Splook & The Cinnamon Flies
A children's story written by me- Danette Thompson.
| Chapter 1 Splook the Frog was bored. He turned the page of his comic book. He had read it six times. It was hot outside, and nobody wanted to do anything. He closed the comic book, and headed for his bookshelf. He put it away and looked at the calendar. Oh no! Tomorrow was Mother’s Day, and Splook had no idea what he would get for his Mama Frog. “What do you think I should get her?” he asked SuperFrog, who was sitting on his bed. SuperFrog didn’t answer. He was stuffed. A fly landed on Splook’s nose, and it gave him an idea. He thought more about it as he remembered…  “My dad said that they only live on the little island in the middle of the swamp.” Jimmy had said in Show & Tell yesterday. He was talking about the rare Cinnamon Fly, and had shown them all a picture he had borrowed from his dad. Jimmy said that Cinnamon flies were very hard for frogs to catch, because they lived next to the Alligator Families. But Jimmy had also said that they tasted just like Cinnamon Bites. His mother loved Cinnamon Bites. She didn’t eat them very often, because they were not very good for swamp frogs. But Cinnamon Flies would be good for frogs to eat, because flies were always full of good things that helped frogs grow. This was perfect. Splook would go find those flies, and give his mother the best present ever!  “Whatcha doing?” Splook rolled his big bulging frog-eyes at his little sister, Freyda, as she hopped into his room. She usually asked a lot of questions, and today was no exception. “I am going to find Mama Frog a special present for Mother’s Day.” He said. “Go away, because I’m busy.” Freyda’s large mouth curved downward into a frown. “Can’t I help?” she asked. “Well, I guess you can help a little bit,” Splook said. “I am going to catch Mama some Cinnamon Swamp Flies, since she likes eating cinnamon candy so much. Here. You can carry this.” He picked up a jar, and handed it to Freyda. Then he tugged his little green wagon into the center of the room, and started filling it with things. A net, binoculars, a notebook, a pen, and his stuffed SuperFrog all went into the wagon. He opened his bedroom door, and was almost out when his sister called him. “Wait, Splook! You almost forgot your hat.” Splook stopped. Freyda was right! How could he go fly catching without his hat? He let the wagon handle fall to the ground with a thunk, and headed back for his trusty explorer hat.  Splook pulled his wagon into the kitchen, where his dad was sitting at the table with the newspaper. He looked up from the paper when Splook opened the fridge. “What are you doing, Splook?” he asked. “I’m getting a snack for later.” Splook said. “Freyda and I are going fly hunting for Mama Frog’s Mother’s Day present, and we might get hungry.” There wasn’t much to eat in the fridge, but Splook managed to find some leftover Caterpillar stuffing from last week, and a few cans of Cricket Cola. “Wait,” his dad picked up the bowl of Caterpillar stuffing. “It will upset your mother if this dish gets broken, and this stuffing looks extra fuzzy... Did it used to be blue? How about I make the two of you some beetle butter and moth jelly sandwiches instead? You can have a picnic.” “Okay.” said Splook. Beetle Butter sandwiches and Cricket Cola were his favorites. “Yum!” said Freyda. She liked them too.  Soon the two frogs were on their way. They saw all kinds of things as they traveled to the swamp: green and orange mushrooms, some swamp butterflies, (Splook thought those were delicious…) and even some pretty flowers. Freyda liked the flowers, so the frogs just had to stop, for so that Freyda to could make herself a crown. As Splook and Freyda got closer to the brown, muddy bank, Splook’s wagon got harder and harder to pull. Soon, the wagon stopped completely! It wouldn’t move. Freyda looked at the wagon; then at Splook. She was worried. “What are we gonna do, Splook?” she asked. Splook picked up his net. “We’ll carry our things. Here, put everything inside.” They left the wagon right there in the mud. Freyda didn’t think Mama Frog would like that- she was unhappy when her children left their toys out- but Splook insisted. “We’re coming back for it, and besides, it’s stuck. We will need Daddy Frog’s help to get it loose” He said. Freyda was first to see their next problem. The water was deep, and to get to the island in the middle of the swamp, they would have to swim. “But alligators can swim too, can’t they?” she asked. “Won’t they catch us?” Splook didn’t think anyone could catch him. But… Freyda couldn’t swim as fast as he could, and the gators just might catch her! And what if the two of them got tired? They wouldn’t be able to stop to rest, without sinking! There had to be another way across. Splook didn’t want to sink and get Mr. SuperFrog all wet and muddy! Chapter 2 Both Splook and Freyda looked around for something to help them. Too bad they couldn’t find an old boat, like the kids in the books Splook liked reading. In Jamie, Jackie, and the Icky Island, this kind of thing had happened, and Jamie had spotted a rotting boat floating near the bank. “Look, Splook!” Freyda’s voice brought him back from his thoughts. “What? I was thinking!” Splook said. Freyda pointed at a patch of water lilies. “What’s so special about water lilies?” he asked. Then he got it. Lily pads! “Of course!” he exclaimed. “They float!” he had jumped off some of them into the pond last week when he was swimming. But what could they paddle with? He hadn’t brought anything to use like that! Splook jumped towards his sister, and tripped over a stick. “Ooff!” Splook grunted. He landed in a pile of leaves. Hmm. There was something purple in there. “Purple? What is purple in a swamp??” he thought. “Are you okay, Splook?” Freyda asked. “Fine,” he croaked as he hopped to his feet. “Cool!” Freyda said. “Look what I found!” She was looking at another purple object like the one that Splook had seen, sticking out of the leaves. “Hey! That’s my surfboard!” Splook said. His parents had given it to him for Christmas. They had told him over and over that there were no waves to surf in their little marsh, but he wouldn’t listen. “So?” he had said, “I still want one.” So finally, his Mama and Daddy Frog decided to get him one. He had fun with it, but one night last week, he had forgotten it, and left it outside. There had been a storm, and his surfboard had gotten broken. It had still floated, but Splook wasn’t happy. “What will I do with twelve pieces of a surfboard?” he had asked. Now, however, he knew exactly what he would do with his surfboard pieces! “Grab a piece, Freyda!” Splook said. She did. Splook grabbed a piece too. He was very happy. Now they had paddles, and a lily pad boat, too!  Freyda helped Splook paddle the lily pad away from the swamp bank. It looked like a cloud was sleeping on top of the water. They could just barely see the Cinnamon Flies’ island in front of them. It stood out against the rest of the swamp like a dark smudge. Splook’s stomach growled. It was so loud that Freyda heard it! “Are you hungry, Splook?” she asked. “Not really,” Splook replied. He was a little hungry, but he didn’t want to stop now. He looked at Freyda. “Paddle harder. We’ll eat when we get to the Island.” The island grew closer… closer… closer still. “Grrruuuuhhhh” A noise echoed over the water. “I thought you weren’t hungry, Splook, but your tummy just growled again.” “Huh? That wasn’t me, Freyda. It must have been you.” Splook said. “But…” Freyda glanced at him, worriedly. “Splook… If it wasn’t you, and I know it wasn’t me, then-” Both frogs looked at each other, alarm written on their faces. “Who was it?” they croaked together. “Grrruuuuhhhh” There was that noise again. It sounded closer this time. Splook heard a loud breathing noise, and casting a glance at Freyda, he knew it wasn’t her. He stared ahead, into the shadows. The mist made it look dark. Splook hadn’t known that this Cinnamon Fly hunting would take so long. The wind blew, and through the mist, Splook saw a pair of gleaming eyes.  Chapter 3 Splook and Freyda heard a splashing noise, and then something grabbed hold of the lily pad. Some water sprayed up at the frogs, and made a puddle. Splook grabbed Mr. SuperFrog so he wouldn’t get wet. Freyda grabbed the knapsack full of snacks. Both frogs flopped onto their backs as the lily pad started to move. “What’s happening, Splook?” Freyda asked, in a scared voice. Splook opened his mouth to answer her, but he didn’t know any more than she did. He closed his mouth, and shrugged his yellow spotted shoulders. After several moments, whatever-it-was let go of the lily pad, which then bumped into something solid. They had reached the Cinnamon Flies’ island. Splook hopped to the edge of the lily pad, and leaped onto the bank. “Come on,” he said to Freyda. “Jump!” She did, and just in time! A split second later, the lily pad was chomped by an alligator! “Yipes!” Freyda croaked. She and Splook hopped madly into the soggy brush- and right into another alligator! Splook jumped back in alarm, as the gator grabbed at them with his long, sharp claws. Freyda jumped back, too, but not in time. Splook looked up just in time to see Freyda being carried away… “FREEEEYDAAAA!!!!!!!” Splook chirped (yes, some frogs can chirp) almost as loud as Freyda did. Then something thumped against him from behind. He tried to dodge it, but fell on his face. His head slammed into a rock, and everything went black.  Freyda was frightened. The alligators were carrying her off somewhere-no doubt to cook her up and serve her for dinner- and she hadn’t seen Splook. Had he gotten away from them? Freyda hoped that the gators hadn’t eaten him. She looked around as she was carried away; she wanted to be sure that she could find her way back, later. She thought about the things she saw, to help her remember them. Lots of trees, she thought. There’s one that looks like it has a face… After awhile, the gators waddled more slowly. They were almost there. Abruptly, Freyda was thrown into a large, wooden cage. She was very scared, and she felt like crying, but she knew what she had to do now. God could help her, even here. She sat down and closed her big eyes, and prayed. After awhile, Freyda heard a loud noise, and a grunt. She turned around, and saw: her brother.  Splook opened his eyes. It was bright, and Splook was glad. He didn’t like the dark. It took him a few moments to remember where he was. “The gators have us,” he thought. “We’ve got to get out of here!” “Are you okay, Splook?” Freyda stared down at her brother. Splook blinked once, then sat up, when he saw his sister‘s bulging eyes. He was dizzy, but other than what felt like a nasty bruise, he was fine. “Yeah, I‘m okay, Freyda.” he said, rubbing the back of his green head. He wasn’t really listening to her, as he surveyed their surroundings. The wind whistled through the tall trees surrounding their clearing, which he could see through the bars of the cage where they sat. This wasn’t the best of situations. Splook thought he heard his stomach growl, but it could have been one of the gators. He was hungry. But there was no time to worry about that. He heard something. Voices. “…job, Margalo… be good with some carp and…” Another voice, a little deeper than the first. “Don’t take… long, now, Dear. I’ll go get the… and then we’ll” Splook looked at Freyda. Yep. She had heard as much as he had. They were in trouble. Big trouble. Now we’ve really got to get out of here! Splook thought. Otherwise… Splook didn’t want to think about what could happen.  Freyda heard a noise that almost sounded like whistling,-well, as close as a reptile can get to whistling- and a fern rustled nearby. “Grrrruuuuhhhhh” A gator plodded towards them. Freyda heard Splook’s stomach growl again, and she thought that she might have heard the gator’s tummy growl, too. She looked at the bag of Beetle Butter sandwiches, and back at the alligator. Then she heard Splook introduce himself. “H-hi, M-Mr. Gator. I-I’m Splook.” her brother said. Freyda thought it was awfully brave of him to talk to the hungry alligator. “Grrrruuuuhhhhh” There went that noise again. Freyda decided that it must be the gator’s tummy. Chapter 4 Splook was scared. He had never seen an alligator before. They had a lot of teeth! The gator looked at him carelessly, and then fastened his stare on Freyda. He licked his lips. Splook jumped up. He might be scared, but he wasn’t going to let the gator eat Freyda. He grabbed a stick and shoved his sister behind him, to the back of the cage. He was ready to defend her. The alligator blinked, and then he grinned a big toothy alligator grin. “Grruh-huh-huh-huhhh!” he laughed. Well- Splook thought it was a laugh. He didn’t know whether alligators could laugh or not. He leaped when the gator spoke. “Hhhello, Sssplook. I amm Mmmargalo.” He looked at Freyda, and she heard his stomach growl again. She looked down at her knapsack of food, and got an idea. Sandwiches would taste a lot better than frogs, she reasoned. She unfastened one corner of the knapsack. Margalo Gator tensed. “What isss inn there?” he asked warily. He was hungry, and his wife was taking too long. Freyda unfastened the other side of the knapsack, and reached inside. “Sandwiches.” she said, holding up a couple of them. A delicious aroma wafted through the air, and tickled Margalo’s nose. “Mmm. Thossssse ssssmelll good.” he said.  Splook was shocked at what his sister did next. “Here. Would you like one?” she handed one to the gator through the cage bars.  “Freyda! That’s ours!” Splook exclaimed, staring at her. “Thannk you.” the alligator said. He took a small bite. But even a cautious alligator bite was still big enough to be half a frog’s sandwich. “Mmm. Ver’ good” he said, with his big mouth full. The sandwich was delicious, but it made him thirsty. He plodded off to get some water.  After watching Margalo leave, Splook whirled to face Freyda. “How could you?” he whispered. “You gave our food to the gator!” Freyda shrugged. “Did it occur to you,” Splook continued, “that Margalo is going to eat us? He’s the enemy- and you fed him!” Freyda looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, he was hungry.” Those words echoed in Splook’s mind. ‘He was hungry…’ then he remembered something he had learned during family devotions a couple of days ago. ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him…’ He knew there was more, but he couldn’t remember it.  Splook sat down, and leaned back against a rock. He needed to think. Across the cage, sat Freyda, who was eating the half-sandwich her brother had given her. She had been hungry, and since she gave Margalo Gator her own sandwich, Splook had given her his own sandwich. But his stomach was growling now, too. A fly buzzed around his head. Zapp! There. It was gone.  Chapter 5 Margalo wiped water from his snout as he headed back for camp. His wife was probably back by now, and it would soon be time to eat. But the thought of eating those two little frogs made him feel bad. The froggy girl had given him her sandwich, and didn’t even seem afraid of him. Most creatures were usually terrified of his many teeth, and ran away from him before he even got close. Maybe he and his wife could find something else to eat…  “Feed your enemies,” the words echoed through Splook’s head. He thought about how Freyda had shared her sandwich, and began remembering more of the verse… “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap hot coals of fire upon his head…1” Splook didn’t think it would be nice to have hot coals on his head. It would probably hurt. He didn’t remember exactly what the words meant, but it sounded like if he were nice to the alligators, something bad would happen to them, and then he and Freyda would be saved from being their supper.  Margalo reached camp at almost the same time as his wife did. He knew he had to think fast if he wanted to save the young frogs from being cooked. He called his wife. “Andorra! Did you get...” he thought like lightning to come up with something worthwhile… “Did you get the pill bug bread for the frog sandwiches?” Andorra Gator looked at Margalo. She was confused. Hadn’t they planned on baking them into a meat pie? Oh well. Frog sandwiches did sound good. “No,” she answered. “I thought we were… Never mind. I’ll go get some.” She turned, and headed back out among the trees. Margalo waddled as fast as his legs would carry him toward the young frogs. He groped with the latch on their cage, and pulled the door open.  Splook jumped back to get his stick again, when he saw Margalo coming, but Freyda stayed where she was, leaning against the bars, near the door. Splook thought she must be crazy. Just because she was supposed to feed her enemies, didn’t mean that she was supposed to be the food! She hopped to her feet when the door opened. “Want a can of Cricket Cola?” she asked Margalo sweetly, holding up a can. He shook his enormous head vigorously. “No.” he said, gruffly. He had been thinking about how he could justify letting them go, and had finally come up with an idea. “I like those sssandwiches, though.” he said. “And I‘ll let you go if you bring me back the recipe.” It suddenly occurred to him, that they might not come back. Oh well. They’d be safe, at any rate.  “Really?” Splook asked. “You’ll let us go?” He hadn’t been expecting that! But if Margalo really wanted to, then… “Yess, Sssplook. But don’t forget the recccipe…” He tried to look scary. “If you don’t give me the recccipe, I will gobble you up!” He walked away from them and hollered, “Go home!” “But Mr. Gator, how will we get off the island?” Freyda asked. “There’s a patch of lily pads waiting at the south bank of the island,” he said, over his shoulder. “And I found some surfboard pieces, that washed up after that storm we had a few days ago. Now go!” he said again. “Before I change my mind and decide to eat you both right now.”  Chapter 6 Splook and Freyda wove in between the trees, hopping more like jackrabbits than frogs. But even with all their speed, it took them nearly half an hour to get back to the swamp’s edge. They had no trouble finding the lily pads, however, and the bright purple hue of the surfboard-paddles stood out boldly against the brownish green muck that covered almost everything else. Splook held the lily pad steady while Freyda hopped on, then jumped aboard himself. “Come on; Paddle as fast as you can,” Splook urged Freyda. They pushed off from the swamp bank as quickly as they could, just sure that Margalo would be coming after them- and soon! The minutes inched by slowly. Splook’s arms were getting tired from paddling; surely they must be getting close to being home. “Are we almost there yet, Splook?” Freyda asked. “I’m tired… and hungry…” “I don’t know,” said Splook. “Do you know, Mr. SuperFrog?” he asked. No answer. Wait… Mr. SuperFrog! He hadn’t seen him in awhile. “Have you seen Mr. SuperFrog, Freyda?” Splook asked her. “No, Splook.” She said. “Could we have left him back on the island?” Splook thought. Freyda echoed his question out loud. “I sure hope not, Freyda,” he said. He thought about the possibility for a minute. Well… “Maybe he fell in the water, Splook” Freyda said sadly. Splook’s mouth sagged. He hadn’t thought of that! But… If he had fallen into the water, Splook wouldn’t have to worry about it. He knew that SuperFrog was a good swimmer. He felt a little better. “Hey, look, Splook!” Freyda shouted abruptly. “I think I see our tree from here.”  Margalo Gator paced back and forth. He was trying to come up with something to tell Mrs. Gator that would make up for the missing frogs… But could think of nothing that would work. He finally decided to tell her that he hadn’t been paying attention, and they had escaped. Andorra was hungry. She was so hungry, in fact, that it was making her grumpy. And a grumpy alligator is not a very pleasant sight- something that Margalo knew very, very well! Andorra waddled on her stubby legs into the clearing, and was made even grumpier by the sight she saw- the frogs were gone! She let out a low rumbling sound… Grrrrruuuuuhh!!! Margalo jumped when he heard his wife- she was really angry! He rushed- as well as an alligator is able- to her. “What is the matter, my Dear?” Margalo tried to pacify her. “Gruhh… The matter? Oh, I’ll tell you what’s the matter! My lunch is gone and I am hungry!” “There, there, dear. I’m sorry the frogs got away-” “You let them get away??” Andorra roared. “Well- not exactly- you see…” Margalo tried to explain. “Never mind why they got away!” Andorra growled. She was so hungry now, that she didn’t even care! “Just go get me some lunch.” Margalo headed for the swamp’s edge. He had decided that he would catch her some fish. Fish and frogs tasted nearly the same, anyway,- didn’t they? He swished his tail in frustration. Clunk! Margalo hit something. He turned to look at it, and saw- Splook’s toy! And Freyda’s jar! The small frogs’ things lay all over the ground… binoculars, a notebook….. and, a net! “Good.” thought Margalo. “I can use the net to catch Andorra’s fishes.” “Ugh” The bugs were quite bad, on this part of the island. They swarmed in Margalo’s eyes, and when he breathed, they got stuck in his nose. He grabbed Splook’s net off the ground and swatted at the flies. They got stuck in the net. He shook the net to get them off, and knocked over the jar. The lid was laying beside it, so he screwed it back onto the jar. He set it down next to a dirty, stuffed frog, and was about to start fishing for his wife’s supper, when he got an idea…  Chapter 7 Once they agreed that Freyda really had seen their home, the frogs paddled faster- they were dirty and hungry, and so very tired! The closer Splook and Freyda got to home, the thinner the mist got. Soon, it disappeared all together. The lily pad bumped into the shore, and both frogs leaped off. Splook was sad, because he had lost Mr. SuperFrog, and they still didn’t have a Mothers day present for Mama Frog. But at least they were home…  Suddenly, Splook saw something come gliding toward the shore. He looked closer… It was his net! Upright in the water, the net was coming closer… and closer… As the water became shallower, Splook saw Margalo. “Freyda!” he hollered, shaking with fear. “Go find the beetle butter & moth jelly sandwich recipe! Margalo is here!” Margalo surfaced, and spit out the net onto the shore. It tasted terrible! The stuffed frog, binoculars, jar, and notebook fell out of the net and onto the ground. “SuperFrog!!” Splook yelled with joy. He reached down to pick him up. Then he remembered what was happening. Margalo was waiting for the recipe! Splook decided to take care of SuperFrog later. Right now there was an alligator in his yard!  “Hhhelllo, Sssplook.” Margalo said. “Hi…” said Splook. He was scared! Margalo was here- at his house! But what was that? A tiny movement startled him- something was trapped inside his bug catching jar!  Freyda had run toward their home the minute that she saw Margalo. She was now squatted on her froggy legs in front of Mama Frog’s cookbook shelf. Books and papers lay strewn all over the floor. “Buttered Beetle Bread- no, that’s not it…” Freyda scanned page after page of yet another cookbook… “Blue Beetle casserole- ick! I hate Blue Beetles!…” She flipped the pages frantically now. If she didn’t find the recipe soon, Splook might become Gator food! “Aha! ‘Beetle Butter & Moth Jelly Sandwiches’!” At last! Freyda almost tore the entire page out of the cookbook, but then stopped. Mama Frog might not like that too much. Instead, she scribbled down the words on a scrap of paper, and leaped out the door.  Margalo was about to leave when Freyda came hopping toward him. “SPLOOOOK!” she yelled as she came. Margalo grinned a big, gator grin when he saw her. What a nice Froggy girl she was! Trembling, Freyda advanced toward him. In her hand, was a small scrap of paper. Margalo could just barely read the words scrawled on it. “Beetle Butter & Moth Jelly Sandwiches.” Margalo smiled even bigger. “Thannk-you verrry mmmuchhh,” he said. “Goodbyyye- I mmmusssssttt be goinnngg…” Margalo turned and in one, graceful motion, glided into the water.  As soon as Margalo had disappeared, Freyda headed back to the kitchen. She had left all of Mama Frog’s cookbooks all over the floor! Splook snatched SuperFrog up from the ground, and turned his attention back to his bug jar. He just had to find out was trapped inside… Chapter 8 Splook cautiously picked up the jar. Holding it in his hand, he could now see what was inside. Bugs. Or, to be more precise- flies. Hundreds of them! He couldn’t be sure, but they looked strangely like the picture of cinnamon flies that Jimmy had shown at school. Very carefully, he unscrewed the jar lid and eased it off- just a bit… buzz buzz zzzip! Good! Just one fly got out. It circled Splook’s head. Zapp! Mmm. They were Cinnamon Flies. Splook made sure the lid was back on tight, and set the jar back inside his net. He just had to tell Freyda about the flies. And then, they would give them to Mama…  Freyda had just gotten Mama Frog’s cookbooks put away, when Splook burst into the kitchen, yelling. “Freyda!!! Freyda!!! You’ll never guess what I have here! Cinnamon flies! They were in my bug catching jar! I don’t know how they got there- but here they are!” Freyda looked skeptically at her brother. “Are you sure that they’re Cinnamon flies?” “I tasted one! They’re delicious! Here- Try one!” Splook opened the jar carefully, one more time. Again, he only let a single fly out. Zapp! Freyda caught it with her tongue. “Mmm… Cinnamon.” She said. Then she grinned. Splook screwed the lid back on the jar, and Freyda grabbed his webbed froggy hand. “Come on, Splook! We’ve got to show these to Mama Frog!” Chapter 9 Mama Frog and Daddy Frog were in the living room, talking. Freyda burst into the room yelling, followed by Splook. “Mama! Mama! Guess what?!” “We got you a Mother’s day present, Mama!” Splook held out his jar of Cinnamon flies. “Look!” he said. “Splook! Freyda! Where have you been?” Mama Frog asked. Splook took a deep breath, and began the tale…  “We were on an adventure, Mama. It was fun, but then it got scary…” He was interrupted a couple of times by both Freyda, and his parents, but at last, he finished. “And the alligator liked the sandwich Freyda gave him so much, he let us go, so we could get the recipe for him!” At some time while Splook was talking, Daddy Frog had gotten up from next to Mama. Now, he was standing in the middle of the room. In his hands was a Bible. “You know, Splook- your adventures remind me of a Bible verse.” He opened the big, black book, and turned the pages until he found what he wanted. “Aha! Here it is!” he said, laying his finger on top of a verse. It was highlighted. He read it out loud: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not repay evil with evil, but repay evil with good2.” Daddy Frog flipped a couple of pages, and then, began reading again.... “But I- that’s God- say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those that curse you, pray for those who insult you.3” “But Daddy- What does heaping coals of fire on your enemy’s head mean?” Freyda asked. “Well Freyda, I think it’s talking about guilt. For example: Margalo captured you. But instead of being mean to him, and getting angry, you gave him your sandwich. That’s part of the verses- you fed your enemy. And then, Margalo let you go. Why did he do that? Do you know?” Daddy Frog asked. “Umm… Do you think that it made Mr. Margalo feel bad, when Freyda gave her sandwich to him?” Splook said, thoughtfully. “Yes, Splook. But do you know why it made him feel bad? Margalo Gator was going to do unkind things to you and Freyda. When Freyda did nice things for him, it made him feel guilty about what he wanted to do.” “Ahhhem! I think it is time to say one more thing- and then, it’s off to bed!” said Mama Frog. She was smiling, though. “ I like my present very much. But it wasn’t a good idea for you to go off into the swamp alone. You could get lost, or hurt!” “We’re sorry, Mama Frog,” Splook and Freyda said, together. “Next time, we’ll ask Daddy Frog to help us,” said Splook. “And then, we will find you even more Cinnamon flies!”  The next Monday, Splook went to school. For show-and-tell, he brought the jar of flies, that Mama Frog had agreed to share. Cinnamon flies. Everybody got one. Especially the kids he didn’t like. And somehow, after that, even his enemies didn’t seem quite as much like enemies, anymore… |