Once upon a time deep in the forest was this very special pond. Among many of the inhabitants were 3 frogs. Their names were Mona, Jonah and Bill. They all lived together on this lilly pad (sort of a 90's commune)

Bill, the smallest of the 3 also had a hind leg missing. Seems he almost got caught by a cat when he was just a tadpole and escaped with his life but lost his leg. All the other frogs would go hippittey-hop from one lilly pad to the other. Poor Bill , he could only go hippittey-thump, but off he would go just the same.

Mona the next in size was also the prettiest. In fact she had a reputation for being the best looking frog on the entire pond. Someone was always sending her flowers or a special shipment of bugs (Chocolate covered of course) from far away. Life was pretty good for Mona except she had this tiny problem. No matter how good things were Mona would bitch and moan the whole time. In fact that's how she got her name.

Jonah on the other hand came from a special line of royal frogs. He was pampered and treated special all his life. Extra care was made that he had strong healthy legs, for one day he would be a fancy dinner treat for someone. Jonah knew this fact and therefore bemoaned his fate all the time. What's the sense of having a good time?, he would say. After all I'm just going to wind up as someone's dinner one day. Boo! Hoo! Hoo!

One sunny day Bill called the other frogs excitedly and said. Hey guys, I overheard the ducks talking and they said that there was a magic wizard on the other side of the pond that could make all our wishes come true. Really, honest, swear to you, it's true. Can you imagine? He can give me a new leg. and Mona he can make you happy and Jonah maybe he can even save you from your fate.

Bill, you're such a silly frog, said Mona. Don't you know, we were meant to be this way? After all, a frog with such beauty such as I have, has to endure the jealous taunts of the other ugly frogs and earn her right to be the prettiest frog on the pond.

Yeah, said Jonah, you can't change Mother nature. Why it would be a sin to try to do so. Just accept your fate and get me some more bugs while you're at it. I would do it myself but I need to take care of my legs. You don't have that problem Bill, do you? Hee Hee Hee

Look guys, said Bill. I know that this wizard will make all things better. I just know it deep in my heart, that this is so. Won't you help me get there? Oh please, say yes. Huh?

Well ok, said Jonah. But you must do most of the work, I wouldn't want to hurt my legs or anything. You know what I mean? Yeah, said Mona, And make sure that you have me a place where all can see my beauty on the trip. It's about time that something good happens to us, even if it's only for a short while.

So Bill got busy building a boat out of lilly pads. He made sure he had a special place for Mona to sit on her journey and that there was plenty of space for extra bugs in case Jonah got hungry, He also made plans to get up early and keep on schedule to get to the wizard on time.

Some days the wind would not blow them along and Bill had to push the boat along. Mona and Jonah would just watch and complain. About hot it was, how the bugs were not as good as yesterday and how long it was taking to get there.

One day they noticed that Bill was not moving as fast and they asked, What's wrong with you? You'd better not be sick or anything after all what would we do out here all by ourselves? Bill said I'm ok, It's just that I get tired some time and well I guess I'm getting old. Listen why don't you help me get this boat there faster?

Listen buddy, We're royalty and royalty don' work. said Jonah. Yeah, and I'm too pretty to work. said Mona. Well at least, said Bill, Try not to complain so much. If you try to be more positive the trip will seem shorter.

Later on Bill noticed that Jonah had begun to help him push the boat. What happened? asked Bill. Don't say nothing to no one about this, said Jonah. I just got so bored I thought the exercise would be good for my legs. Besides listening to that Mona woman would drive anyone nuts.

Mona soon joined them. Bill asked, How come? She said, It's part of my beauty regimen, it keeps my gills soft and my skin smooth. Can't you see how more beautiful I look.? They really moved fast then.

Bill kept getting weaker and weaker and one day he lay still on the boat not moving. What shall we do? said Mona, Should we turn back? And what do we do about him? Jonah looked at her and said We've come too far to turn back. Besides Bill would have liked for us to go on, Let's do it for him. And so they did.

They covered Bill and decided to bury him when they got to the wizard. When they got there the wizard himself came out to greet them and asked what he could do for them. Both Jonah and Mona said Nothing at the same time.

You see your wizardry, said Jonah. We used to complain about things all the time but Bill taught us to be more positive and well by the time we got here we had forgotten all about complaining and we felt so good about ourselves we don't need anything from anyone, Too bad you weren't here to help Bill, said Mona.

Don't you worry about Bill, said the wizard He's discovered the secret of death. You see we don't die. we just change form just like the butterflies do. Only its a big secret and no one lets us know what happens until we have it happen to us. But if you look real close into a baby's eyes you can see that it really an old friend in a new body. If you don't believe me, look for yourself.

After they had buried Bill, Mona had some tadpoles. She looked real close and sure enough she saw Bill looking right back at her. Jonah agreed and they named him Thumper in honor of Bill.

The End