Арнольд Лобел: Frog and Toad / Квак и Жаб. 3-4 классы

“Yes,” said Toad. “I will go behind the rocks and put on my bathing suit.”

“I don’t wear a bathing suit,” said Frog.

“But I do,” said Toad. “After I put on my bathing suit, do not look at me until I get into the water.”

“Why not?” asked Frog.

“Because I look funny in my bathing suit,” said Toad.

Frog closed his eyes when Toad came out from behind the rocks. Toad had his bathing suit on.

“Don’t look,” he said.

Frog and Toad jumped into the water. They swam all day. Frog swam fast. Toad swam slowly.

A turtle came along the river.

“Frog, ask the turtle to go away,” said Toad. “I do not want him to see me in my bathing suit when I come out of the river.”

Frog swam to the turtle.

“Turtle,” said Frog, “please go away.”

“Why?” asked the turtle.

“Because Toad thinks that he looks funny in his bathing suit, and he does not want you to see him,” said Frog.

Some lizards were sitting nearby.

“Does Toad really look funny in his bathing suit?” they asked.

A snake came out of the grass.

“If Toad looks funny in his bathing suit,” said the snake, “then I want to see him.”

“We want to see him too,” said two dragonflies.

“I want to see something funny, too,” said a field mouse.

Frog swam back to Toad.

“I am sorry, Toad,” he said. “Everyone wants to see you in your bathing suit.”

“Then I will stay here in the river until they go away,” said Toad.

The turtle and the lizards and the snake and the dragonflies and the field mouse all sat at the river. They waited for Toad to come out of the water.

“Please,” cried Frog, “please go away!”

But no one went away. Toad got colder and colder. He started to shiver.

“I must come out of the water,” said Toad, “or I will get a cold.”

Toad got out of the river. The water ran out of his bathing suit. The turtle laughed. The lizards laughed. The snake laughed. The field mouse laughed, and Frog laughed, too.

“Why are you laughing, Frog?” asked Toad.

“I am laughing, Toad,” said Frog, “because you really look funny in your bathing suit!”

“I know that,” said Toad. Then he took his clothes and went home.

Toad was sitting by his house.

Frog came in and said, “What is wrong, Toad? You look sad.”

“Yes,” answered Toad, “this my sad time of day. It is the time when I wait for the mail. It always makes me very unhappy.”

“But why?” asked Frog

“Because I never get any mail,” said Toad.

“Never?” asked Frog.

“No, never,” said Toad. “No one sends me letters. Every day my mailbox is empty.

That is why the mail time is a sad time for me.”

Frog and Toad sat together, feeling sad.

Then Frog said, “I have to go home now, Toad. There is something that I must do.”

Frog went home. He found a pencil and a piece of paper. He wrote on the paper. He put the paper in an envelope. On the envelope he wrote: “A LETTER FOR TOAD”.

Then Frog ran out of his house. He saw a snail that he knew.

“Snail,” said Frog, “please take this letter to Toad’s house and put it in his mailbox.”

“Sure,” said snail. “I will do it very fast!”

Then Frog went back to Toad’s house. Toad was in bed, sleeping.

“Toad,” said Frog. “Get up and wait for the mail!”

“No,” said Toad, “I am tired of waiting for the mail.”

Frog looked out of the window at Toad’s mailbox. The snail was not there yet. “Toad,” said Frog, “you never know when someone may send you a letter.”

“No, no,” said Toad, “I do not think that anyone will send me a letter.”

Frog looked out of the window at Toad’s mailbox. The snail was not there yet.

“But, Toad,” said Frog, “someone may send you a letter today!”

“Don’t be silly!” said Toad, “No one sent me a letter before, and no one will send me a letter today.”

Frog looked out of the window at Toad’s mailbox. The snail was still not there.

“Frog,” asked Toad, “why are you looking out of the window all the time?”

“Because now I am waiting for the mail,” answered Frog.

“But there will be no mail,” said Toad.

“Oh, yes, there will,” said Frog, “because I sent you a letter!”

“Really?” cried Toad. “What did you write in the letter?”

“I wrote,” said Frog, “’Dear Toad, I am glad that you are my best friend. Your best friend, Frog.’”

“Oh,” said Toad, “that is a very good letter.”

Then Frog and Toad went outside to wait for the mail. They sat there, feeling happy together.

Frog and Toad waited for a long time. Four days later the snail came to Toad’s house and gave him the letter from Frog. Toad was very happy to get it.

One morning Toad sat in the bed.

“I have many things to do today,” he said. “I will write them all on a list so that I can remember them.”

Toad wrote on a piece of paper:

A list of things to do today

Then he wrote: Wake up

“I have done that,” said Toad and he crossed out: Wake Up

Then Toad wrote other things on the paper.

Eat Breakfast

Get dressed

Go to Frog’s house

Go for a walk with Frog

Eat lunch

Take nap

Play game with Frog

Eat supper

Go to sleep

“Good,” said Toad. “Now my day is all planned.”

He got out of bed and had breakfast. Then Toad crossed out: Eat Breakfast

Toad took his clothes and got dressed. Then he crossed out: Get dressed

Toad put the list in his pocket. He opened the door and went to Frog’s house. Soon Toad was at Frog’s door. He took the list from his pocket and crossed out: Go to Frog’s house

Toad knocked at the door. “Hello,” said Frog. “Look at my list of things to do,” said Toad.

“Oh,” said Frog, “that is very nice.”

Toad said, “My list tells me that now we will go for a walk.”

“All right,” said Frog. “I am ready.”

Frog and Toad went on a long walk.

Then Toad took the list from his pocket again. He crossed out: Go for a walk with Frog

Just then there was a strong wind. It blew the list out of Toad’s hand. The list flew high up into the air.

“Help!” cried Toad. “My list is flying away! What will I do now without my list?”

“Hurry!” said Frog. “We will run and catch it.”

“No!” cried Toad. “I cannot do that.”

“Why not?” asked Frog.

“Because,” cried Toad, “it was not on my list of things to do!”

Frog ran after the list. He ran and ran, but the list flew and flew.

At last Frog came back to Toad.

“I am sorry,” said Frog, “but I could not catch your list.”

“Oh, no,” said Toad. “I cannot remember the things that were on my list of things to do. Now I will just sit here and do nothing.”

Toad sat and did nothing. Frog sat with him.

After a long time Frog said, “Toad, it is dark. We should go to sleep now.”

“Go to sleep!” cried Toad. “That was the last thing on my list!”

Toad wrote on the ground with a stick: Go to sleep

Then he crossed out: Go to sleep

“Good,” said Toad. “Now my day is all crossed out!”

“I am glad,” said Frog.

Then Frog and Toad went to sleep.