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Frog and Toad All Year
Down the Hill
Frog knocked at Toad?s door.
“
Toad, wake up,”
he cried.
“
Come
out and see how wonderful the winter is!”
“
I will not,” said Toad.
“
I am in my warm
bed.”
“
Winter is
beautiful,” said Frog.
“
Come out and have fun.”
“
Blah,” said
Toad.
“
I do not
have any winter clothes.”
Frog came into the house.
“
I have brought you some
things to wear,” he said.
Frog pushed a
coat down over the top of Toad.
Frog pulled snowpants up over the
bottom of Toad.
He put a hat and
scar
f on Toad?s head.
“
Help!” cried
Toad.
“
My best
friend is trying to kill me!”
“
I am only getting you ready
for winter,” said Frog.
Frog and Toad went outside.
They tramped through the snow.
“
We will ride
down this big hill on my sled,” said
Frog.
“
N
ot me,” said
Toad.
“
Do not be
afraid,” said Frog.
“
I will be with you on the
sled.
It will be a fine,
fast ride.
Toad, you sit in
front.
I will sit right
behind you.”
The sled began
to move down the hill.
“
Here we go!” said Frog.
There was a bump.
1
Frog fell off the sled.
Toad rushed past trees and
rocks.
“
Frog, I
am glad that you are here,” said Toad.
Toad leaped over a snowbank.
“
I could not
steer the sled without you, Frog,” he
said.
“
You are right. Winter is
fun!”
A crow flew nearby.
“
He
llo, Crow,”
shouted Toad.
“
Look at Frog and me.
We can ride a sled better
than anybody in the
world!”
“
But Toad,” said
the crow, “you are alone on the
sled.”
Toad looked around.
He saw that Frog was not
there.
“
I AM ALL ALONE!” screamed
Toad.
Bang! The sled hit a
tree.
Thud! The sled hit a
rock.
Plop! The sled dived
into the snow.
Frog came
running down the hill.
He
pulled Toad out of the snow.
“
I saw everything,” said
Frog.
“
You did
very well by yourself.”
“
I did not,” said Toad.
“
But
ther
e is one thing that I can do all by
myself.”
“
What is that?”
asked Frog.
“
I
can go home,” said Toad.
“
Winter may be beautiful,
but bed is much better.”
The Corner
Frog and Toad were caught
in the rain.
They ran to
Frog?s house.
2
“
I am all wet,” said
Toad.
“
The day is spoiled.”
“
Have some tea
and cake,” said Frog. “The rain will
stop.
If you
stand near the stove, your clothes will soon
be dry.
I will tell you a story while we are
waiting,” said
Frog.
“
Oh good,” said
Toad.
“
When I
was small, no
t much bigger than a
pollywog,”
said Frog, “my father said
to me, ?Son, this is
a
cold, gray day but spring is just around the
corner.?
I wanted spring to
come.
I went out to find
that corner.
I walked down
a path in the woods until I came to
a corner.
I went around the corner to see if
spring was on the
other
side.”
“
And was
it?” asked Toad.
“
No,” said Frog.
“
There was only a pine tree,
three pebbles and some
dry grass.
I walked in the meadow.
Soon I came to another
corner.
I went around the
corner to see if spring was there.”
“
Did you find
it?” asked Toad “No,” said Frog.
“
There was only an old worm
asleep on a tree
stump.”
“
I walked along
the river until I came to another
corner.
I went
around the corner to look for spring.”
“
Was it
there?”
asked Toad.
3
“
No,” said Frog.
“
There was only
some wet mud and a lizard who
was chasing his tail.”
“
You must have been tired,”
said Toad.
“
I
was tired,” said Frog, “and it started to rain.”
“
I went back
home.
When I got there,”
said Frog, “I
found another
corner.
It was
the corner of my house.”
“
Did you go around it?”
asked Toad.
“
I
went around that corner, too,” said Frog.
“
What did you
see?” asked Toad.
“
I saw the sun coming out,”
said Frog. “I saw the
birds
sitting and singing in the tree.
I saw my mother and father working in
their garden.
I saw flowers in the
garden.”
“
You found it!” cried Toad.
“
Yes,” said
Frog.
“
I was
very happy.
I had found the
corner that spring was just around.”
“
Look, Frog,” said Toad.
“
You were right.
The rain has stopped.”
Frog and Toad hurried
outside.
They ran around
the corner of Frog?s house to make
sure that spring had come again.
Ice Cream
One hot summer day Frog and Toad sat by
the
pond.
“
I wish we had some sweet,
cold ice cream,” said
Frog.
“
What a good
idea,” said Toad.
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