Such an odd statement.“Are...you...the one responsible for this?”
The frog’s mouth dropped open for the barest of moments.“I am the one accused of it.”
“You do not sound like you agree to the charge.”
“You are correct.But someone in my family likely is.”
“And yet you are the sole one cursed to fix it?”
The frog clamped his mouth shut.
Sensing herself right, Bella said, “I guess someone powerful believes only you are to blame, else the entire town would suffer alongside you.Who are you?”
The frog stared at her, took a deliberate hop out of the water, and said, “Wum...wum.”
“Fine.Keep your secrets.I care not and seek only my way home.Enjoy your poison, you belligerent bullfrog.”
“Wum.”With a huff, he slammed one foot in the water.“I am no disgusting bullfrog!I am a dashing, um, tree frog, who makes beautiful music.”
Bella eyed him, then grabbed him up.The water that dripped from his feet smelled foul.“Sing for me, then, you giant beast.”
The frog studied her, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.His throat puffed out, and a deep, resonantwum...wum...wumfilled the air.
“Bullfrog, as I said,” Bella informed the creature as she set his feet into the mud.
If a frog could cry, Bella thought this one would.His head hung, and he stared at his front feet with its little fingers, moving them in a pattern.“I used to make the most beautiful music.Now...this.”
His pitiful plea broke Bella’s heart.The frog was not nearly as upset over his punishment as he was the lack of music he could make.She hunched down, then scooped him up with a handful of slimy mud.“Bullfrogs are the sound of summer where I come from.They are the sound of safety, of warmth.It means the frigid nights are gone, the days are long, the fireflies and berries plentiful.Do not fret that you do not sound lovely, for I assure you, you do.”
Gratitude poured from his eyes.“Thank you.That was...very kind.”
“‘Tis the truth.”She smiled at him as she set him back into the water and swished the mud from her fingers, then twisted them into the crunchy white sand.“Let’s make a deal.You help me return home, and I shall do what I can to help you reverse your curse.Sound fair?”
“Why...would you help me?”
“Why would I not?”She replied, wiping her hands on her skirts.They still felt slimy, even though they were dry with the copious white crystals stuck to them.A bit of darkness colored her tone.“No one should be stuck in a position from which they cannot escape.”
“Were you stuck?”
Between the two imprisoning towers and the brainless, chest-thumping lugs panting after her at home....“I was.But I was clever enough to find my way free.I do need to return though, and soon, to ensure my father is well.”She turned a hopeful expression on him.“I am sure, given the opportunity, you will find yourself equally able to break free.”
The frog opened his mouth, then faltered.“I am inclined to agree, but I cannot leave the pond.”
Bella considered the water, then studied the frog.“What, exactly, were the words of your curse?”
The frog’s mouth opened and closed a few times.
“Surely you remember?Aren’t curses set to rhyme?That’s what the storybooks say.”
She watched him think for a moment.Then he recited:
“Lakes and ponds I govern
On hills and dales and fields
Verily I sentence you
Ever after to suffer and mourn
