King Carlyle was buffeted around by the rushing water for what felt like an eternity. If he had still been in his human body, he might have drowned. But he found that as a frog, he didn’t find himself gasping for air or swallowing water when the current pushed him down. Instead, it simply felt natural for him to be under water.
He didn’t emerge until the rushing water slowed to a slow current. He was now in the middle of a much slower moving river. His first instinct was to swim for shore, but then he slowly realized that he had no idea where he was. Truth be told, he was a bit vague on where exactly he had been in the forest even before the meeting with Lucius. But he hadn’t wanted the others to know that he was lost without Midor, so he hadn’t let on. But after having been picked up by Lucius and dashed through the forest, and after having gotten carried away by the river, he now well and truly had no idea where he was. So he just let the slow current take him drifting down the river.
After floating for some time, he got bored and decided to swim beneath the surface for a while. Somehow in this frog body it felt like a natural thing to do. So he lowered his head, kicked his legs, and found himself swimming under the water.
He saw a big bass fish sitting near the bottom of the river. “Hello,” said the bass. “I haven’t seen you in these parts before. Are you new to this river?”
King Carlyle was surprised to discover that he could hear the voice of the bass perfectly even though they were both under water. He had never had the occasion to be in the body of an amphibian before, or any aquatic creature for that matter, and so he had no idea how they usually communicated.
He decided to open his mouth and attempt a reply. “I am,” he said. “I come from a different part of the forest altogether. It’s a very long story.”
“I see,” said the bass. “Well, welcome. My name is Larry. Since you’re new here, I’ll give you the usual warnings. Watch out for the pike. He likes to eat small frogs like you.”
“You must be mistaken,” said King Carlyle stubbornly. “That would violate the rule of the forest.”
“The rule of the forest?” said Larry the bass incredulously. “The rule of the forest is not enforced here under the water. It’s barely enforced above the water, as a small animal like you must surely know. Who would be around to enforce it under the forest?”
“Who would enforce it?” asked King Carlyle. “We all come together to enforce it, surely. That’s how any good law is enforced.”
“I’ve given you my warning,” said Larry the Bass lazily. “If you choose to ignore it, then I can’t help you.”
“I must say,” said King Carlyle. “This is not a suitable welcome for a new traveller like myself. Haven’t you anything more constructive to say? Wouldn’t you like to show me around.”
“Your majesty, there you are!” came another voice from under the water. It was Jacob the frog, who was swimming towards him.
“Oh, hello Jacob,” said King Carlyle. “I was just talking to my new friend Larry here, who told me I should beware of the pike. Apparently the pike likes to eat frogs like myself.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” said Jacob. “Your majesty should know that these waters have very little rules to them.”
“Your majesty?” said Larry the bass. “Why do you call him that? Do you frogs have kings now?”
“It is the human king,” Jacob explained, “Transformed into the body of a frog. I am only using the term of address that he is accustomed to.”
“Human king?”
“Yes, the king of the big castle.”
“What big castle? I’ve never seen it,” said Larry.
“Ah, you fish,” said Jacob, in a tone that was almost pitying. “You only know what is in the river. We frogs know everything that is in the waters, and everything that is in the land.”
“You speak as if it were an advantage to know both worlds,” said Larry. “But it is not. When you are in the river, the only thing that will keep you alive is knowing about the river. When the pike comes, you need to know where the best hiding places are, and where the quickest escape is. Your knowledge of castles up on the land will do you no good down here. I’ve seen many an animal perish because they did not know this river well enough. It is much better to know one place well than to know two places only half well.”
Jacob didn’t argue. “You may be right,” he said. “But still, I couldn’t spend my whole life in just one place. Maybe it is just the way we frogs are made, but I need to get up and explore different places. I spent my entire youth in the water, you know. Not here, but in a pond about a couple miles from here. I knew all the parts of it inside and out. But once I grew my legs, it was time for me to leave the pond and explore. And I’ve never regretted leaving it.”
While they were talking, a whole school of small fish swam by. King Carlyle watched them with fascination. He was unused to seeing all the different animals that were in the river. “Hello,” King Carlyle said to them.
They all chorused “hello” back in unison, and kept swimming.
“It seems nice down here,” said King Carlyle.
“We should be returning to the surface soon, your majesty,” said Jacob. “Our friends will be looking for us.”
King Carlyle felt like he needed a breath of fresh air anyway. A frog, he was beginning to learn, can stay underwater for a long time, but must come up eventually for air. So he didn’t argue with Jacob. He kicked his legs, and they emerged at the surface of the water.
It surprised King Carlyle that when they got to the surface, the world they had left, the world beneath the river, seemed so hard to see beneath the water. The surface of the river looked like one unbroken sheet, and you could never guess it held so many fish and plants below it.
They looked for John and Benjamin and the dragons, but they did not see them. Jacob called out their names, but there was no response.
“Where could they be?” asked King Carlyle.
“We must have gotten swept further down the river than I thought,” said Jacob. “Shall we swim to the shore and wait for them to find us.”
“It’s nice and cool in the water,” said King Carlyle. “I would just as soon stay here.”
“Ah, that’s your frog body,” said Jacob. “You’re beginning to feel what a frog feels. You want to stay in the water because frogs like water.”
“Possibly,” said King Carlyle thoughtfully. “And yet, we can travel faster by water, can we not?”
“We could, your majesty,” answered Jacob. “If we only knew where we were going.”
“Yes, true,” said King Carlyle thoughtfully. “Well, at any rate, we will be safe from cats here in the middle of the river. I just wish we didn’t have to worry about that bothersome pike.”
“A frog’s life is full of peril, your majesty,” answered Jacob. “We must do our best to avoid trouble, and always stay where it is safest.”
“Let’s explore the bottom of the river, for just a bit,” said King Carlyle. And before Jacob could argue with him, he kicked his legs and swam back down to the bottom of the river.
Jacob followed after him as quickly as he could.
Near the bottom of the river, King Carlyle passed by the green seaweed that grew in clumps. He passed by numerous other small fishes, and he spoke to them briefly. He was passing by the bank of the river, when he saw a small cave. A miniature woman was standing at the entrance.
“Hello,” said King Carlyle. “And what are you? Are there water people in the river?”
“What do you mean what am I?” the small woman asked indignantly. “This river is my home.”
“A thousand apologies,” said Jacob, who was catching up to King Carlyle. “He’s from the surface, and he does not know anything about the water sprites.”
“Water sprites?” asked King Carlyle.
“Small fairies that live under the water. They live in small little holes or caves in the river bank. They’re completely harmless,” said Jacob. “Unlike the naiads, who also inhabit this river.”
“Naiads? What are they? Why are they dangerous.”
“Naiads are also water spirits, but they resemble the form of a human maiden. They're not dangerous to us frogs,” said Jacob. “But they are dangerous to humans. They fall in love with human men, and sometimes drag them into the water, forgetting that humans cannot breathe under the water.”
“Something to remember if I ever return to my human form,” said King Carlyle. “Will we see any Naiads down here?”
“We might,” said Jacob the frog. “They are often around.”
“What strange frog is this?” asked the water sprite. “He knows nothing of the rivers or the waters.”
“He is a human, transformed into a frog by dark magic,” Jacob explained.
“Ah, well then, human frog, come in and visit with us, and we will teach you all about the ways of the water.” The water sprite gestured with her hand towards the small hole in the river bank.
King Carlyle turned to Jacob. “Is it safe?” he asked.
Jacob nodded. “The sprites are friendly,” he said.
So they swam in.
It was pitch black inside the whole, but the Water Sprite began to glow, and turned herself into a source of illumination to light the way. They swam a short way, and then there was a room with miniature chairs and a table under the water.
There was also, at the top of the room, a little pocket of air, which Jacob and King Carlyle used to take breaths. (Frogs can hold their breath a very long time under the water, but they do breathe air.)
They sat at the table, and Jacob and King Carlyle related to the Water Sprite all that had happened to them so far. (Occasionally they needed to swim up to the air pocket to get some more air, but frogs can hold their breath for a long time underwater, as King Carlyle was discovering.) When they got to the part about Midor, the Water Sprite immediately lit up in recognition. “Midor! Of course I know him,” she said. “How is he?”
“He is as well as can be hoped,” said Jacob. “But he has been shrunk by the same witch who transformed the King.”
King Carlyle grumbled angrily to himself about how everyone in the forest knew about Midor. When Jacob and the Water Sprite asked him what he was upset about, he responded, “Midor is not really all that great. I don’t know why everyone keeps talking about him as if he were special.”
“He’s done so much to help the water sprites,” said the sprite. “We all admire him.”
“Well if Midor has done so much to help the forest, then how come the friends of Midor are left wandering around on our own?” said King Carlyle. “He doesn’t sound all that wonderful to me.”
“I would remind the King,” said Jacob, “That we didn’t have any problems until after Midor left us. Those animals would never have attacked us if Midor had been with us.”
“But then why couldn’t Midor have left the forest with instructions to leave us alone?” asked King Carlyle. “Or better yet, to help us to our destination? He’s always creating crises in order to appear that much greater when he comes in to save the day.”
“Midor lives in the forest as one of us,” said Jacob the Frog. “When he is in trouble, he asks for help. When he is not in trouble, he does his best not to bother the animals.”
“Well, there’s trouble now if I ever saw it,” said King Carlyle. “With Catherine back in the castle, we’ll all have trouble.”
“It won’t affect us here in the bottom of the river,” said the Water Sprite.
“It will when monsters and ghosts take over this forest,” said King Carlyle. “Just like the last time.”
“The last time?” asked the Water Sprite.
“She doesn’t know anything about it,” Jacob explained to King Carlyle. “Ghosts can not penetrate the water. At the river bottom, they know nothing about it.”
“Oh, well, lucky for them,” said King Carlyle grumpily.
“Would you like to stay for dinner?” the Water Sprite asked. “The others will be back soon, and we’re going to be having a huge dinner--all the green seaweed the river has to offer will be for dinner tonight.”
“That sounds delicious,” said Jacob.
“That sounds horrible,” said King Carlyle.
“Your majesty, you should give it a try,” said Jacob. “Now that you’re a frog, I think you’ll find you’ll enjoy what frogs usually find delicious.”
“I shall try it,” said King Carlyle. “But it’s like I told Midor, I need to get changed back to my human body as fast as possible, or I will wither and die on this frog’s diet.”
In a short time, many more Water Sprites returned to their home, just like the original Water Sprite had told them they would. Jacob explained to King Carlyle that the Water Sprites had been busy all day playing in the river, and also helping the water flowers to grow.
“Water flowers?” said King Carlyle. “I never heard of flowers under the water.”
“That’s because they only grow where the Water Sprites tend to them,” said Jacob. “You can only see it in the most magical places in the river.”
“Just what we need,” King Carlyle said sarcastically. “More magic.”
“It’s a magic forest,” said the Water Sprite, who must have noticed King Carlyle’s tone. “The whole forest is filled with magical creatures, and it makes it so much more interesting for it.”
“Well what about this pike that I’ve heard so much about?” asked King Carlyle. “If they have so much magic, why don’t they take care of the pike?”
“They don’t have that kind of magic,” said Jacob. “Magic for fighting or killing is black magic. The Water Sprites only have magic for helping the river bed plants grow.”
“Yes, I know all about the black magic,” said King Carlyle ruefully. “It’s a particular problem in my family. So what do the Water Sprites do about the Pike?”
Lydia, which was the name of the Water Sprite who had first invited them in to their house, heard them talk, and she interjected here. “Oh, that pike,” she said. “He’s been a terrible source of sadness for us Water Sprites. He’s eaten several of us.”
“It is sad,” said another Water Sprite named Justin. “All we Water Sprites do is bring happiness to the forest and help things grow. But that awful pike doesn’t care about anything. He just likes to eat small creatures like us.”
“I had no idea this rampant eating was so wide throughout the forest,” said King Carlyle. “I thought all of this was abolished centuries ago with the new common laws.”
“The thing about laws, your majesty,” said Jacob, “Is that they wouldn’t exist unless there were some creatures who needed to be bound by them.”
“Well, just you wait until I get back into my human body,” said King Carlyle. “I’ll catch that pike myself with my own two hands. Then I’ll bring him back to the castle to see that justice is served.” King Carlyle was carried away by the passion of his words, and spoke loudly.
“Careful about talking too loudly,” said another Water Sprite. “Sound can travel quickly in these waters. If he hears you, it’ll be trouble.”
“They’re right,” said Jacob. “You’re not back in your castle yet. You need to be careful, your majesty.”
“It’s all right,” said King Carlyle. “I learned a long time ago that it doesn’t do to watch your words too much. You can’t live your life cowering in fear.”
But just then, a shadow passed over the entrance to the Water Sprites home. It was the pike. He tried to thrust his way into the hole, snapping his teeth. The hole was just a little bit too small for him, and he was stuck at the edge of the hole. He backed up, and then tried to push his way through again. The Water Sprites screamed in terror and then swam to the edge of the room. Only King Carlyle did not appear frightened. “I’ve dealt with bullies like this many times in my castle,” he said. “Ogres, trolls, goblins, dragons, you name it, I’ve faced it down. It doesn’t do to be too scared. Sometimes you just have to confront a bully. Then King Carlyle yelled at the pike: “You, Pike, leave these Water Sprites alone. I’ll come out and face you myself.”
The pike stopped trying to get into the room, but only because it was chuckling to itself.
“That’s right,” said King Carlyle, “Keep laughing,” and he swam out to face the pike.
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