“As I said before, I began building a wall which was actually a small pen to keep Scarf out of the way when I began digging out my floor. He was just a puppy back then and was always trying to play. By the time I finished digging my store room I had built a wall as tall as I am now.” Mr. Frogg began as they entered the forest.1
“That makes sense, but how did you make the top?” Tommy asked tilting his head to look up at Mr. Frogg.2
“I didn’t. It made itself.” Mr. Frogg answered quite honestly.3
“How could it?” Tommy asked, suspecting that Mr. Frogg was teasing him.4
“When I was looking for rocks to build the first wall I found these vines which were covered with extremely strange balls. The strange balls smelled great and Riggins was eating them so I decided to taste one. I liked it so much that I cut a long length of vine filled with them to bring back home with me. I ate them while I worked on the wall. The middles were very hard so I just threw them in among the rocks.” Mr. Frogg explained as they followed the curving paths through the woods. “Over time the vines began to grow out from between the rocks. Before I knew it the wall was covered with vines. They just grew thicker and thicker. It was amazing the way they hung a little farther over the top of the wall each day. Eventually the vines formed a roof so thick that not even the rain could get in.” Mr. Frogg finished as they reached the outer edge of the thick forest. “The best part is that when it’s the right time of year I can just go outside and get all of the delicious balls that Riggins, Scarf and I can eat and I store them in my cold room for a long time after the vines quit making them.” He added happily.5
6
“What gave you the idea to dig a tunnel into your basement?” Tommy asked as they entered a large field of deep blue grass.7
“Scarf dug the tunnel to begin with.” Mr. Frogg said with a smile.8
“Why did he do that?” Tommy asked, looking as Scarf curiously.9
“He was trying to catch a little squeaker.” Mr. Frogg answered.10
“What is a squeaker?” Tommy asked with a puzzled look on his face.11
Mr. Frogg gave a detailed description of what the average squeaker looked like.12
“It sounds like what is called a mouse in my world. I don’t like them at all.” Tommy said after listening to Mr. Frogg’s explanation.13
“I don’t like them either, no matter what you call them.” Mr. Frogg admitted honestly.14
“So Scarf dug a tunnel straight into your basement?” Tommy asked.15
“Not exactly. It curved around a lot and slowly angled deeper. By the time it broke into my store room it was on the other side of the tree.” Mr. Frogg explained.16
“What gave you the idea to make it big enough for you and Riggins to use?” Tommy asked as he squinted up at Mr. Frogg.17
“I got the idea when I found out how fast Scarf could get into the storeroom. Plus I knew it would be easier to put supplies into the store room if I could let Riggins carry them down for me instead of having to carry them through the house and down the stairs.” Mr. Frogg said looking down at Tommy.18
“Was it very hard?” Tommy asked walking backwards in front of Mr. Frogg.19
“It was very difficult at first.” Mr. Frogg answered truthfully.20
“Do you have anything I may have a drink of?” Tommy asked politely.21
“Yes I do and you may certainly have a drink.” Mr. Frogg said with a broad smile. Mr. Frogg stopped and poured some golden water into a wooden cup then handed it to Tommy.22
“Thank you.” Tommy said after drinking every last drop.23
“Why was it so difficult?” Tommy asked as they started up the path into the field of deep blue grass.24
“The roots made it very had to dig. The first ones I ran into were barely under the ground. They were so large I had to dig around them. Then I cut them out with my chopper.” Mr. Frogg explained.25
“What is a chopper?” Tommy asked, wrinkling his nose again.26
“That is a chopper.” Mr. Frogg said as he pointed at a sharp stone axe which hung neatly on the side of the wooden rack.27
“It’s called an axe in my world.” Tommy said with a sigh.28
“No matter what you call it, it works very well.” Mr. Frogg replied with a shrug.29
“So all you had to do was follow Scarf’s tunnel right into the store room?” Tommy asked while skipping along the path.30
“That was what I thought. However, when my tunnel broke through into the storeroom I realized I had gone too deep.” Mr. Frogg explained.31
“How much too deep?” Tommy asked curiously.32
“From here down was below the floor of the first storeroom.” Mr. Frogg answered as he pointed at his waist.33
“What did you do?” Tommy asked.34
“The only thing I could do was go up to the storeroom and begin digging at the roof of the tunnel. I kept going until the floor of the tunnel was even with the floor of the storeroom. Then I decided to make a room big enough for Riggins to sleep in. It is warmer for him in the cold period and cooler in the hot period. It also gave me more room to load and unload supplies.” Mr. Frogg explained in detail.35
Adding your comment: