Frog loved to eat, and Frog loved to burp. When Frog was just a tadpole, he ate a lot and burped freely. Wherever he went, townsfolk would comment, “What a good eater!” “Oh, how cute!” “Just like his father!” they said.
That’s where the trouble started. You can’t tell a child their bad manners are cute or they’ll never learn to behave. And that’s just what happened to Frog.
He ate everything in sight, including some things that I’m not so sure are actually food. But then, I’m not a frog (or so rumor has it) so I’m not sure what frog cuisine consists of. And after every meal, Frog would burp enthusiastically, sure that it created more room for dessert, but it never occurred to him to say “Excuse me.”
But the strangest thing happened. He started to notice that no one was calling him “cute” anymore. They actually seemed to get a little grossed out whenever he would burp. The rules had all changed. One time, his friends even got up from the table and walked out, saying, “Yuck!”
Finally, the mayor called a meeting to discuss the issue, which was becoming a town concern. “Something has to be done!” the citizens cried, and the vote was cast to send Frog up the river, which in this case, literally meant up the river. Frog packed a big lunch, unsure why he was being sent away, and began his journey.
He met up with several other frogs and noticed that they, too, loved to burp. They were even louder and smellier than he was! But he also noticed that it wasn’t very pleasant to be around people who burped all the time, and he finally understood what everyone had been trying to tell him.
He went back to town, full of apologies, and asked for forgiveness. His friends were glad to see him, and it wasn’t long before they were all eating together. But this time, when Frog burped, he said, “Excuse me.” And everyone lived hoppily ever after.
(This book was published by Simon and Shuster in 2003 and was illustrated by the author.)
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