Pathetic Frog The frog had no friends. He lived alone in a hole in the mud. He had a wife once but she was eaten. He used dream of eating flies and worms, delicious and savory but now in his dreams the worms ate him. He cried a lot for no reason at various times. He would wake with a start in the dead of night and croak out, "Alice! Alice!" A young toad had moved under a rock next to his hole and continually tried to invite Frog over. So Frog could have had a friend. But Toad was so chipper, young and positive. And he asked so many questions. Frog felt bad when he was around Toad. He felt as if he was a black hole and was afraid of sucking Toad in. One day while trying to pull a pale worm out of the mud, Frog froze and began to cry. He couldn't say why. Toad appeared unannounced behind him. "Frog, what is wrong?" Frog looked up startled. "What? Oh," He was ashamed at being seen like this. "I think I may be allergic to this worm." Toad stared at him, not believing but said, "I have allergies too. I can't eat moths anymore." "That's a shame." sniffled Frog. "Moths are delicious." Toad hopped closer. "Frog, would you like to join me tonight for the firefly show? They're going on at dusk over the vernal pool. It's the first show of the season. Just you and me?" Frog used to marvel at the fireflies. One summer as a tad pole he had risen every night at twilight to watch the show. His parents warned him of staying so close to the surface of the water, for fear of Crane. "No, thank you, though. Tonight I have to clean the back of my hole." He turned back to the worm and continued pulling it out. "I thought you were allergic." small Toad said over his shoulder as he hopped away. Frog made a choice and didn't cry that night. The next evening Frog hopped into the forest and ate a yellow spotted mushroom. He croaked "Alice!" for the last time and croaked and for just a moment fireflies swirled around his limp slimy body, their flashing globes reflecting off his glazed eyes like stars in a deep fog and then dispersed into the darkening night.