The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker Read Free Book Online Page A

little seemed to grow. It made us both nervous, for the rocky soil and occasional scraggly weeds gave us nothing to hide behind if a predator should come along. Eadric and I hurried across the open ground, anxious to reach the tall grass beyond it. Suddenly, a ladybug zipped past my nose and flew toward a short, squat rock. I remembered Eadric's advice to eat while we hopped and tried to do just that. I jumped, flicking out my tongue at the same time, but the target was smaller than I was used to and I missed, my tongue coming back empty. Since I'd been concentrating on my tongue, I hadn't been paying attention to my feet, so I tripped and fell flat on my face. Thppt! Someone else's tongue flicked out and caught the ladybug.
    "Better luck next time," said a gravelly voice. I stared in disbelief. What looked like a rock blinked and shifted a lumpy foot.
    "You're a toad!" I exclaimed, startled.
    "And you're a lousy jumper!" replied the toad. "Just how old are you, anyway?"
    "What does that have to do with anything?" I asked.
    "I haven't seen such lousy jumping since my tadpoles first got their legs!" replied the toad. "You're going to have to work on your coordination if you're going to catch anything."
    "She's been a frog only for a few days," said Eadric.
    "What was she before that?" asked the toad.
    "I can speak for myself, thank you." I said. "I was a princess!"
    "That explains it. Never have seen a princess who could jump worth grasshopper spit. Whoa!" said the toad, looking behind me. "Look out, little lady. Here comes a big one."
    I turned around, expecting to see a large insect. Instead, the same huge white dog that had once tried to eat me was trotting straight toward us. I couldn't take my eyes off it.
    "You might want to sidle on out of the way," suggested the toad. "I can handle this one."
    I scurried behind a scraggly clump of grass while the toad hopped boldly into the open. After one look at my face, the toad laughed. "Don't worry, little lady, I know how to take care of myself. Watch this!"
    Three more hops set the toad directly in the dog's path. The dog's eyes lit up. "Hmmm!" it said, snuffling the toad from front to back before closing its great jaws around the lumpy, gray body. A strange look came over the dog's face and it dropped the toad as if it were hot. White foam dripped from between the dog's jaws. Whimpering pitifully, it pawed at its mouth.
    "Yuck!" said the dog. "What is this stuff?" It shook its head and great flecks of foam splattered the dry soil. With a pained yelp, the dog ran back the way it had come.
    "You poor thing! Are you all right?" I asked the toad.
    "Fine as frog's hair. Thanks for asking."
    "What did you do?" I asked. "I thought it had you!"
    "Not me! Mother Nature gave us toads a little secret weapon." The toad lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "You frogs think you're so superior with your smooth skin and your pretty faces, but you don't have anything like this. You see back here behind my head? This gooey stuff isn't dog spit, no sirree! I make my own poison and I've been told it tastes downright nasty. Heh, heh, heh! That dog didn't stand a chance."
    "That poison ... He isn't seriously hurt, is he?"
    "Nah, nothing time won't cure. Might have learned a lesson, though, if he's lucky."
    "I never would have guessed that you could do that."
    "That's what makes it a secret weapon!" the toad said. He beamed at me before turning to Eadric. Eadric scowled back.
    "We'd better be going," I said. "Thanks for your help!"
    "My pleasure, little lady. Good luck with your hopping! Keep on practicing and you'll do just fine."
    Eadric and I continued on, neither of us saying another word until we were concealed by a tall, rippling sea of grass. Once we were in its shade, I breathed a sigh of relief. "Now what was that all about?" I asked Eadric. "I think this was the first time I've seen you looking angry."
    "He didn't have to do that!" grumbled Eadric.
    "What do you mean?" I asked.