I found this little kinda big toad while preparing one of the garden beds for sowing. This is one the largest toads I’ve seen around here, in fact. I am calling him my little garden friend.
He was under a pile of wooden stakes that were laying flat across the soil. When I picked up the stakes, there he was. I think the sudden sunlight surprised him. Maybe he had hibernated there all winter, as he was burrowed into the soil. I felt bad for disturbing him but didn’t want to put the stakes back on top of him for fear that I would hurt him. I tried to bunch some weeds all around him to give him back some shade. He can stay there as long as he wants. I will work around.
The Frog Prince by Linda Ori
As I was walking through the wood
One warm and sunny summer day,
I chanced upon a lovely sight
A swirl of butterflies in flight;
Urged on by curiosity,
I followed down the path they flew
And tumbled through a hidden door
Beneath the leafy woodland floor;
A wondrous sight did then appear
As if by magic to my eyes,
And there within a hollow log
I spied a very princely frog;
Nestled deep within that place
Of musty darkness shone a light,
And there I saw as I did look
A princely frog with poem book;
Lounging in his comfy space
With spectacles perched on his nose,
The frog prince reading unaware
Of being watched as I stood there;
So engrossed within his book,
He did not notice as I sneaked
Behind his chair on velvet feet –
Then all at once our eyes did meet
He dropped the book into his lap,
Complete surprise upon his face –
I turned to run and he did follow
Leaping from his hidden hollow
Swift I ran around the tree
And hiding, waited patiently
And soon he lept upon a rock
And then this frog began to talk;
‘My dear, within your book I’ve read,
Your songs of love and gratitude,
Your tales of woe, of joy and such
I must admit, I like it much! ‘
But there is one thing I would ask
If I may only be so bold,
Now would you please consider this,
And place upon my lips a kiss?
Well, I believe in fairytales
For heaven knows I’ve read a few,
And if my memory serves me well,
A little kiss might break the spell;
So, pucker up you ugly frog
Let’s get this done while in the mood,
I closed my eyes and then did place
A kiss upon his slimey face;
It wasn’t bad, he tasted sweet!
I can’t believe I kissed a frog!
My eyes did open then and see
A handsome prince smile back at me!
The prince of poets had been freed,
No longer bound beneath the spell –
And in his freedom I did find
A gentle prince, sincere and kind;
He offered then to mentor me
As poet prince, no longer frog –
And I of course said ‘yes’ and more……………
That day beneath the woodland floor.
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Nice, but… I’m pretty sure I would have made a scream! 😉
🙂 I must confess, he did quite surprise me, not expecting to see something like that under the boards. Then I got to really looking at him – thankfully he was very still and did not jump or I would have screamed too – and I just thought his little “hands” were so cute.