Toad sat and did nothing. Frog sat with him.
After a long time Frog said, “Toad, it is dark. We should go to sleep now.”
“Go to sleep!” cried Toad. “That was the last thing on my list!”
Toad wrote on the ground with a stick:
Frog jumped over rocks, and Toad jumped behind him. They came to a dark cave. A big snake came out of the cave.
“Hello lunch,” said the snake when he saw Frog and Toad. He opened his big mouth. Frog and Toad jumped away.
Toad was shaking. “I am not afraid!” he cried.
They went higher, and they heard a loud noise. Many big stones were rolling down the mountain.
“It’s an avalanche!” cried Toad.
Frog and Toad jumped away.
Frog was shaking. “I am not afraid!” he cried.
They came to the top of the mountain. There was a hawk above them. Frog and Toad jumped under a rock. The hawk flew away.
“We are not afraid!” cried Frog and Toad together.
Then they ran down the mountain very fast. They ran all the way to Toad’s house.
“Frog, I am glad to have a brave friend like you,” said Toad. He jumped into the bed and pulled the blanket over his head.
“And I am happy to have a brave friend like you, Toad,” said Frog. He jumped into the closet and shut the door.
Toad stayed in the bed, and Frog stayed in the closet. They stayed there for a long time, feeling very brave together.
The Dream
Toad was asleep, and he had a dream. He was on a stage, and he was in a costume. Toad looked into the dark. Frog was sitting in the theatre.
A strange voice said, “PRESENTING THE GREATEST TOAD IN THE WORLD!”
Toad bowed.
Frog looked small as he shouted, “Hooray for Toad!”
“TOAD WILL NOW PLAY THE PIANO VERY WELL,” said the strange voice.
Toad played the piano, and he did not miss a note.
“Frog,” cried Toad, “can you play the piano like this?”
“No,” said Frog.
Now Frog looked even smaller.
“TOAD WILL NOW WALK ON A HIGH WIRE, AND HE WILL NOT FALL DOWN,” said the voice.
Toad walked on the high wire.
“Frog,” cried Toad, “can you do tricks like this?”
“No,” answered Frog, who looked very, very small.
“TOAD WILL NOW DANCE, AND HE WILL BE WONDERFUL,” said the voice.
“Frog, can you dance like me?” said Toad as he danced wonderfully on the stage.
There was no answer.
Toad looked into the theatre. Frog was so small that he could not see or hear him anymore.
“Frog, where are you?” cried Toad.
Then the voice said: “THE GREATEST TOAD WILL NOW…”
“Shut up!” cried Toad. “Frog, Frog, where ARE YOU?”
Toad was now in the dark.
“Come back, Frog,” he cried. “I will be lonely!”
“I am here,” said Frog.
Frog was standing near Toad’s bed.
“Wake up, Toad,” he said.
“Frog, is that really you?” asked Toad.
“Yes, I think so,” said Frog.
Toad looked at the sun shining outside.
“Frog,” he said, “I am so glad that you are here.”
“I always am,” said Frog.
Then Frog and Toad ate a big breakfast. And after that they had a fine, long day together.
Down the Hill
Frog knocked at Toad’s door.
“Toad, wake up,” he cried. “Come out and see how wonderful the winter is!”
“I will not,” said Toad. “I am in my warm bed.”
“Winter is beautiful,” said Frog. “Come out and have fun.”
“No,” said Toad. “I do not have any winter clothes.”
Frog came into the house.
“I brought you some clothes,” he said.
Frog put a coat and snow pants on Toad. He put a hat and a scarf on Toad’s head.
“Help!” cried Toad. “My best friend wants to kill me!”
Frog and Toad went outside. They walked through the snow.
“We will ride down this big hill on my sled,” said Frog.
“Not me,” said Toad.
“Do not be afraid,” said Frog. “I will be with you on the sled. It will be a fine, fast ride. You will sit in front. I will sit behind you.”
The sled began to go down the hill.
“Here we go!” cried Frog.
There was a bump. Frog fell off the sled.
Toad flew past trees and rocks.
“Frog, I am glad that you are here,” cried Toad.
Toad flew over a snowdrift.
“I could not ride the sled without you, Frog,” he cried. “You are right! Winter is fun!”
A crow flew nearby.
“Hello, Crow!” cried Toad. “Look at Frog and me. We can ride a sled better than anybody in the world!”
“But Toad,” said the crow, “you are alone on the sled.”
Toad looked around. He saw that Frog was not there.
“I AM ALL ALONE!” cried Toad.
“No,” said Frog. “There was only a tree, stones and dry grass. So I walked in the meadow. Soon I came to another corner. I went around the corner to see if spring was there.”
“And was it there?’ asked Toad.
“No,” said Frog. “There was only a worm under an old tree. So I walked along the river, and came to another corner. I went around the corner to look for spring.”
“Was it there?” asked Toad.
“No,” said Frog. “There was only wet mud and a lizard.”
“Were you tired?” asked Toad.
“Yes, I was tired,” said Frog, “and it started to rain. I went back home. When I got there, I found another corner. It was the corner of my house.”
“Did you go around it?” asked Toad.
“I went around that corner, too,” said Frog.
“What did you see?’ asked Toad.
“I saw the sun shining,” said Frog. “I saw birds sitting in a tree. I saw my mother and father working in the garden. I saw flowers in our garden.”
“You found it!” cried Toad.
“Yes,” said Frog. “I was very happy. I found the corner that spring was just around.”
“Look, Frog,” said Toad. “You were right. The rain stopped.”
Frog and Toad ran outside. They ran around the corner of Frog’s house and saw that spring came again.
Ice Cream
On one hot summer day Frog and Toad sat by the pond.
“I would like some sweet, cold ice cream,” said Frog.
“What a good idea!” said Toad. “Wait here, Frog. I will be back soon.”
Toad went to the shop. He bought two big ice-cream cones.
“Frog likes chocolate ice cream,” said Toad, “and I do, too.”
Toad walked along the path. A big, soft drop of chocolate ice cream fell down.
“This ice cream is melting in the sun,” said Toad.
Toad walked faster. Many drops of melting ice cream fell down. They fell down on Toad’s head and arms.
“I must run back to Frog!” cried Toad.
More and more ice cream drops fell on Toad’s jacket, pants and feet. The ice cream was melting very fast.
“Where is the path?” cried Toad. “I cannot see!”
Frog sat by the pond. He waited for Toad. A mouse ran by.
“I just saw something terrible!” cried the mouse. “It was big and brown!”
“Something covered with sticks and leaves is coming this way!” cried a squirrel.
“Something with horns is coming here!” cried a rabbit. “Run, everyone, run!”
“What is it?” asked Frog.
Frog hid behind a rock. He saw something coming. It was big and brown. It was covered with sticks and leaves. It had two horns.
“Frog,” cried the terrible thing. “Where are you?”
“Oh,” said Frog. “That is Toad!”
Toad fell into the pond. He went down and came up again.
“Oh, no,” said Toad. “All of our sweet, cold ice cream is gone now.”
“Do not worry,” said Frog. “I know what we can do.”
Frog and Toad ran back to the shop. Then they sat under a big tree and ate their chocolate ice-cream cones together.
The Surprise
It was October. The leaves were falling off the trees. They lay on the ground.
“I will go to Toad’s house,” said Frog. “I will rake all the leaves on his lawn. Toad will be very surprised.”
So Frog took his rake.
Toad looked out of his window.
“These leaves made a mess on my lawn,” said Toad.
“I will run to Frog’s house. I will rake his leaves. Frog will be very surprised.”
So Toad took his rake, too.