Check Out the Library Weenies by David Lubar

Author:David Lubar
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

A BOY AND HIS FROG

I guess I was about five when I got Jumparoony. Dad found the tiny frog in the backyard after a heavy rainstorm. Nobody expected him to last long. Especially when he was being taken care of by a little kid. Actually, at first it didn’t even look like I’d get to keep him.

“You aren’t letting that slimy thing in my house,” Mom said, making a face like she’d bitten into a caterpillar.

“Oh come on,” Dad said, “the kid needs a pet.”

They argued for a while. From what I remember, the discussion leaped quickly off the subject of the frog and bounced into other areas like Dad’s love of bowling and Mom’s shopping habits. I never did understand the rules grown-ups used when they argued about stuff. But the end result worked out fine for me.

Once Dad had talked Mom into letting me keep the frog, he warned me not to get upset if the frog croaked. Well, he didn’t say it that way, and if he had I wouldn’t have gotten the joke, but I remember him explaining that frogs usually didn’t last as long as cats or dogs.

The thing is, this frog must not have known that he was supposed to die. He just kept on living. And he kept on growing. Within a year, he’d grown to about the size of a baseball, except of course a baseball doesn’t have legs. Or bulging eyes. But if you imagined him rolled up, that’s about the size he’d have been.

I really didn’t have a clue why he did so well. Maybe I was just good at taking care of pets. Mom says everyone has gifts. I guess I had a special touch with animals. That’s the only way I can explain things.

I had Jumpy—that’s what I called him those days—for almost five years then, and during that time, he kept on growing. From the size of a baseball, he grew to the size of a softball. At that point, I could still pick him up without any trouble, but parts of him would spill over the sides of my hand.

Then he swelled up to the size of a bowling ball. I started needing two hands to lift him. Once he reached the size of a basketball, I definitely needed both hands. He felt like one of those extra-large water balloons.

He was eating a lot, too. I guess you need plenty of food when you’re growing that much. It wasn’t a problem at first. He did a great job keeping the house free of flies. As long as he stayed inside, there was nothing to worry about. But he got out through the kitchen window one morning and headed straight into the yard next door. Our neighbor, Mrs. Munswinger, used to have five Chihuahuas. Now she has four.

It was an amazing thing to see. Those five annoying little dogs—looking a lot like nervous rats—were huddled together barking at Jumpy. He just sat there calmly for a moment, then he flicked out his tongue and snatched one of the dogs.

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