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Two dark green frogs sat on
a stone in a small stream. Cold water swirled around them. They were
enjoying the warm sun as it snuck from behind the puffy white clouds.
"Croak! Croak! I’m hungry," said Fergus. "There haven’t been many flies
around here lately. There’s not enough to eat."
"Croak! I’ve not seen a
midge or mosquito in days. I’m hungry too," replied Fiona.
Just then an olive green
frog, bigger than both of them, plopped on the banks of the stream, right
in the mud. Fergus and Fiona were surprised to see the frog. Not only was
he big, but also he was wearing a tartan kilt and had a set of bagpipes on
his back.
"Who are you?" Fiona asked.
"Croak! I’m Robbie
MacRibbit," he answered. Without croaking another sound, he picked up the
mouthpiece and began blowing into the bagpipes. His other arm squeezed the
red, yellow and green tartan bag. A horrible noise blared from it. It
squeaked and sounded like a catfight.
"Stop that noise. It’s far
too loud and shrill!" shouted Fergus.
Robbie kept on playing.
"I can’t stand this," Fiona
said, holding her hands to her head. "Let’s go!" She leapt off the stone
onto the other side of the stream, followed by Fergus. They both hopped
away.
Robbie MacRibbit kept
playing his bagpipes. As he danced around his kilt swayed up and down.
Within just a few minutes, a horde of flies appeared at the stream. They
seemed to be attracted to Robbie’s bagpipe music. They swirled around him
and landed all over the stones in the stream. Robbie suddenly stopped
playing and gobbled down dozens of flies. When he had his fill, he rubbed
his plump tummy and disappeared into the heather.
Later that day Fiona and
Fergus came back to the stream. "Looks like that bagpipe-playing frog is
gone. What a noise that was! Croak! Croak!" Fergus said.
"I hope he doesn’t come
back again!" Fiona added.
The two frogs leapt onto
their stone in the middle of the stream and sat quietly listening to the
water trickle as it flowed past. The sun came out again and felt so warm
on their cold, damp skin.
PLOP! "What was that
noise?" Fiona asked, opening her googley eyes. She spotted Robbie
MacRibbit again on the muddy banks of the stream. "Och no! It’s the
bagpiper again."
Fergus opened his eyes and
looked at Robbie. "Och, you’re no going to play your bagpipes again, are
you? They are very loud! Can’t you go somewhere else?" he asked.
Robbie picked the
mouthpiece up and began playing. His kilt swayed back and forth and he
pumped the bagpipes with his arm. Fergus and Fiona didn’t want to listen
to the music so they hopped away. Soon hundreds of flies and midges
appeared. They swarmed about the stream, buzzing and humming. Robbie
stopped playing his bagpipes and gobbled down dozens of flies and midges.
His long, sticky tongue darted out of his mouth to catch them. "Croak!
They taste good," he smiled. When he had his fill, he hopped away.
Fiona and Fergus came back
later on. "Good. He’s not here. Perhaps we can get some rest now," Fiona
said.
"We can rest, but I’m
hungry. We’ve not had a fly or a mosquito this whole day. Where are they
all?" Fergus complained.
They hopped onto the stone,
closed their eyes and enjoyed the quiet. The sun felt warm and they were
happy. After a few minutes they heard another PLOP!
"Och, no. It’s not Robbie
MacRibbit again, is it?" Fiona asked, not opening her eyes to see.
"Aye, it’s him," Fergus
sighed.
The bagpipe music began.
The noise was horribly loud. Fiona and Fergus watched Robbie as he
squeezed the bagpipe and blew into the mouthpiece. They didn’t like the
noise, so they hopped away as quickly as they could. Robbie’s kilt swayed
back and forth as he danced. No sooner had they left than hundreds of
flies, midges, and mosquitoes appeared over the stream. They made a loud
droning sound and buzzed all around Robbie. The longer he played, the more
insects came.
Fergus stopped hopping. "I
think we should go back to the stream and tell Robbie MacRibbit that he
has to go somewhere else to play his bagpipes. After all, we were there
first!"
"You’re right, Fergus. We
were. Let’s go back and tell him he has to leave," Fiona agreed.
The two frogs leapt and
hopped all the way back to the stream. They could hear the horrible
bagpipe music playing from far away. When they plopped to the muddy banks
they saw Robbie playing his bagpipes and they saw hundreds of fat, juicy
flies, midges and mosquitoes. "What’s this?" Fergus asked.
Robbie stopped playing. His
long, sticky tongue shot out of his mouth and he started gobbling down the
insects. Fiona and Fergus, seeing him, did the same. They ate and ate and
ate until they were full. As they lay in the mud, all three too full to
move, Fiona asked, "Robbie, do the flies come every time you play your
bagpipes?"
"Croak! Yes, so do the
midges and mosquitoes. You’ve always left too quickly and missed out," he
told them.
"Well, well, well," said
Fergus. "We’ll not be leaving again. You go ahead and play your bagpipes
anytime you want, Robbie. We’ll never be hungry again. For some reason
they like your music."
From then on, three times a
day, Robbie played his bagpipes. It wasn’t long before Fiona and Fergus
got their own kilts and learned to play. Never again did they go hungry. |
