We need a break from all the political bickering and economic bad news. It is a good thing that the county fair season is underway. We can go to the fair and have a little fun without thinking constantly about problems, our own, our state’s and our nation’s. So in this spirit, I will tell you a story.
There was a lad who loved the outdoors. He spent every available hour hiking in the woods or watching the fish jump in a local lake or river. He loved the wildlife and was always kind to any creatures he met in the forest. Soon the little animals learned to trust him.
One day, while he was sitting under a tree watching a bird build her nest, a frog hopped up beside him and sat down. To his surprise, the frog started to talk.
“I am a beautiful girl who was cursed by an evil witch,” the frog said. “I will have to remain a frog until I am kissed by an honorable man. You seem to be just such a man who can save me with a kiss.”
The lad picked up the frog, dropped her into a jar someone had left near the river and carried her home. He found an old bird cage in which he fixed moss and some bark and placed the frog inside. Then he caught some crickets for the frog to eat. He sat the cage on the dresser near his bed.
Later that night the frog started talking again. “Are you planning on going to the fair tomorrow?” “Yes,” he answered. “I would not miss it. Fairs are a lot of fun.” “Will all your friends be there?” she asked.
“Of course,” he said.
“Well,” said the frog. “Wouldn’t it be great to walk around the fair with a beautiful girl on your arm? It would make all your friends very jealous. All you have to do is give me one kiss and I will turn back into a beautiful girl and be your date for the fair tomorrow.”
“That would be pretty neat,” the lad admitted. “Let me think about it for a while.”
A couple of hours later the frog spoke again. “Please say yes,” she begged. “I want to get out of this cage and back into my natural body. Just one little kiss will do it for me.”
“I thought about it,” the lad said. “But I realized that every guy at the fair will have a beautiful girl on his arm. But I bet I will be the only one there with a talking frog!”
Frank Gillispie is founder of The Madison County Journal. His e-mail address is frankgillispie671@msn.com. His website can be accessed at http://frankgillispie.tripod.com/
