Sunday, May 31, 2009

Mr. Toad


I am redoing my website and logo and have a billion photos to go through, well, maybe not a billion, but several thousand!, and came across this one that I just love. I call this rock Mr. Toad and would love to have you create a short story about how he came to be in this farmer's field. So many of you are writers or creative sorts and I thought it would be fun to have you write a very short story about Mr. Toad.

All entries will be put into a drawing on June 10 and the winner will receive a set of my new color cards!

Have fun!

15 comments:

  1. Ever since he was a tiny thing (right past the tadpole stage) Mr. Frog has loved chocolate. He ate chocolate when all the other froggies were learning to zap flies. Mr. Frog thought too much protein was bad for the skin, so he kept eating chocolate. After a few years of eating when he should have been hopping, Mr. Frog got so full of chocolate that he could no longer hop and play in the field. To this day, he sits in the field and gazes longingly, and wishes to play...but not as much as he wishes for more chocolate.

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  2. HA!!!!! I love this, Susan! My stomach hurts and I'm not sure if it is because I am laughing so hard or because thinking of all that chocolate is giving me indigestion! Thank you for the first story!!!! LOVE IT!

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  3. Diantha,
    This a wonderful challenge. I hope you get lots and lots of entries. I can't wait to read them. Susan's was darling! xxxooo

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  4. Wasn't it though! What a great start! Thanks, Jan, for checking in!
    xo

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  5. That totally looks like a toad!

    You're on!

    P.S. I'm looking forward to seeing your new look!

    P.P.S. I'm new growth green today. :o))

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  6. Hi Carolynn! I know. I can't believe it is a rock! I'll let you all know when my new site is up.

    New growth green is a great color of renewal! Perhaps your healing is giving way to ... well ... new growth! Renewal of spirit and body and mind! YAY! Way to go!

    Can't wait to see what you post! This is such fun!

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  7. Okay, I'm back...

    Once upon a time there lived a large toad. He was unremarkable in every way, but one. He was very patient and could sit by the edge of a cool pond for hours without moving a muscle. Flies and other tasty treats wouldn't notice him sitting there so quietly and would fly in very close, sometimes even alighting on the tip of his nose!

    In addition to being very patient, he was also very quick and could unfurl his long pink tongue like a whip to snap up unsuspecting insects before they realized they were in danger of becoming lunch.

    Toad got so good at sitting still that one day he noticed, to his chagrin, that he couldn't move at all. At some point, between the 2nd and 3rd year of his vigil, the muscles in his body seized up completely, even the lids of his eyes.

    However, if you watch him very carefully, by the light of the full moon, you can still see him breathing ever so slightly. But, be careful not to stay like that for long or you may share his fate.

    :o))

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  8. She was born in a lily pond. As she grew from a tadpole to a frog, she always knew that she was loved, but often felt misunderstood.

    One day she decided to leap away from the lily pond in search of understanding. She came upon a forest clearing. High above her, a mighty tree stood tall. But most of its branches were barren. Only a few leaves were still attached. Most had fallen to the ground.

    She wondered why. She went back to the lily pond because she missed her family, but often spent months on end just watching the tree. Leaves changing color, then falling, then new leaves and flowers growing again. The sun, the wind, and the rain came and went.

    She began to understand. The same rain brought water to the tree's roots and the lily pond. The same sun warmed the leaves and helped the leaves to nourish the tree and the flowers to grow. The same wind blew the leaves off the tree in order for them to repeat their journey.

    Though she never felt understood by her family, she knew she was part of something much larger. She carried this spacious feeling with her every time she returned home.

    She became the toad with the large heart.

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  9. Oh Carolynn, this is so charming! You all are so talented! Thanks for "playing"!!!!! xo

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  10. Mermaid, what a lovely heart filled story! I love the inclusiveness and depth you put in there in such a short space. Lovely. Thanks for your tender story! xo

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  11. Mr. Toad lost his pond when the homeowner filled it in to make room for a four-apartment building to rent.

    One rainy night Mr. Toad risked his life to cross the road to Mr. Farmer's property. He was sure he'd find a pond, even a small one there.

    The next morning, still exhausted from his journey, he slipped out from behind the bush that served as his hiding place.

    There, not to far ahead was a tiny pond partially hidden from the main house. It seemed as if it was made just for him.

    However, before he hopped over to enjoy the cool water, he sat in the morning sunshine to survey and drink in the ambiance of the surroundings and give thanks for his blessings.

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  12. Oh Cheryl, this is so sweet! I can just see him giving thanks there in the sun! Lovely story! Thanks for participating! xo

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  13. Mr. Toad's mama Toad was a stickler for good manners and she had a hard time resolving her penchant for proper etiquette with her natural way of being. When Mr. Toad was but a wee tadpole, his mama used to lecture him about manners and how it was rude to not say excuse me after a "ribbit." Mama Toad told him that he would freeze that way if he wasn't careful with his p's and q's. Mr. Toad tried to take his mama's words to heart, but he was a big ribbiter and he often forgot to say excuse me between ribbits. "Ribbit. Pardon me. Ribbit. Oh, excuse me! Ribbit. Please forgive me. Ribbit." It was overwhelming to say the least and this preoccuption with proper manners drove the other frogs in the vicinity crazy. So, one day when his mama wasn't around, Mr. Toad decided to try to just go with the flow and ribbit away. And mama was right: he froze in a ribbit state and is an example to all of us that we need to mind our manners even if mama isn't around!

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  14. Beauty Guru, you are VERY funny! Just goes to show, Mama is always right! <;-) I laughed out loud at this one...good thing we know our good manners, right BG? Or else we could end up like Mr. Toad! xo Thanks for sending an entry! Ribbit!

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  15. Mr Toad sit's on the edge of a field where he live's each day. He eat's and eat's, and eat's and eat's and never move's away. He grow's so big and never move's, he turn's to stone one day.But Mr. Toad has no regrets for the way he lived. Sitting next to his favorite field, taking in the beauty it would give!!

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