance moves again.

"You see? You girls become big stars like me. We make big moneys together. You make Mama rich."

The last part made Poppy and Thumbelina dance. Poppy would give anything to find a decent place to stay in order to not feel alone in her world, while Thumbelina was willing to help her mother in any way she could. So, maybe Thumbelina can help her new friend.

As the trio danced, river creatures gathered around to enjoy the show.

"You're important people. You are famous. You are stars."

"Stars?" Thumbelina asked as she and Poppy both stepped onto a lily pad. "I suppose."

"Yeah," Poppy agreed.

Satisfied with each girl's performance, Mrs. Toad said, "Now, repeat after me." She then resumed her song.

We are the Singers de Espana, the original cast

And there hasn't been a town we haven't played.

We are the singers de Espana and we sing very fast.

Mozo:

We got on!

Grundle:

We got off!

Gringo:

We get paid!

"Sing!" Mrs. Toad ordered.

"Uh, could you say that a little slower?" Thumbelina requested.

"Please?" Poppy joined in.

At this, Mrs. Toad scoffed. "Slower? We don't do ballads."

"Oh, maybe I can take notes," said Thumbelina as she used her figure as if she was writing on her palm.

"Me, too," Poppy said, doing the same.

Mrs. Toad:

We are free and independent; we go everywhere

And we cuchi-cuchi-cuchi all the way!

We're gonna teach you how to Samba, and to Ramba, y La Bamba

And every number, Thumbelina and Poppy, say ole!

The swamp creatures still applauded as they watched their performance.

Poppy and Thumbelina continued dancing.

Mrs. Toad:

Come on the road!

Mozo, Gringo, and Grundle (singing backup):

Come on the road!

Mrs. Toad:

My little castanets!

Mozo, Gringo, and Grundle (singing backup):

My little castanets!

Mrs. Toad:

Come on the road!

Mozo, Gringo, and Grundle (singing backup):

Come on the road!

Mrs. Toad:

And famous you will get!

I'll make you stars,

Get you small guitars!

You'll be hot muchachas once I gotcha

On the road!

Thumbelina and Poppy backed away from the three singing toad brothers as they advanced themselves on them on the boat.

Thumbelinacita! Poppycita!

No one can be sweet-a!

Sing with mamacita!

We go on the road, Huah!

The two teen girls hopped back on the lily pad.

"Ay, yi yi yi yi! Ay, que pero bien bailin mis ranitos la conga!" Mrs. Toad cried in Spanish.

Grundle took Thumbelina by the hand only for her to pull it away from his grasp.

Poppy showed Grundle her fist, threateningly, in case he laid another hand on her best friend.

"Now, we sing," Mrs. Toad said.

We open Monday in Medina,

Then we do Babylon.

Then we hop to Barcelona for a week.

Then for a month in the Athens in the Partheon,

Where they love us 'cause we do the show in Greek.

Mozo, Gringo, and Grundle Toad:

We are the finest in the business,

It's a well-known fact,

And you'll forgive us if we have to blow the horn!

Mrs. Toad:

Because this isn't any ordinary animal act

And today the stars are born!

The three male toads lifted Thumbelina and Poppy in the air and set them down.

Mozo, Gringo, and Grundle:

Go on the road,

You'll hear the people's roar.

You're not a toad.

Mrs. Toad:

And that's what make-up's for.

She put on make-up to get her point across.

Mozo, Gringo, and Grundle:

Just sing on pitch,

We get very rich!

As Grundle sang with his younger brothers, he eyeballed Thumbelina, which made Poppy glare at him.

Wait until they see the Thumbelina and Poppy-

Mrs. Toad:

On the road!

Mozo, Gringo, and Grundle:

Singing Thumbelina and Poppy!

Dancing Thumbelina and Poppy!

Something Thumbelina and Poppy!

Poppy and Thumbelina crossed their arms and shook their heads stubbornly.

Mrs. Toad eyed the girls to see what to do with one of them. "Now, I make her sing!" she said as she stomped on Thumbelina's foot as she cried in pain in F minor. "Bueno! Muy, bueno! You got it!"

"Hey, that's no way to treat my friend!" Poppy snapped.

Mrs. Toad ignored her as she nonchalantly watched Thumbelina clutched onto her foot and the tiny girl finally raised her arms as she sang.

Mozo, Gringo, and Grundle:

Come on the road,

We make you big success.

Come on the road.

"You're in the union, yes?" Mrs. Toad asked the girls.

Mozo, Gringo, and Grundle:

The life, they're sweet.

"Si!"

Mozo, Gringo, and Grundle:

Lots of flies to eat!

A few flies came in their direction and Mrs. Toad grabbed a few with her tongue as she ate them. "Yum, yum."

Poppy and Thumbelina shook their heads in disgust.

Mozo, Gringo, and Grundle:

Why be little fish in little pond

When you can go so far beyond?

The toads lifted up the girls again, but this time on their backs with the girls waving at the crowd. "I think, perhaps, we'll make you blonde," Mrs. Toad suggested, showing Thumbelina a blonde wig with a purple bow on top.

"But I'm already blonde," Poppy insisted.

"Not you, Poppy. Thumbelina."

Mrs. Toad, Mozo, Gringo, and Grundle:

When we get on the road!

Thumbelina and Poppy hopped on a lily pad with Thumbelina singing her part.

On the road!

Poppy joined the others and they lifted their feet from side to side.

Let's hit the road!

Ole!

When the song came to an end, the animals threw coins at them as they cheered.

"Mama," Grundle whispered to his mother as coins continued to be tossed with Poppy and Thumbelina curtsying to the audience, "You give her to me. I marry her."

Mrs. Toad knew just who her son was referring to, given they haven't seen the mouse girl until this morning.

"Very well," the mama toad agreed much to the toad's overjoy. "You can marry la nina. We can keep the money she earns in the family. But the mouse is another story."

"I heard that," Poppy muttered under her breath with resentment as her ears twitched.

She and Thumbelina walked up to the two toads.

"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Toad!" Thumbelina cried.

"Thank you!" Poppy joined in.

"They really like us. Are we stars?"

"Yes," replied Mrs. Toad, "And Thumbelina, you can call me 'Mama'."

"Mama?" Thumbelina and Poppy asked in confusion.

"You're going to marry my son, Grundle!" Mrs. Toad announced.

"I'm-what?!" Thumbelina demanded as Mrs. Toad took her and Poppy to a lily pad surrounded by water.

"Are you kidding?"

"Kidding?" Mrs. Toad retorted. "I no kid."

"I love Thumbelina!" Grundle declared.

"You wait right here, Thumbelinachicita and Poppychicita," Mrs. Toad said as she dropped them off on the said lily pad. "We'll be right back with the Padre!"

"Oh, no, no," Thumbelina tried to reason with the toads as they were about to leave, "See, I love Cornelius."

"Don't you understand?" Poppy demanded of Mrs. Toad.

"Today, Thumbelina, you marry my son!" Mrs. Toad said, ignoring Poppy and focusing her attention on Thumbelina. She and the toads jumped into the water and Mama Toad and Grundel hopped into the boat with Mozo and Gringo pushing it.

The audience cheered as they left to make arrangements themselves.

"Hey, what gives?" Poppy shouted.

"Oh, no, no, no, no I'm not marrying-No! Come back here! No, wait, wait a second! Where are you going?" Thumbelina yelled as she watched the toads sail away with Mama Toad and a lovesick Grundel waving goodbye.

By the time they left, it was no sooner that Poppy and Thumbelina found themselves stranded on the lily pad.

"Doesn't anybody care what we think?" Just as she was about to fall, two hands touched her back and lifted her back up.

"Cornelius and your mother do," Poppy assured her. Then she stopped for a minute to realize their predicament. "Oh, great! We're stuck here!" She then yelled to the toads as if they were still around. "Thanks a lot, toads!" She sighed. "I do have a knife, but I don't have swim gear. Nuts! Let's move on to plan B."

"Right," Thumbelina agreed.