Day 109 – Billy the BullFrog

Outside my front door is a small patch of garden that frequently gets excessive water run off from our sprinkler system. This area is well shaded due to a large jasmine bush that has become overgrown. Early in the morning, when I walk outside I am confronted by two realities that this small garden patch has produced. First it is the perfect condition for growing jasmine. I have never seen a more vibrant, colorful and fragrant bush then this jasmine. Second the habitat that this jasmine bush has created is perfect for bullfrogs. Each morning I can hear their song. Each morning, I consider their song for brief moment and then I am off and running.

Yesterday, I decided to take a more active interest in this song of the bullfrogs. At first when I settled down on the door step to listen, their song became quiet but as I stayed very still, breathing very shallow, I heard their song come back to life. I watched carefully under the canopy of the jasmine and among the debris of fallen leaves, old soggy landscaping bark, and a discarded piece of a small toy that my son used to carry around with him I saw the dim yellow eyes of a wise old bullfrog peering out at me.

The bullfrog interrupted his portion of the chorus from his friends and relatives and peered closer at me and must have noticed that I was taking notice of him. He inched slowly closer and as the wet debris fell away from his back I noticed that he was roughly the size of a small frying pan. I was a little taken back by how large this wise old bullfrog had grown, spending his life under my jasmine bush but that moment of surprise was instantly removed when I realized I could understand what the bullfrog was trying to say to me.

He said in his deep baritone frog voice that since I seemed to have a few moments to spare this morning, perhaps I could sit for spell longer and listen to the story of Billy the Bullfrog. I nodded my head more in astonishment then agreement and I got down on my knees and leaned in so I could understand more clearly what I thought was being said. The wise old frog began the story by rehearsing the early life of Billy the Bullfrog.

I will not bore you with the details of that part of the story, suffice to say that bullfrogs seem quite proud of their time as tadpoles and their coming of age when they crawl out of murky, swampy water and start to roam the earth on four legs. Their diet of small larvae and worms becomes much more rich and exciting as they can now grab a variety of species from land and air. Eventually the wise bullfrog finished this part of the story and starting discussing his naming day, when the now mobile tadpole became William, or Billy for short.

Billy was the same as any normal bullfrog, he was about the size of a dime when starting out and with his many brothers and sisters learned to explore the area under the jasmine bush and test their hunting capabilities on small gnats and other insects. Billy, however, began to be really curious about what lie beyond the eaves of the jasmine. Billy’s sense of hearing was becoming more acute and he could sense the vibrations of sound being produced by other creatures. He began to really wish to know what was going on out there and what he could learn and who or what he could meet.

Bullfrogs typically nestle into a cool dark place during the day and they come out in early evening. As the sun comes up they begin to work on finding their way back into that safe place where you would be very hard pressed to locate them. One of these early mornings, Billy elected to stay up a little longer. Shelly, one of his sisters, urged him to return to safety – but Billy sat there on the edge of the jasmine and looked out over the grass at the large gray flat surface that his mother called the human walking pad.

This was the morning when he saw his first dog. As he was looking out he saw the shape and shadow of a human drawing near. He was a a bit surprised to see a creature walking next to a small female human that was walking on all fours. This creature was hairy all over and had his head close to the ground, apparently smelling almost everything around him. The little human “girl” was tugging on a thin rope connected to the creatures neck, saying “come on…D…O…B…Y.” Just as this creature was being pulled away, Billy noticed that it saw him. They established eye contact for just a moment. Billy was absolutely sure that was a look of a friendly creature, not anything to be afraid of.

Later, after talking with his mother, Billy learned this creature was called a DOG. Billy became fascinated by these dogs. Every morning he would sit at the edge of the jasmine, just on the edge of the shady spot and watch the parade of dogs being brought past his location. It was amazing! There were hundreds of them and in all shapes and sizes. They all had a different look and they all seemed very curious and very happy. They would sometimes make a very loud noise and in once instance one of them lifted his leg and sprayed the jasmine with a little water.

When Billy told everyone of that experience they laughed at him and said it was pee and they made fun of him every since. Still, despite the embarrassment, Billy continued to stare at the Dogs and he began to understand something truly amazing. Dogs had names too! He learned their names and began to look forward to seeing them walk past each morning and Billy would pretend to greet them by name and compliment them on their hair, nose, teeth, and whatever else came to mind.

The dog that Billy liked the most was by far the one he came to know as Doby. Doby seemed to like to stop at the jasmine bush and every once and awhile they would see each other again. However, these visits were usually very short and they never got to say anything because the human girl that was with him always seemed to be in a hurry. Everyday, Billy resolved to be a little more bolder to try to be ready for the moment that Doby would come by. His mother kept warning him to get back under the jasmine bush, but Billy kept inching closer to his goal.

Then one day as he saw Doby and the girl coming down the walking pad Billy took action. Billy mustered all his strength and jumped his body, which was now the size of a quarter, out from underneath the jasmine and landed in the middle of the gray walking pad and looked up just as Doby arrived. It was in that moment that….

How would you finish the story of Billy the Bullfrog? What happens to him? Did Billy meet his demise by taking a risk, or is Billy the wise old frog speaking to me?