The Silver Frog
(998 word count)
In a quaint village a young boy lived with his mother in a small, but comfortable cottage. They only had one another, and even though they did not have a lot of riches their hearts were richly full of love.
The boy loved to go down to the brook each morning to fish and look for treasures. And every evening he would return home with his overall pockets full of found items and a fish or two for dinner.
One day, the boy was fishing when something caught the corner of his eye: a shining silver glow underneath the water. At first the boy thought the sun’s reflections were playing tricks on him, however, the boy realized it was not the sunshine, but rather a treasure in the muddy bottom of the brook. So he reached down, and brought out what felt like a stone but had the appearance of a small bullfrog.
He knew this treasure should accompany him on his journey home, so he stuffed it into one of the pockets of his overalls. The silver frog accompanied the rest of the boy’s found treasures: a crumbled piece of brown paper, three stones, a slippery snail and a spool of thread.
Quite exhausted and hungry, the boy returned home after a long day of treasure hunting and fishing. After a hearty meal, the boy changed his clothing and went to bed. However, as he often did, the boy forgot all the treasured items in the pockets of his overalls.
A few days had passed and it was the evening of laundry day. The boy’s mother was in the middle of her weekly search through the boy’s pockets. The mother quickly retrieved the stones, the thread, the paper, and then noticed a silver frog in her palm. She was immediately intrigued by the pretty treasure, and began to rub her thumb across the frog’s smooth back.
Then she heard a voice croak, “Hello!”
“Did you just talk?” asked the frightened mother.
“Yes,” croaked the frog from beneath a shirt. “For I am a wishing frog.”
The mother brought the silver frog closer to her face,and replied, “A wishing frog, eh?”
“Yes, kind woman. And I have decided to grant you three wishes.”
The mother looked sceptical, but said, “Okay then, I wish for a big, beautiful home and all the money I ever would need.” And just like that the mother was in a ball gown in a huge manor home.
The mother was so caught up in the moment, she barely heard the frog croak, “What is your second wish, my good woman?”
Astonished, she quietly said, “Well, I don’t quite know. May I ask for my second wish at another time?”
The frog croaked, “Yes, of course, good woman. Place me on a high shelf so no one can find me. When you are ready for your second wish take me down, stroke my back, and state your heart’s desire.”
So the mother put the silver frog on the very high shelf in her dressing room, knowing it would stay safe there.
Time passed at the beautiful manor home. The mother became increasingly bored because her unending supply of money had bought everything she could imagine: maids, cooks, tutors for the boy, as well as every delicacy known to man. However, the one thing she was missing was a husband.
So the mother returned to her dressing room , reached for the silver frog, and followed his directions. She said, “I wish a handsome prince would ask for my hand in marriage.” With that, a knock came at the front door of the manor. Moments later a servant brought a most handsome man into the hall.
In her haste to see who was at the door, the mother forgetfully left the frog sitting out on her vanity.
As the mother entered the hall, her servant stated, “A prince is here to see you, madam.”
Without warning, the prince immediately fell to one knee, took the mother’s hand, and simply stated, “I wish for you to be my wife.”
The mother was so elated, she immediately cried, “yes!”
Now time had also passed for the boy. He no longer was able to fish or search for treasures, he had a prince as a father, and even worse he hardly ever saw his mother anymore. The boy simply wished for things to return to the way they were.
The boy began to cry, and ran to his mother’s room hoping to find her there. She was not there, but a light on the vanity caught his eye. When he wiped away his tears the boy realized the light was coming from the silver frog he had found many months ago. He walked over to the vanity, and picked up the silver frog, and without thinking began rubbing the smooth silver.
The silver frog croaked, “Hello. I am a wishing frog.”
“Why hello, little frog,” said the boy.
“Hello boy,” croaked the frog.
“You are a wishing frog?” questioned the boy.
“Yes, I am,” croaked the frog. “And I have one wish left to grant.”
The boy knew that his mother had only wished for riches because they had lived on so little. So without anymore thought, the boy cried out, “I wish I had never found you!”
And in a blink of an eye, the boy was back at the brook, fishing and searching for treasures. He suddenly had a bite on his hook! The boy reeled in the biggest fish ever, put it in his bucket, and started for home. As the boy rounded the corner to the path up to his home he saw the quaint and comfortable cottage and beamed with anticipation.
He approached the door, and before he could knock the door opened his mother stood waiting. From this day forward he knew things would be different. For they didn’t need magic to give them happiness and riches; they only needed each other.
(998 word count)
In a quaint village a young boy lived with his mother in a small, but comfortable cottage. They only had one another, and even though they did not have a lot of riches their hearts were richly full of love.
The boy loved to go down to the brook each morning to fish and look for treasures. And every evening he would return home with his overall pockets full of found items and a fish or two for dinner.
One day, the boy was fishing when something caught the corner of his eye: a shining silver glow underneath the water. At first the boy thought the sun’s reflections were playing tricks on him, however, the boy realized it was not the sunshine, but rather a treasure in the muddy bottom of the brook. So he reached down, and brought out what felt like a stone but had the appearance of a small bullfrog.
He knew this treasure should accompany him on his journey home, so he stuffed it into one of the pockets of his overalls. The silver frog accompanied the rest of the boy’s found treasures: a crumbled piece of brown paper, three stones, a slippery snail and a spool of thread.
Quite exhausted and hungry, the boy returned home after a long day of treasure hunting and fishing. After a hearty meal, the boy changed his clothing and went to bed. However, as he often did, the boy forgot all the treasured items in the pockets of his overalls.
A few days had passed and it was the evening of laundry day. The boy’s mother was in the middle of her weekly search through the boy’s pockets. The mother quickly retrieved the stones, the thread, the paper, and then noticed a silver frog in her palm. She was immediately intrigued by the pretty treasure, and began to rub her thumb across the frog’s smooth back.
Then she heard a voice croak, “Hello!”
“Did you just talk?” asked the frightened mother.
“Yes,” croaked the frog from beneath a shirt. “For I am a wishing frog.”
The mother brought the silver frog closer to her face,and replied, “A wishing frog, eh?”
“Yes, kind woman. And I have decided to grant you three wishes.”
The mother looked sceptical, but said, “Okay then, I wish for a big, beautiful home and all the money I ever would need.” And just like that the mother was in a ball gown in a huge manor home.
The mother was so caught up in the moment, she barely heard the frog croak, “What is your second wish, my good woman?”
Astonished, she quietly said, “Well, I don’t quite know. May I ask for my second wish at another time?”
The frog croaked, “Yes, of course, good woman. Place me on a high shelf so no one can find me. When you are ready for your second wish take me down, stroke my back, and state your heart’s desire.”
So the mother put the silver frog on the very high shelf in her dressing room, knowing it would stay safe there.
Time passed at the beautiful manor home. The mother became increasingly bored because her unending supply of money had bought everything she could imagine: maids, cooks, tutors for the boy, as well as every delicacy known to man. However, the one thing she was missing was a husband.
So the mother returned to her dressing room , reached for the silver frog, and followed his directions. She said, “I wish a handsome prince would ask for my hand in marriage.” With that, a knock came at the front door of the manor. Moments later a servant brought a most handsome man into the hall.
In her haste to see who was at the door, the mother forgetfully left the frog sitting out on her vanity.
As the mother entered the hall, her servant stated, “A prince is here to see you, madam.”
Without warning, the prince immediately fell to one knee, took the mother’s hand, and simply stated, “I wish for you to be my wife.”
The mother was so elated, she immediately cried, “yes!”
Now time had also passed for the boy. He no longer was able to fish or search for treasures, he had a prince as a father, and even worse he hardly ever saw his mother anymore. The boy simply wished for things to return to the way they were.
The boy began to cry, and ran to his mother’s room hoping to find her there. She was not there, but a light on the vanity caught his eye. When he wiped away his tears the boy realized the light was coming from the silver frog he had found many months ago. He walked over to the vanity, and picked up the silver frog, and without thinking began rubbing the smooth silver.
The silver frog croaked, “Hello. I am a wishing frog.”
“Why hello, little frog,” said the boy.
“Hello boy,” croaked the frog.
“You are a wishing frog?” questioned the boy.
“Yes, I am,” croaked the frog. “And I have one wish left to grant.”
The boy knew that his mother had only wished for riches because they had lived on so little. So without anymore thought, the boy cried out, “I wish I had never found you!”
And in a blink of an eye, the boy was back at the brook, fishing and searching for treasures. He suddenly had a bite on his hook! The boy reeled in the biggest fish ever, put it in his bucket, and started for home. As the boy rounded the corner to the path up to his home he saw the quaint and comfortable cottage and beamed with anticipation.
He approached the door, and before he could knock the door opened his mother stood waiting. From this day forward he knew things would be different. For they didn’t need magic to give them happiness and riches; they only needed each other.
No comments:
Post a Comment