Bully Bull Frog and His Home in Rainbow Valley

by Elizabeth Stafford Fry

At one side of this valley, nestled in against the hills, and quite hidden from sight by tall grasses and the overshadowing branches of trees, is a beautiful little lake. It is so tiny that perhaps we had better just call it a pond. In this pond are tall bulrushes that nod their heads in the summer breeze, and waving grasses and lovely pond lilies grow here.

In the center of the pond is a small island carpeted with wild flowers, ferns, and clinging vines. Great forest trees surround the pond on three sides and stretch their mighty arms far out over its still waters. On the other side a tall rocky cliff guards the pond. Large rocks poke their noses out of the water and jut out from the cliff. One old fallen tree, that once gave shade to the quiet waters beneath, lies still at the water's edge. On its branches the little bird built his nest, the squirrel sunned himself, and the great owl sat and called to his mate.

No one lives near this spot. Neither the trees nor anything about the pond has ever been visited by man. It is the home of the small folks I am going to tell you about in this story. These little folks think it the most beautiful and the safest place in the world. When you have heard this story, you will understand why they think so.

One warm spring day Bully's mother—it is really Bully's story I am going to tell you—placed her tiny eggs in the warm shallow water at the edge of the pond. After seeing that the eggs were in a safe spot, she swam away and paid no more attention to them. She felt quite sure Mother Nature would care for them and see that they hatched safely. And this Mother Nature did. In three or four weeks, from one of these tiny eggs came Bully. He was a very, very small person at that time, and seemed to be all head and tail. He at once fastened himself to something soft which grew in the pond and began to eat.

As the days went on and Bully ate and ate, he grew quite fast. Soon he was able to swim about in the water with his brothers and sisters. After a few days tiny legs could be seen growing out of each side of his body near his head. Bully didn't think much of this. In fact, all he did think about was something to eat. But that didn't worry him much, either, as there was plenty of soft food for him in the pond. When his front legs were about grown, two more legs began to show on each side of his body near his tail. As time passed and he began to use these legs in swimming, he found that he no longer needed a tail; so he didn't worry when it dropped off. Then Bully did not look much like the little fellow that had come from a tiny egg about four months before. Until now he had been a tadpole. But he was a tadpole no longer. I suppose there is not a boy or girl anywhere who does not know that Bully was now a young frog. Yes, he was a young frog, but a very tiny one. Before this he had spent all his time in the water. It seemed strange for him to be out of it. He breathed differently on land. In the water he obtained his supply of air like a fish through gills at the sides of his head. I suppose you all know that gills are tiny leaf-like sieves on either side of the head through which a fish or a tadpole takes the air from the water. When Bully became a frog, the gills disappeared. He could now breathe the air like a real frog. A change took place inside also. Another part, called a lobe, was added to his heart. So he became a frog inside as well as outside. Like some boys and girls, he wanted to be the same all through.

As Bully sat on the shore blinking his eyes in the bright sunshine, a gnat came flying right past his nose. As quick as a flash Bully put out his tongue, caught Mr. Gnat, and, in a twinkling of an eye, swallowed him. This was the first time he had tasted a live thing and, oh, how good it was! He decided right then that after this he would eat only live things.

Now I want to tell you about Bully's tongue. Your tongue, as you know, is fastened in the back part of your mouth and has one point on the front of it. You know, too, that you cannot put out your tongue very far. Bully's tongue is just the opposite of yours. His tongue is fastened in the front of his mouth just back of his teeth. On the end of it are two points which lie in the back of his mouth near his throat. When an insect comes near him, he can put out his whole tongue, just like opening a door out wide. He can fasten those two points around an insect, such as a gnat or a fly, and hold that insect fast until it is away down his throat. All this is done so quickly that if you were looking at him you could hardly tell just how he did it. Wouldn't it be fine if boys and girls had a tongue like that? It would be so easy to put out when the doctor asks to see it.

Now you know who Bully is and quite a good deal about him. When this story opens he is one year old. Last summer he was a tadpole and a tiny little frog. This is his second summer. You may think he is now a full-grown frog; but he isn't. He will not be a full-grown bullfrog until he is four years old.

We first hear of Bully on a fine day in early spring. The fields are putting on their new green coats. The buds are bursting open on tree and shrub. The wild flowers are beginning to fill the air with their fragrance. The birds are making the day glad with song. All nature seems to be full of joy. The sun smiles upon forest, hill, and field, not forgetting to warm the water of the Frog Pond. Bully is glad he is alive. He is on the shore busy catching gnats and flies. There are a great many other frogs living in this pond. The ones Bully admires most are Grandfather Bull Frog and Grandmother Bull Frog. They live on the island in the middle of the pond. Grandfather Bull Frog rules all the frogs in and about the pond. Bully wished he could be as big and strong as Grandfather Bull Frog. Grandmother Bull Frog told him that if he did his best, perhaps some day he would be as big and fine looking as Grandfather.

All the little frogs loved Grandmother Bull Frog. She looked after them and told them stories. Whenever Bully was in trouble, he always went to Grandmother. One day he asked her how the frogs happened to find such a safe place to live.