DAY 24 OF FLASH AUGUST FICTION. Wow, it’s pretty much the home stretch, now. Just 6 more days, including today. Today I was thinking about how nice it is to hear the frogs and crickets outside at night. I remember that as a kid, and then I remembered that once people started using newer chemicals on their lawns, the crickets disappeared. Then the frogs disappeared. It’s not supposed to be like that. Frogs and crickets at night are a part of life. The main characters of this story, however, are a frog and a lizard. Crickets play the bit parts… get it? I’m Commercial Herschel, and I’m here to help.
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The Splashing and the Succulent Nights
479 WORDS WRITTEN IN LESS THAN A HALF HOUR
The caretaker has built a birdbath into the ground. It’s like a little in-ground swimming pool for the birds during the day and for the frogs at night. He was tired of fishing dead frogs out of the actual in-ground swimming pool. The frogs can get in there, but they can’t get out. They get tired, and then they drown.
The frogs mostly stay the heck out of there during the day because, well… the birds. At night, however, they certainly take advantage. Since installing the tiny pond, he has not once had to retrieve a lost frog. Apparently, the lizards like it too. There were less often lizards in the pool, but it happened once in a while. They need a place to cool off and refresh their skin, too.
It is quite a nice little feature. It’s surrounded by lawn, and he can easily push the lawnmower over it without incident. It’s a regular thing, though, to rinse it out with the hose and refill it. It gets pretty gunky in there after a couple of days.
“How’s about you let me have a turn in the pond?” Lizard asks Frog.
“It’s not like I can stop you from coming in.” Responds Frog.
“C’mon, I’ll give you three crickets if you just let me have it for a while.” Lizard said.
Frog replies, “There’s plenty of room for both of us. What’s the problem? Come on in, the water’s fine!”
“It’s not a good look.” Lizard explains. “The other lizards, you know…”
“Are you kidding me?” Frog says. “Are you all so fragile that you can’t get in a pool with a frog?”
“OK, four crickets,” Lizard says. “I’ll give you four crickets.”
“F-sake!” says Frog. “Fine, we can take turns getting in and out of the pool.”
And they do. The two of them take turns swimming and splashing in the tiny pool or birdbath pond. It’s a lot of fun. They laugh and compete for the hearty, crunchy mosquitoes that inhabit the area, and they remark about how cool the caretaker is for putting in their lifesaving refreshment spot.
“The birds don’t like him.” Frog tells Lizard.
“I know,” Lizard says. “Since he bird-proofed everything, there are fewer of them. They fly around here all mad and dejected.”
“That’s OK with me.” Frog says.
“Me as well.” Lizard agrees.
“So.” Says Frog. “How about those crickets?”
“Oh yeah,” says Lizard. “You want them now?”
“I’m not getting any less tasty-looking to the birds.” Frog explains. "Time is of the essence."
Lizard jumps off the lip of the tiny pond and runs off to catch crickets. He brings them over to Frog, one at a time, but it doesn’t take long. They are all over the place.
“You should let me in on that.” Lizard says.
Frog replies, “What’s a succulent meal without a friend?”
The End.
Thank you to all the independent, non-corporate media people out there. I hope I can give you some light entertainment once in a while. Thank you so much for listening, or reading. This is the Smell the Inside of Your Nose. Do it Right Now podcast. I hope you might get a free or paid subscription, or buy me a coffee, or donate some bitcoin. I wish you the best. I’m Herschel Sterling, and I’m here to help.
The Lizard and the Frog