Fairytales of Famous Authors Compared to Disney Cartoons with proper respect etc

Story 34: The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker in 2002-2003 P5

Chapters: 13, 14, 15 from The Frog Princess are contained in this chapter. You're welcome, darling Skylight.

Chapters 13

With Li'l leading the way and Fang guarding us from behind, we were soon back on the road to the castle. Mumbling her apologies, Li'l flew to the first tree she could find. When we reached the tree, Fang pointed out her darker shape admist the leafy shade.
"Li'l," he hissed loudly. "we are here."
"Go on without me," called back a tired voice. "I'll catch up later. I need to sleep a little longer."
"We'll meet you at the castle," I shouted. "Look for us by the drawbridge."
Li'l didn't answer. With a sleepy sigh, she already dozed off again.
"I hope dhe heard me," I said to Fang and Eadric as we continued down the road.
"She is a bat," said Fang. "I am sure she heard you. However, bats traditionally sleep during daylight hours and we have asked much of her today. She is also more timid than I expected and now that she is out of her element, and I fear that she will be easily frightened for some time to come. I believe her bossy manner was a cover for her insecurities."
Late that afternoon, a farm wagon leaving the castle grounds rumbled down the road. Fang moved off into the grass while Eadric and I patiently waited for the wagon to pass. I was shielding my eyes from the cloud of dust when a young boy walking beside the wagon spotted us. "Look, Father," he called. "Frogs! I'm going to catch them!"
"Now, Robbie," said the farmer, "why don't you leave them where they are? You take them home and they'll die like the last ones."
"But I want to play with them," the boy insisted.
Eadric and I had heard the child and had no intention of letting him catch us. I hustled Eadric off the side of the road, followinv Fang into the tall grass. The boy, who had seen us go, ran over with a stick in his hand. "I know you're in there," he said squatting on his heels. "Come out here where I can see you." The long stick jabbed the grass, narrowly missing us.
Eadric, trying to frighten the boy away by making himself look big and intimidating, straightened his long legs and arms and put on his fiercest expression. Since his legs were longer than his arms, his back end stuck up higher in the air, forcing him to tilt his head back to look at the boy. With the visl of dragon's breath still strapped to him, Eadric looked like a bizarre multicolored hunchback, snd I would have laughed if I hadn't been so frightened. Because he was in front of Fang, Eadric couldn't see the snake raise his head above the grass and glare at the boy through slitted eyes. Fang hissed softly and the boy nearly fell over his own feet trying to get back to his Father's wagon.
"Did you see that?" said Eadric proudly. "I scared him, off! He'll think twice before coming after a frog again, won't he!"
"I'm sure you're right," I said. "Especially one who travels with a snake. Next time he might even stay in the wagon."

With the farm wagon and the boy gone, we returned to the road. The rosy glow of the sunset outlined the castle and made it seem all the more inviting. However, we had only gone a short distance when we felt the vibration of approaching vehicles. Soon two more farm wagons and a tinker's cart passed by. Petitioners from the village who had stayed late at court followed in a carriage. With so much traffic on the road, we decided that it was no longer safe and moved off into the fields.
Traveling across the uneven ground was slower than it had been on the hard-packed dirt, and night fell before we reached the castle. The drawbridge was already up. It wouldn't be lowered again until morning.
We were seated in the dust at the end of the toad when Li'l flew down to land beside us. "There you are!" she said. "I've been looking all over for you! I don't like it out here. It's too open and there's too much going on. I think I saw a hawk, although I'm not real sure. So where are we going now, Emma? Do you have any good hidey-holes in that castle of yours?"
"I'm sure you'll find plenty of places to hide," I assured her, "but why don't you go see if you can find my Aunt first? That's her tower, the tall one on the left. She said she would be away for a few days, but she should be back by now."
"What about you? Are you going straight there?"
"We have to get inside the castle," I explained, "and the drawbridge is up."
"Why's that a problem?" Li'l asked. "You're frogs. You can swim across the moat. I'll go up to the tower and take a peek inside. Now, you're sure your Aunt won't mind?"
"She won't mind at all. Go on ahead. We'll be there as soon as we can." I watched Li'l become a dark speck as she flew over the moat. When I could no longer see her in the gloom, I turned and spoke to Fang. "And what about you, Fang? Are you coming with us?"
"No, I must return home now. I have much work to do to reestablish my territory."
"Thank you for being there all those times," I said, throwing my arms around him. "You were right—we did need you."
"I know. And you are welcome." My hug made him uncomfortable, for he quickly backed away, eyeing me warily, "Emma," he said, "because of your emotional demonstration, I must tell you something that I would not otherwise have disclosed."
"You can tell me anything, Fang. If anyone has the right, it's you."
"I understand that humans whose lives have been saved may feel a certain... affection for their rescuers. If you are feeling such an affinity for me, you must know that my heart is engaged elsewhere."
If he thought that I had a crush on him...I tried not to laugh, and thought of a trick I'd learned when my Mother caught me in a giddy mood and I knew she would disapprove if I laughed out loud. I had only to think of something sad, such as the death of my first puppy, to make myself lose the desire to laugh. I tried it now and it worked, allowing me to alter my expression to one more suitable to a jilted female.
"Is it Clarisse?" I asked, looking as mournful as I could.
"Yes," he said, nodding solemnly. "You are not too badly disappointed, are you?"
"I'll recover, but it won't be easy."
"Good luck in your endeavors. And the same goes for you, Eadric."
"Thanks, Fang. It was... an experience having you along."
I watched Fang slither down the road with mixed emotions. He was a snake and I had always been terrified of snakes. Because I was now a frog, he should have been one of my worst enemies, yet he had proved to be a friend, someone I could trust when I was in danger.
"What did you mean when you thanked Fang like that?" Eadric demanded. "He didn't do anything! And who is Clarisse?"
"And you accused me of being unobservant! Never mind, Eadric. Maybe I'll tell you about it one day. Let's just say that he was a better companion than either of us thought he would be."
"I guess that's true," said Eadric. "At least he didn't eat us."