A Short Story: Herman the Frog and a Place to Call Home

It was a warm summer day in Lilly Meadows; the sun was shining, the birds were soaring above the clouds, and all the creatures below were quietly bustling about their day, except Herman the frog. Herman lived in Lilly Meadows. Lilly Meadows was a quiet village snuggled between Opal Lake and Stone Forest. Herman had lived his entire life in Lilly Meadows, but he never felt like he belonged; even as a tadpole, he knew that he was different. Everyone in the village was so quiet, modest, and bustling about, day in and day out, living the same routine. Herman, however, was much more intentional and thoughtful about how he spent his days. Herman did not mind the disposition of the village, but the creatures of the village did not like Herman's disposition because he was nothing like his wood frog army counterparts. While the wood frog army was catching and eating flies raw, Herman was in the kitchen making herbaceous horsefly casseroles; the wood frog army spent much of their days lazing about sitting on logs, but Herman preferred to practice tai chi and acrobatic routines on the logs; and while the wood frogs slept about on the lily pads drifting atop the lake, Herman would ride the lily pads on the high currents of the river.

Today was just like any other day for the wood frog army and the rest of the creatures of Lilly Meadow, but for Herman the frog, today was the day he would debut the glitzy dance pants he had been working on for two months. The pants were yellow, red, and green, with a mix of polka dots and stripes, and a glittery pattern outlining the hems, seams, and pockets. Herman loved his glitzy dance pants because just the sight of them perked up his mood and made him want to dance, dance, dance. Herman put on the pants and looked in the mirror, beaming with pride at his artistry. Herman paired the pants with a solid red shirt and black platform boots. Herman left the house and started to make his way to the water hole to pick some herbs for his blow-fly casserole. As Herman strutted in his glitzy dance pants down the road to the water hole, he bobbed his head to the disco music playing in his mind. Herman’s neighbors took notice of him as soon as he stepped out of the house. At first, the creatures of the Lilly Meadows just stared inauspiciously, but their stares soon turned to jeering. Never before had anyone in Lilly Meadows seen anyone dressed as Herman was. Herman was heartbroken by the community's jesting and took off running to avoid their gaze and snide remarks. While running away, Herman tripped in his black platform boots and fell face-forward in the mud. The jeering and taunting grew louder at the sight of Herman covered in mud. Herman stood up and took off running into Stone Forest.

Herman ran deep into the forest, and when his legs grew tired, he sat under a mushroom cap and cried. While sitting under the mushroom cap crying, a plump tricolor caterpillar came up to Herman and said, "We all fall down sometimes; there’s no need to cry." "What?" Herman said as he looked up at the caterpillar, "I said we all fall down sometimes; there’s no need to cry." The caterpillar said and then handed Herman a leaf to wipe off the mud. "I’m not crying because of the mud," Herman said as the caterpillar handed him another leaf. "Why are you crying then?" the caterpillar asked compassionately. "I’m crying because I’ve been working on these glitzy dance pants for two months, and when I wore them today everyone in the village laughed at me." "Stand up, let me see those glitzy dance pants," the caterpillar said, and then Herman stood up and began to model the glitzy dance pants for the caterpillar. The caterpillar looked at Herman in the pants, and a big smile grew on his face. "Those are some jazzy pants; I wouldn’t worry about the creatures in your village not liking the pants if I were you," the caterpillar said reassuringly. "It is not just the pants they do not like; they do not like me," Herman said, and then began to weep. "What do you mean they don’t like you?" The caterpillar asked, and then Herman sat down and began to recount his earliest memories of the village as a tadpole and how he just never fit in with the village and its creatures.

After Herman recounted his tale of woe, the caterpillar sat beside him and contemplated his situation. "Ya know Herm; can I call you Herm? - it sounds like you don’t like Lilly Meadows, so why don’t you just leave?" "But where would I go if I left? - Lilly Meadows is all I have ever known." "I do not know; why not try Shroomville? it is just as colorful and glitzy as you, or so I heard," the caterpillar said, then stood up and started back on its way. "Where is Shroomville?" Herman called out after the caterpillar, "just up there; follow the golden light." The caterpillar called back and then scurried away.

Herman looked up yonder and saw the golden light the caterpillar spoke of; Herman gazed into the light and the disco music playing in his mind before began to play again. Herman decided he would pack and move to Shroomville the next morning. When Herman got home that night, he packed up his bags and stacked them on his luggage cart. That night, as Herman was lying in bed, he thought of Shroomville and the journey that awaited him in the morning.

~ To Be Continued