Арнольд Лобел, А. В. Шитова - Frog and Toad / Квак и Жаб. 3-4 классы

Frog ran to Toad’s house. He knocked on the door. There was no answer.

“Toad, Toad,” cried Frog, “wake up! It is spring!”

“No,” said Toad from inside the house.

“Toad, Toad,” cried Frog. “The sun is shining! The snow is melting. Wake up!”

“I am not here,” said the Toad.

Frog walked into the house. It was dark. All the windows were closed.

“Toad, where are you?” cried Frog.

“Go away,” said Toad from a corner of the room.

Toad was sleeping in bed. He pulled the blanket over his head. Frog pushed Toad out of bed. He pushed him out of the house. Toad looked at the bright sun.

“Help!” said Toad. “I cannot see anything.”

“Don’t be silly,” said Frog. “What you see is the warm sun of April. And we begin a new year together, Toad! We will jump through the meadows and run through the woods and swim in the river. In the evenings we will sit here and look at the stars.”

“You can look at them, Frog,” said Toad. “I am too tired. I am going back to bed.”

Toad went back into the house. He got into the bed and pulled the blanket over his head again.

“But, Toad,” cried Frog, “you will miss all the fun!”

“Listen, Frog,” said Toad. “How long did I sleep?”

“You slept since November,” said Frog.

“Well,” said Toad, “then I need a little more sleep. Come back and wake me up in May. Good night, Frog.”

“But, Toad,” said Frog, “I will be lonely until May.”

Toad did not answer. He was already asleep.

Frog looked at Toad’s calendar. There was still the November page. Frog tore off the November page. He tore off the December page. And the January page, the February page, and the March page. Then there was the April page. Frog tore off the April page, too.

Then Frog ran back to Toad’s bed.

“Toad, Toad, wake up. It is May now!”

“What?” said Toad. “How can it be May so soon?”

“Yes,” said Frog. “Look at your calendar!”

Toad looked at the calendar. There was the May page.

“Oh, it really is May!” said Toad and got out of bed.

Then he and Frog ran outside to see how the world looked in the spring.

One day in summer Frog was ill.

Toad said, “Frog, you look green.”

“But I always look green,” said Frog. “I am a frog.”

“Today you look very green even for a frog,” said Toad. “Get into bed and rest.”

Toad made Frog a cup of hot tea. Frog drank the tea, and then he said, “Tell me a story while I am in bed.”

“OK,” said Toad. “Let me think of a story to tell you.”

Toad thought and thought. But he could not think of a story to tell Frog.

“I will go out and walk a little,” said Toad. “Maybe that will help me to think of a story.”

Toad walked for a long time. But he could not think of a story to tell Frog. Then Toad went into the house and stood on his head.

“Why are you standing on your head?” asked Frog.

“I think that if I stand on my head, it will help me to think of a story,” said Toad.

Toad stood on his head for a long time. But he could not think of a story to tell Frog. Then Toad poured water over his head.

“Why are you pouring water over your head?” asked Frog.

“I hope that if I pour water over my head, it will help me to think of a story,” said Toad.

Toad poured a lot of water over his head. But he could not think of a story to tell Frog. Then Toad began to bang his head against the wall.

“Why are you banging your head against the wall?” asked Frog.

“I hope that if I bang my head against the wall hard enough, it will help me to think of a story,” said Toad.

“I feel much better now, Toad,” said Frog. “I do not think I need a story anymore.”

“Then you get out of bed and now I will get into it,” said Toad, “because now I feel terrible.”

Frog said, “Would you like me to tell you a story, Toad?”

“Yes,” said Toad, “if you know one.”

“Once upon a time,” said Frog, “there were two good friends, a frog and a toad. The frog was ill. He asked his friend the toad to tell him a story. The toad could not think of a story. He walked around, but he could not think of a story. He stood on his head, but he could not think of a story. He poured water over his head, but he could not think of a story. He banged his head against the wall, but he could not think of a story. Then the toad felt terrible, and the frog felt better. So the toad went to bed and the frog got up and told him a story. The end. How was that, Toad?” said Frog.

But Toad did not answer. He was asleep.

Toad and Frog went for a long walk.

They walked across a big meadow. They walked in the woods. They walked along the river. At last they went back home to Toad’s house.

“Oh, no!” said Toad. “My feet hurt, and I also lost one of the buttons on my jacket.”

“Don’t worry,” said Frog. “We will go back and find your button.”

They walked back to the big meadow. They looked for the button in the grass.

“Here is your button!” cried Frog.

“No,” said Toad, “that is not my button. That button is black. My button was white.” And Toad put the black button in his pocket.

A sparrow flew down from a tree.

“Excuse me,” said Sparrow. “Did you lose a button? I found one.”

“No,” said Toad, “that is not my button. That button has two holes. My button had four holes.” And Toad put the button with two holes in his pocket.

They went back to the woods and looked on the paths.

“Here is your button!” cried Frog.

“No,” said Toad, “that is not my button. That button is small. My button was big.” And Toad put the small button in his pocket.

A raccoon came out from behind a tree.

“Excuse me,” said Raccoon. “I heard that you lost a button. Here is the one I just found.

“No,” said Toad, “that is not my button! That button is square. My button was round.” And Toad put the square button in his pocket.

Frog and Toad went back to the river. They looked for the button in the mud.

“Here is your button!” cried Frog.

“No,” said Toad, “that is not my button! That button is thin. My button was thick.

And Toad put the thin button in his pocket. He was very angry. He jumped up and down.

“The world is full of buttons, but they are not mine!” cried Toad.

Toad ran home and shut the door. There on the floor, he saw his white, big, round, thick button with four holes.

“Oh!” said Toad. “It was here all the time. So much trouble I made for Frog!”

Toad took all of the buttons out of his pocket and sewed them all on his jacket.

The next day Toad gave his jacket to Frog. Frog thought that it was beautiful. He put it on and jumped for joy. None of the buttons got lost. Toad sewed them on very well.

Toad and Frog went to the river.

“What a day for a swim,” said Frog.

“Yes,” said Toad. “I will go behind the rocks and put on my bathing suit.”