Chapter 12: Armor

While reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to my Frog friends today, Mote did a quarter-turn, looked at me, and asked me to pause in my reading.  I obliged.

Mote said that she was particularly curious about the passage that described the Armor of the green knight, and its function, and also if there was any coincidence between the knight being green and most Frogs being green.

I replied that Armor was used by knights as a kind of defense against the blows other knights and monsters, like Polyphemus, and that any knight that wished to live to see the next Morsel must wear armor to insulate himself from the wear and tear of battle.  I said that the armor being green was perhaps simply a coincidence, but I doubted not that Frogs had Thick Skin, which is a great compliment among Men, and that Frogs must be proud of their strength, toughness, and sturdy insulation.

Alarmed, Mustardseed raised himself onto a lily pad and said, peering at me, that I was wholly incorrect about the skin of Frogs and that, in fact, it is very thin and porous, as to allow the Frog to use the wet to breathe, and also so that the Frog can stay attuned to the alchemy of the wet.  He went on to say that Thick Skin was also a term among Frogs, but was in fact a strong insult, implying that the Frog was Insensitive, a dire term, tabooed under almost all circumstances, because Frogs value their sensitivity above all else, and also, why don't Men boast about their Sensitivity.

I was Baffled, and looked at Mustardseed for recompense, but my request was returned with a stern gaze and fiery belly.

Interjecting, Mote said that, indeed, Frogs are the tools of measurement for the purity and cleanliness of the Lily Pad, and that many places, polluted by chemicals created solely by the insensitivity of Man, were running very low on Frogs because of the Frogs' sensitivity.

Mote said that many places were running very low on Frogs

Looking at the thick skin on my arms, and seeing their argument, I apologized to the Frogs for calling them thick-skinned, and said that perhaps knights and Men would learn something by shedding their Armor, which helps against the severity of the world, but perhaps has too many Side-Effects.

Mote and Mustardseed smiled, extended their Frog-feet, and said that I was a good Frog to have around, and would I please change their water, as its stagnant alchemy was starting to irritate their Thin Skin.