Ma Nature's Surprise

 From my kitchen window, I watched a squirrel jerk and twitch as it inched, uncertainly, toward a little frog. The frog just sat there; the squirrel’s tail, perpetual motion.

I would love to have known what’s going through their little minds. I think the squirrel is young and not sure what the creature is, but his curiosity is getting the better of him.

The little frog, however, acts like he’s been in this situation before and his mama taught him to sit tight until the squirrel got close and then do the “blow up his neck routine” and scare his adversary—which should work unless the squirrel has seen the routine before.

I was beginning to think friend squirrel was going to chicken out, when, suddenly, he gave a little twitch and jerk close to the frog, who immediately blew up his throat into a big pink sack.

Well, that squirrel was certainly quicker than my eye, because the next thing I knew, he was sitting about three feet up the trunk of the big oak tree right outside my kitchen window, safely away from that weird, scary whatever it was.

The frog blew out his neck again. Squirrel hi-tailed it up the tree. Ha!

What a delightful addition to my afternoon. I laughed and decided something tasty would be the perfect follow-up to Ma Nature’s lesson, so I got an ice cream bar with chocolate and nuts out of the freezer. Perfect.

Now, if I just had a fly for the frog.