The Little Girl And The Tadpoles

Kids can be so cruel sometimes, especially when they are in groups. If one of them starts picking on another student at school, the others will sometimes join in. These days, there seems to be more awareness and trying to deal with bullying. Back in those days, you were told to just deal with it. You might have heard them say, "Ignore them and they won't bother you, because they'll see they aren't getting to you."

This isn't always easy to do. Lord knows she tried, but sometimes everything around you converges on you. It's a combination of bad things that can become so overwhelming when you are being bullied. Her mother didn't provide all the things from the government check that were supposed to be provided. Drugs were more important.

As a result, she didn't have the best clothes or hygiene, and she was teased relentlessly for it. One day, one of the kids noticed her green teeth and decided "Froggy" would be a nice nickname to call her. The name stuck, and soon other kids were calling her by that name.

She hated it. Why couldn't they leave her alone? Why wouldn't they play with her? She could be fun if they gave her a chance. One day, she happened by the water where the frogs were croaking away. She moved in to investigate and noticed the tadpoles in the water.

There was a jar by the water, and she decided to capture some of them in the jar. She hoped she could raise these tadpoles into frogs and release them back into the water. She got them home and set up a tank. She nurtured the tadpoles and one by one they grew into little frogs.

She held one in the palm of her hand and admired its beauty. Most people might admire a cat or a dog, but she saw the beauty in these small creatures. It became a habit of hers to raise tadpoles into frogs and release them back to the water. It was a way for her to be a mommy of sorts to these frogs, a better mommy than she had.

And so it was the girl they called Froggy became a "mother" to the frogs. It gave her some piece of mind and made her feel good about herself. Years later, there's a new generation of frogs in that water, and that particular line of frogs was touched by a little girl's efforts to nurture the tadpoles into frogs. That thought always brings a smile to her face.