Sunday, September 21, 2008

Introduction

So begins the narrative of Mote and Mustardseed:

The New Owner (yours truly) of the Lily Pad has two new friends:

Mote and Mustardseed.

Escorting their moistnesses to my home, I looked with optimism at what we could accomplish together.  Us, comrades!  We, Band of Brothers!  We will hop mildly when this day is named!  May they survive the morrow!

I have chosen as my new friends fine Oriental Fire-Bellied Toads.  Most toads, in actuality, are frogs.  They are given the title "toad" for an arbitrary reason, one which the frogs neither understand nor approve.  More colorful and hardy than their European Fire-Bellied friends, these graceful creatures live for up to twelve years, feeding on mostly crickets.  I have heard that they are not picky; they will with great politeness consume most objects smaller than their heads.  The shopkeeper warned me that - though if you were to tell these frogs this, they would surely croak - the Purchaser must purchase gravel much larger than the heads of the frogs.

I have learned much about these frogs before my trip to the store.  They are slightly toxic, like many other frogs.  This toxicity flies in the face of their magnanimous demeanor, for, I assure you, Mustardseed has been a Prince since he arrived.  I have also learned that frogs do not Have Feelings, nor many thoughts at all, excluding their incessant drive for "wet" and "bug".

I have spent a handsome $100.14 on the frogs thus far.  Unfortunately, I was pressed to buy a new lamp for them, as theirs was "the wrong kind."  With the coin spent on this lamp, I could have purchased seven additional frogs.  Here is the equipment that I started with:





Upon entering their new home, Mustardseed gallantly attempted escape.  This was contrasted by Mote's innate inactivity and toadly expression.  At this moment, their names stuck.  Mote was performing grand quarter-turns (quite like the hour hand of a clock) while Mustardseed climbed over him in order to reach a different transparent wall.  If the reader is not familiar with these names, they are the names of fairies from W. Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.  

I sincerely hope that the frogs live until tomorrow or at least until I get to feed them a chirping cricket.  Mustardseed is on the left and Mote is on the right.


No comments: