Арнольд Лобел - Frog and Toad / Квак и Жаб. 3-4 классы

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.”

“No,” said Toad. “I do not have any winter clothes.”

Frog came into the house.

“I brought you some clothes,” he said.

Frog put a coat and snow pants on Toad. He put a hat and a scarf on Toad’s head.

“Help!” cried Toad. “My best friend wants to kill me!”

Frog and Toad went outside. They walked through the snow.

“We will ride down this big hill on my sled,” said Frog.

“Not me,” said Toad.

“Do not be afraid,” said Frog. “I will be with you on the sled. It will be a fine, fast ride. You will sit in front. I will sit behind you.”

The sled began to go down the hill.

“Here we go!” cried Frog.

There was a bump. Frog fell off the sled.

Toad flew past trees and rocks.

“Frog, I am glad that you are here,” cried Toad.

Toad flew over a snowdrift.

“I could not ride the sled without you, Frog,” he cried. “You are right! Winter is fun!”

A crow flew nearby.

“Hello, Crow!” cried 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!” cried Toad.

Bang! The sled hit a tree.

Bang! The sled hit a rock.

Plop! The sled fell into the snow.

Frog ran 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 there is one thing that I can do well all by myself.”

“What is that?” asked Frog.

“I can go home,” said Toad. “Winter may be beautiful, but my bed is much better.”

Frog and Toad went for a walk. It started to rain. They ran to Frog’s house.

“I am all wet,” said Toad. “It is a bad day.”

“We ca have some tea and cake,” said Frog. “The rain will stop. If you sit near the fire, your clothes will soon be dry. And I will tell you a story while we are waiting.”

“Oh, good,” said Toad.

“When I was little,” 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 along a path in the woods, and 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 tree, stones and dry grass. So I walked in the meadow. Soon I came to another corner. I went around the corner to see if spring was there.”

“And was it there?’ asked Toad.

“No,” said Frog. “There was only a worm under an old tree. So I walked along the river, and came to another corner. I went around the corner to look for spring.”

“Was it there?” asked Toad.

“No,” said Frog. “There was only wet mud and a lizard.”

“Were you tired?” asked Toad.

“Yes, I was tired,” said Frog, “and it started to rain. I went back home. When I got there, 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 shining,” said Frog. “I saw birds sitting in a tree. I saw my mother and father working in the garden. I saw flowers in our garden.”

“You found it!” cried Toad.

“Yes,” said Frog. “I was very happy. I found the corner that spring was just around.”

“Look, Frog,” said Toad. “You were right. The rain stopped.”

Frog and Toad ran outside. They ran around the corner of Frog’s house and saw that spring came again.

On one hot summer day Frog and Toad sat by the pond.

“I would like some sweet, cold ice cream,” said Frog.

“What a good idea!” said Toad. “Wait here, Frog. I will be back soon.”

Toad went to the shop. He bought two big ice-cream cones.

“Frog likes chocolate ice cream,” said Toad, “and I do, too.”

Toad walked along the path. A big, soft drop of chocolate ice cream fell down.

“This ice cream is melting in the sun,” said Toad.

Toad walked faster. Many drops of melting ice cream fell down. They fell down on Toad’s head and arms.

“I must run back to Frog!” cried Toad.

More and more ice cream drops fell on Toad’s jacket, pants and feet. The ice cream was melting very fast.

“Where is the path?” cried Toad. “I cannot see!”

Frog sat by the pond. He waited for Toad. A mouse ran by.

“I just saw something terrible!” cried the mouse. “It was big and brown!”

“Something covered with sticks and leaves is coming this way!” cried a squirrel.

“Something with horns is coming here!” cried a rabbit. “Run, everyone, run!”

“What is it?” asked Frog.

Frog hid behind a rock. He saw something coming. It was big and brown. It was covered with sticks and leaves. It had two horns.

“Frog,” cried the terrible thing. “Where are you?”

“Oh,” said Frog. “That is Toad!”

Toad fell into the pond. He went down and came up again.

“Oh, no,” said Toad. “All of our sweet, cold ice cream is gone now.”

“Do not worry,” said Frog. “I know what we can do.”

Frog and Toad ran back to the shop. Then they sat under a big tree and ate their chocolate ice-cream cones together.

It was October. The leaves were falling off the trees. They lay on the ground.

“I will go to Toad’s house,” said Frog. “I will rake all the leaves on his lawn. Toad will be very surprised.”

So Frog took his rake.

Toad looked out of his window.

“These leaves made a mess on my lawn,” said Toad.

“I will run to Frog’s house. I will rake his leaves. Frog will be very surprised.”

So Toad took his rake, too.

Frog ran through the woods so that Toad would not see him.

Toad ran through the grass so that Frog would not see him.

Frog came to Toad’s house. He looked in the window.

“Good,” said Frog. “Toad is not here. He will never know who raked his leaves.”

Toad came to Frog’s house. He looked in the window.

“Good,” said Toad. “Frog is not here. He will never know who raked his leaves.”

Frog worked hard. He raked the leaves into a pile. Soon Toad’s lawn was clean. Frog took his rake and went home.

Toad worked hard, too. He raked the leaves into a pile. Soon there were no leaves on Frog’s lawn. Toad took his rake and went home.

A wind came and blew leaves piles across the lawns. The leaves on Frog’s and Toad’s lawns now were everywhere again.

When Frog got home, he said, “How surprised must be Toad now! Tomorrow I will rake the leaves on my lawn.”

When Toad got home, he said, “How surprised must be Frog now! Tomorrow I will rake the leaves on my lawn.”

That night Frog and Toad were both very happy when they turned off the light and went to bed in their little houses.

On Christmas Eve Toad cooked a big dinner. He decorated the Christmas tree. Toad looked at his clock. The clock was broken.

“Frog is late,” said Toad.

Toad opened the door. He looked into the night. Frog was not there.

“I am worried,” said Toad. “What if something terrible happened? What if Frog fell into a deep hole and cannot get out? I will never see him again!”

Toad opened the door again. Frog was not there.

“What if Frog is lost in the woods?” said Toad. “What if he is cold and hungry? What if a big animal with big teeth ate Frog? My friend and I will never have another Christmas together!”

Toad found a rope.

“I will pull Frog out of the hole,” said Toad.

Toad found a lantern.

“Frog will see the light. I will show him the way out of the woods,” said Toad.

Toad found a bat.

“I will hit that big animal with the bat. All his big teeth will fall out. Frog, do not worry,” cried Toad. “I am coming to help you!”

Toad ran out of the house. There was Frog.

“Hello, Toad,” he said. “I am very sorry that I am late. I was looking for a present for you.”

“You did not fall in a deep hole?” asked Toad.

“No,” said Frog.

“You were not lost in the woods?” asked Toad.

“No,” said Frog.

“A big animal with big teeth did not eat you?” asked Toad.

“No,” said Frog. “I am so glad to spend Christmas with you!”

Toad opened his present from Frog. It was a beautiful new clock. The two friends sat by the fire. The clock now showed the hours of a merry Christmas Eve.

Toad woke up.

“Oh!” he said. “This house is a mess. I have so much work to do.”

Frog looked through the window.

“Toad, you are right,” said Frog. “It is a mess.”

Toad pulled the blanket over his head.

“I will do it tomorrow,” said Toad. “Today I will just relax.”

Frog came into the house.

“Toad,” said Frog, “your pants and jacket are on the floor.”

“Tomorrow,” said Toad from under the blanket.

“Your kitchen sink is full of dirty dishes,” said Frog.

“Tomorrow,” said Toad.

“There is dust on your chairs.”

“Tomorrow,” said Toad.

“Your windows need cleaning,” said Frog. “Your plants need water.”

“Tomorrow!” cried Toad. “I will do it all tomorrow!”

Toad sat in his bed.

“Oh,” said Toad. “I feel so sad.”

“Why?” asked Frog.

“I am thinking about tomorrow,” said Toad. “I am thinking about all the things that I will have to do tomorrow.”

“Yes,” said Frog, “tomorrow will be a very hard day for you.”

“But Frog,” said Toad, “if I pick up my pants and jacket right now, then I will not have to pick them up tomorrow, will I?”

“No,” said Frog. “You will not have to.”

Toad picked up his clothes. He put them in the closet.

“Frog,” said Toad, “if I wash my dishes right now, then I will not have to wash them tomorrow, will I?”

“No,” said Frog. “You will not have to.”

Toad washed his dishes. He put them in the cupboard.

“Frog,” said Toad, “if I dust my chairs and clean my windows and water my plants right now, then I will not have to do it tomorrow, will I?”

“No,” said Frog. “You will not have to do any of it.”

Toad dusted his chairs. He cleaned his windows. He watered his plants.

“OK,” said Toad. “Now I feel good. I am not sad anymore.”

“Why?” asked Frog.

“Because I have done all that work,” said Toad. “Now I can save tomorrow for something that I really want to do.”

“What is that?” asked Frog.

“Tomorrow,” said Toad, “I can just relax.”