Si Katak Ungu
Oleh Eric Arcand
Pada suatu hari mendung yang berkabut di suatu hutan nan gelap sesuatu yang aneh terjadi. Di hutan itu hiduplah seekor katak ungu berkaki tiga. Ia bisa ditemukan di kolam yang dikelilingi oleh pepohonan dan semak-semak. Katak itu begitu kesepian. Di malam hari ia ketakutan. Ia tak punya seorangpun teman bermain.
Hari ini seeekor belalang merah datang. Ia melihat si katak dan bertanya, “Kenapa kamu kelihatan begitu sedih?”
“Aku nggak punya siapapun untuk diajak bermain.”
“Namaku Jack dan aku akan bermain denganmu.” kata si belalang.
“Ya ampun! Namaku Eric dan aku tinggal di kolam liar ini. Aku bisa berenang siang dan malam jika mau. Aku senang kamu ada di sini karena aku punya beberapa permainan yang bisa kita mainkan. Permainan itu bisa dimainkan dua orang. Aku nggak bisa bermain sendirian. Kita bisa main permainan seperti lompat kodok dan ikuti si pemimpin. Kamu punya tempat tinggal, Jack?”
“Sebenarnya nggak juga tapi kuharap kamu mau membiarkanku tinggal di sini denganmu Eric.”
“Baiklah tentu saja kamu bisa tinggal denganku," kata Eric. “Ini waktunya makan malam. Kemarilah dan akan kutunjukkan dimana kamu bisa duduk. Lalu, kita akan bermain ikuti si pemimpin dengan melompati kelopak lily demi kelopak lily.”
Jack penasaran. Ia bertanya pada Eric, “Apa yang terjadi pada kakimu yang lainnya?”
Ucap Eric, “Nggak ada yang terjadi dengan kakiku. Aku lahir begini.” Jadi kakinya nggak tumbuh lagi.
Setelah makan malam Eric dan Jack bermain sepanjang malam hingga pagi.
Saat mentari beranjak naik, Eric dan Jack duduk di sisi kolam dan memikirkan apa yang akan dilakukan selanjutnya. Eric menyarankan, “Ayo keliling-keliling ngelompat. Lalu kita akan main ikuti si pemimpin.”
Hari berikutnya seekor katak lain datang.
Katak baru itu berkata, “Halo, namaku Sabrina.”
Katak ungu berkata, “Namaku Eric dan ini temanku Jack, si belalang.” Lalu mereka semua keluar untuk bermain di semak-semak.
Sebelum gelap, mereka semua kembali ke kolam. Eric mengatakan pada Jack dan Sabrina untuk mendengarkan apa yang akan ia katakan. Eric dan temannya, Jack, bertanya apakah Sabrina mau tinggal dengan mereka!
“Tentu saja!” katanya.
Esok paginya mereka bertiga melihat seekor cicak merayap ke arah mereka. Mereka semua mengucapkan, “Halo!”
Cicak itu berkata, “Namaku Tiffany.” Mereka bertiga memperkenalkan diri pada Tiffany, si cicak.
Eric dan Sabrina mulai membangun keluarga. Setiap hari Eric dan Sabrina berenang dengan anak-anak mereka. Mereka semua bersenang-senang bersama-sama.
Sabrina dan Tiffany duduk berdekatan di sisi kolam memandangi anak-anak mereka ketika Eric dan Jack keluar dari semak-semak untuk melihat apakah ada serangga yang bisa mereka dapatkan untuk makan malam setiap orang. Setelah menikmati makanan, mereka akan bermain.
Suatu hari Jack dan Tiffany memutuskan untuk tinggal di tempat lain. Mereka mengucapkan selamat tinggal pada teman mereka dan berjanji bahwa mereka akan segera bertemu lagi.
Eric dan Sabrina melakukan kegiatan sehari-hari dengan anak-anak mereka. Keluarga itu bermain lompat kodok, makan malam dan berenang sepanjang hari bersama-sama. Sepanjang malam, mereka akan menceritakan banyak cerita pada anak-anak mereka. Eric, Sabrina dan anak-anaknya pun hidup bahagia selamanya.
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The Purple Frog
By Eric Arcand
One gloomy, foggy day in the dark forest something strange happened. In the forest there lived a purple, three-legged frog. He could be found in the pond that was surrounded by trees and bushes. The frog was very lonely. At night he was very scared. He had no one to play with.
This one day a red grasshopper came hopping along. It saw the frog and it asked, "Why do you look so sad?"
"I have nobody to play with."
"My name is Jack and I will play with you." said the grasshopper.
"Oh goody! My name is Eric and I live in this wild pond. I can swim all day and night if I wish to. I'm glad you are here because I have some games we can play. These games take two to play. I can't play them by myself. We can play games such as leapfrog and follow the leader. Do you have a place to live, Jack?"
"Well not really but I was hoping you would let me stay here with you Eric."
"Well of course you can stay with me," said Eric. "It's dinnertime. Come and I will show you where you can sit. After, we'll play follow the leader by jumping from lily pad to lily pad.
Jack was curious. He asked Eric "What happened to your other leg?'
Eric said, "Nothing happened to my leg. I was born this way." So the leg was not brought up again.
After dinner Eric and Jack played all night till dawn.
When the sun came up, Eric and Jack sat by the pond wondering what to do next. Eric suggested, "Let's go hopping around. We'll play follow the leader next."
The next day another frog came along.
The new frog said, "Hello, my name is Sabrina."
The purple frog said, "My name is Eric and this is my friend Jack, the grasshopper. Then they all went out to play in the bushes.
Before it got dark, they all went back to the pond. Eric asked Jack and Sabrina to listen to what he was going to tell them. Eric and his friend, Jack, asked her if she wanted stay with them!
"Of course!" she said.
The next morning the three of them saw lizard creeping up to them. They all said, "Hello!"
The lizard said, "My name is Tiffany." All three introduced themselves to Tiffany, the lizard.
Eric and Sabrina began to raise a family. Each day Eric and Sabrina went for a swim with the youngsters. All of them had a good time in the pond together.
Sabrina and Tiffany stayed close by the pond watching the children while Eric and Jack went out to the bushes to see if there were any insects they could get for supper for everyone. After they enjoyed their meal, they would play.
One day Jack and Tiffany decided to live somewhere else. They all said goodbye to their friends and they promised that they would meet again soon.
Eric and Sabrina did their usual daily routine with the youngsters. The family played leapfrog, had dinner and swam all day together. During the early evening, they would tell the youngsters stories. Eric, Sabrina and their youngsters lived happily ever after.
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