Frog and Toad / Квак и Жаб. 3-4 классы
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They went to a big meadow where the wind was strong.
“Our kite will fly up and up,” said Frog. “It will fly to the top of the sky.”
“Toad,” said Frog, “I will hold the string. You will hold the kite and run.”
Toad ran across the meadow. He ran very fast on his short legs.
The kite went up in the air and then fell down on the ground.
Toad heard laughter. Three robins were sitting in a bush.
“That kite will not fly,” said the robins. “You should give up.”
Toad ran back to Frog.
“Frog,” said Toad, “this kite will not fly. I give up.”
“We must make a second try,” said Frog. “Wave the kite over your head. Maybe then it will fly.”
Toad ran across the meadow again. He waved the kite over his head.
The kite went up in the air and then fell down on the ground.
“What a joke!” said the robins. “That kite will never fly.”
Toad ran back to Frog.
“This kite is a joke,” he said. “It will never fly.”
“We must make a third try,” said Frog. “Wave the kite over your head and jump up and down. Maybe then it will fly.”
Toad ran across the meadow again. He waved the kite over his head. He jumped up and down.
The kite went up in the air and then fell down on the ground.
“That kite is junk,” said the robins. “It will never fly. Go home.”
Toad ran back to Frog.
“This kite is junk,” he said. “I think we should go home.”
“Toad,” said Frog, “we need one more try. Wave the kite over your head. Jump up and down and shout ‘UP, KITE, UP!’”
Toad ran across the meadow. He waved the kite over his head. He jumped up and down. He shouted, “UP, KITE, UP!”
The kite flew into the air. It went up and up.
“We did it!” cried Toad.
“Yes,” said Frog. “If the first try did not work, and the second try did not work, and the third try did not work, I knew that we needed to make one more try!”
The robins flew out of the bush. But they could not fly as high as the kite.
Frog and Toad sat and watched their kite. It flew to the top of the sky.
Shivers
The night was cold and dark.
“Listen to the wind in the trees,” said Frog. “What a fine time for a ghost story.”
Toad sat deeper into his chair.
“Toad,” asked Frog, “do you like to be scared? Do you like to feel the shivers?”
“I am not too sure,” said Toad.
Frog made some tea. He sat down and began a story.
“When I was little,” said Frog, “my mother and father and I went out for a picnic.
On the way home we lost our way. My mother was worried.
‘We must get home,’ she said. ‘We do not want to meet the Old Dark Frog.’
‘Who is that?’ I asked.
‘A terrible ghost,’ said my father. ‘He comes at night and eats little frog children for supper.’”
Toad drank his tea.
“Frog,” he asked, “did this really happen?”
“Maybe yes and maybe no,” said Frog.
“My mother and father went to look for a path,” said Frog. “They told me to wait until they came back. I sat under a tree and waited. The woods became dark. I was afraid. Then I saw two big eyes. It was the Old Dark Frog. He stood near me.”
“Frog,” asked Toad, “did this really happen?”
“Maybe it did and maybe it did not,” said Frog.
Frog went on with his story. “The Dark Frog pulled a jump rope out of his pocket.
‘I am not hungry now,’ said the Dark Frog. ‘I ate too many tasty frog children. But after I jump rope one hundred times, I will be hungry again. Then I will eat YOU!’
The Dark Frog tied one end of the rope to a tree.
‘Turn for me!’ he shouted.
I turned the rope for the Dark Frog.
He jumped twenty times.
‘I am beginning to get hungry,’ said the Dark Frog.
He jumped fifty times.
‘I am hungrier now,’ said the Dark Frog.
He jumped ninety times.
‘I am very hungry now!’ said the Dark Frog.”
“What happened then?” asked Toad.
“I had to save my life,” said Frog. “I ran around and around the tree with the rope. I tied the Old Dark Frog. Then I ran away fast. I found my mother and father. We went home.”
“Frog,” asked Toad, “was it a true story?”
“Maybe it was and maybe it was not,” said Frog.
Frog and Toad sat by the fire. They were afraid. They had the shivers. It was a good, warm feeling.
The Hat
On Toad’s birthday Frog gave him a hat.
Toad was very happy.
“Happy birthday,” said Frog.
Toad put on the hat. It covered his eyes.
“I am sorry,” said Frog. “That hat is too big for you. I will give you something else.”
“No,” said Toad. “This hat is your present to me. I like it, and I will wear it.”
Frog and Toad went for a walk. Toad bumped into a tree and a rock. He fell in a hole.
“Frog,” said Toad, “I can’t see anything. I cannot wear your beautiful present. This is a sad birthday for me.”
Frog and Toad were sad for a while.