The Frog Monolith

• Sarah Brugman, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2018

In a place where all young tadpoles start to develop their features that make frogs…frogs, these ‘frogs’ get to prove that they are the best. Only the most resilient, smartest and strongest frogs can conquer the challenge….
“This is my chance” is what most of the frogs were thinking, all but one little frog, Bobo, cared. The Goliath-Frogs were training, lifting boulders and leaping with such spring in their step, others were filled with regrets, wishing they had trained instead of play Ninfrogdo and laying on lilypads. Suddenly, all was silent as an ancient frog with skin of green stepped up. He’s won the race many times before and was known only as…Champ.
Champ spoke “Everybody please, simmer down” he said, pulling out a sacred green scroll:
“I will now address the rules…
“I will shoot my start gun and you will begin… you will run” –he stretched out his arm wide “ across the road, through the long grass, then tredge through the sticky mud, then you must swim across the lagoon and your final challenge, to climb the monolith to victory!”
BANG!
Some frogs, hopped slowly, as the goliath-frogs passed them doing fancy hops and backflips. Suddenly… disaster! They forgot that this was a road…SPLAT. “Ummm I think I forgot the traffic cones” champ muttered nervously. Suddenly Bobo hopped onto the road...
The other frogs now expertly weaved through the grass, Bobo crossed the road cautiously. He then others in the grass. Now it was time for the mud. Slop! Grunt! went the big frogs as they sank, being heavy was a real disadvantage. This was the little guy’s chances to get ahead! They tiptoed through the top skin of the mud, which was now drying, some of the big frogs were stuck! Sinking chin deep as the mud dried…
The swim! Bobo had caught up with everyone else. They all dived in the water, the athletes with webbed feet shot ahead. Others struggling with every stroke, the birds now swooping…eating, them! They swan on, exhausted. Finally, the monolith.
Exhausted, they began climbing to the top. “You’ll never make it!” the audience cried as they fell from monolith. “Just mark your place on the pole!” most of the racers spat out black goo to mark their place. Bobo was still going up until the crowd could no longer see him “I made it!” he cried but the crowd did not care as they were congratulating an athlete frog who had the ‘highest’ mark. “I MADE ITTTTTTTT!” Bobo yelled at the top of his lungs the crowd gasping in disbelief. Suddenly “ahhhhhhh!” Bobo had fell down! “Call 000!” yelled champ as Bobo lost consciousness.
In the ambulance Bobo told the doctors why he kept going and why he didn’t know what was going on. Can you guess? Well…Bobo was, deaf. He could not hear. He had to be resilient and confident and support himself he had to tell himself that he could do it because he was Bobo…