Greenie

The Frog With No Name

 (A True Story)

Everything has a beginning, especially magic.

     In the early morning when the sun first begins to silver the pine trees, magic begins in a small Kentucky forest.    Baby birds wake up and sing for their breakfast.  Little squirrels jump from tree to tree searching for hidden acorns all the while chattering with their playmates.  Tiny rosebuds open their petals to a new day.  In Crystal Pond, Mrs. Frog has just given birth to four new baby frogs.

          “Just look at our new babies,” Mrs. Frog said proudly to her husband, Mr. Frog.  “Now we have three more lovely daughters and another fine son to name.”

          “Our new girls are indeed lovely,” said Mr. Frog, beaming at the sight of such fine children.  “But our new son is very small and not as handsome as our oldest son.  Look at his eyes.  They are in front of his face instead of on the side where they should be.  He is certainly an odd looking little fellow.”

          “You are right, dear husband,” replied Mrs. Frog.  “He is a funny looking little thing but I think he is a special frog.”

          “Perhaps you are right, dear wife,” sighed Mr. Frog.  “But special or not, he is way too small for Crystal Pond.  I fear he will not be with us for long.  As little as he is, he will be easy prey for the Gigging Man who comes in the night.  I do not think we can protect him and he is too little to protect himself.  We will not hold a naming ceremony for him.  There is no need to name one so little and doomed.”

          Little frog children learn very quickly how to jump from lily pad to lily pad.  They learn how to catch flies with their tongues and they learn how to obey their parents.  But the most important lesson they learn is how to stay away from the Gigging Man.  Every wise frog in Crystal Pond knows about the Gigging Man.  He is a horrible man who comes to the pond at night with his big bright light and his dirty brown knapsack.  He picks up frogs with his big stick, throws them into his knapsack, and carries them home to cook for dinner.  Once a frog has been caught by the Gigging man, it never sees Crystal Pond again.

          One summer night when the moon was high in the sky, all of the frogs of Crystal Pond gathered to celebrate summer and the coming of new rain.  There were birthdays to share and marriage vows to be read.  It was a happy time in Crystal Pond.  As the frogs were jumping among lily pads and ferns, a dark shadow fell across the moonlit water.

“It’s the Gigging Man!” cried Elder Frog.  “Hop away my children!  Hop away quickly and hide deep in the water!”

          The celebrating frogs began to hop as fast as they could, but many of them could not move fast enough.  The Gigging Man was very quick with his big stick.  Deep into the water he plunged his stick and each time the stick hit the water, he caught a frog.  When his knapsack was full of frogs, he tied the top together with string, threw the knapsack over his shoulder, then walked away from the pond with a grin on his face.

          “Tomorrow night we will have a feast for dinner,” laughed the Gigging Man, licking his lips.  “This night I have caught many frogs!”

          “We are trapped!” cried a young mother frog.  “We are trapped inside the darkness of this sack.  I hope my children got away.  I could not find them in the pond and I can not see them here in the darkness.”

          “There is no escape for us,” cried another frog.  “We will be cooked and never again will we swim in the beautiful waters of Crystal Pond.”

          “Maybe there is a way to get out,” said the little frog with no name.  

           “There is no way out,” sighed Elder Frog.  “You are old enough to know what happens to us once we have been caught by the Gigging Man.  But don’t be afraid, I will stay beside you.”

          “There might be a way out,” argued the little frog.  “I can feel a small hole in the knapsack  with my front legs and I can see a little bit of light coming through it.  We could go out through the hole.”

          “But we are large frogs,” said Elder Frog.  “A large frog could not get through a small hole.  We are just too big.”

          “I can get out,” said the little frog with no name.  “I am very small and I can squeeze myself right through the hole.”

          And so the little frog with no name eased his way quietly out through the small hole.  Once he was out, he hopped around to the top of the knapsack and quickly untied the string with his tongue.

          “We are free!” cried Elder Frog.  “The little one has saved us.  Hurry everyone!  We must hop quickly back to Crystal Pond before we are caught again.”

          The frogs began to hop all over the Gigging Man’s kitchen searching for the door that led to the outside.  They hopped to and fro, over furniture, and sometimes over each other, looking for a way back to Crystal Pond.  They did not know they were hopping over a little boy who was sleeping on the floor.

          “Papa!  Come quick!” yelled little George who had been wakened when a frog jumped across his nose.  “All of the frogs are getting away.  Hurry and I will help you catch them!”

          The Gigging Man threw on his clothes and hurried out to the kitchen.  He and his sleepy-eyed son ran to and fro trying to catch the escaping frogs.  All night long, father and son jumped over furniture and sometimes over each other trying to trap as many fleeing frogs as they could.  But this time the frogs were much quicker.  By the time the early sun was peeking through the pine trees, all of the frogs except one had made it back to the sparkling waters of Crystal Pond.

          “I caught one, I finally caught a frog!” yelled little George, holding up the small frog for the Gigging Man to see.  “Look at him!  He is so small and cute.  I don’t think he will be much good for dinner.  Should I go and throw him back into the water, Papa?”

          “You are right, son,” said the Gigging Man, wrinkling his nose at the funny looking frog.  “He is much too small for any man’s dinner and quite ugly too.  Go and throw that sad little creature back into the pond.”

George cradled the little frog in the palm of his hand and singing softly to himself, hopped out the kitchen door toward the path that led to Crystal Pond.

          “I will set you free, little frog,” George said softly.  “I never did care for frog dinners but it was fun chasing you through the kitchen.  Maybe another time I will catch you again so we can play chase the frog.  You sure are an odd fellow.  I think you are the same color as the pine trees in the forest.  That is my favorite color.  Now, into the pond you go.  Good-bye little Greenie”

          At the sound of his name, before he could make that first splash into the water, the little frog changed.  Before you could say chase the frog three times, Greenie kicked up his heels and set himself down right in front of George.  Gone was the small frog with no name.  Gone was the ugly creature from Crystal Pond.  It its place was a handsome frog wearing a purple vest and silver slippers.

          “Why, thank you, little George,” said the marvelous looking wizard frog.  “Now that you have given me my name, I am a magic frog at your service.  I must go back into the water but you may call if you need me for now we are friends for your lifetime.”     

     With these words, Greenie jumped onto the sparkling waters of Crystal Pond, leaving a little boy smiling at such wondrous words coming from a frog.  “Friends for a lifetime, Greenie,” whispered George,  gently trailing his fingers through the magic water.  “For ever and ever.”

          In the evening, when the faint murmur of croaking reaches out to be carried on the night wind, there is magic in a small Kentucky forest.

by Turtleheart

1995

 See The Sweetgrass Lodge Frog Dedication page.

Click on the frog banner.