Quackers

A Fair Feathered Friend

It was a bring sunny day in Lilypads. All the frogs were happily playing while waiting for the lesson to start. Ah... it is such a wonderful day to be out in the open. I am sure each and every little frog out there would prefer to play and frolic by the pond. Alas, all good things have to come to an end. It was lesson time, and we have to do what we have to do.

I finally called the class to order. To their credit, all the little frogs came together quickly to start the lessons. It was a sure sign of their eagerness to learn and their discipline.

I was going to teach all the little frogs about living together in harmony with their ecology. I was going to teach them how every plant and animal have a role to play in nature. It was at this moment when the class was disrupted by a yellow dot far away on the horizon.

It was a teeny-weeny little dot that seems to sway from side to side. Sammy, the frog that was on the fringe of the class was the first frog that noticed that strange swinging dot. He started staring at it. Then Maryanne noticed what he was doing and stared in the same direction..

Very soon, the entire class was staring at the dot. I tried to regain their attention but it was a futile effort. I finally decided that it would be better for everyone to satisfy their curiosity otherwise I will not have their full attention.

As the yellow dot came closer, it grew bigger. The yellow dot grew bigger and bigger and we finally saw what it was -- a duck!!

Now, this was the first time our little frogs have seen a duck. They were all very excited and started talking to each other about. My, what a racket. They would have awaken the dead!

Well, our yellow dot hear our din and it came closer to investigate. As he drew closer, the frogs began to panic. The duck reminded them of the heron that ate of their friends not too longer ago. They were getting agitated and started jumping from lilypad to lilypad. It was quite a sight.

With all the noise and activity, there is no way the duck would not have noticed us.

The duck started swimming faster and faster towards us. The closer he gets, the more agitated the frogs became. I knew what was going to happen and I tried to stop it... but I could not. I could not make myself heard above the din.

Crash.. The duck crashed into the lilypads and threw every little frogs into the pond.

I was upset. I asked the duck what he was trying to do.

"Oh, I am so sorry. I saw all the little frogs waving at me so I came to find out why." said the duck. "They were not waving at you, they were waving you away. A few months ago, a heron ate two of their friends. You reminded them of the heron" said I. "Oh, I am so sorry. I meant no harm. I am just a duck who has lost his way. By the way, my name is Quackers."

Well, that explained everything.

After a while, all the little frogs recovered from their excitement and settled down on their battered lilypads. I asked Quackers to give an introduction to himself and explain what he thought was happening. When they heard Quackers' explanation, they all had a good laugh. It was a might funny episode.

Well, it was funny but it also taught all the little frogs a very important lesson. Things may not seem what they appear to be. It reminded them to verify their understanding and not make assumptions.

It was an impromptu lesson -- but an important one.

Quackers became a frequent visitor to The Lilypads -- but he learnt to be careful and not damage the lilypads any further.

Beautiful Me

The History of The Lilypads

Hi! I am Hops. I live in a pond called Lilypads. I run a school for frogs. I did not planned to be a teacher but I had so much fun imparting knowledge to all the younger frogs at The Lilypads that I became a teacher. I am what you call an accidental teacher.

It all started with my thirst for knowledge when I was young. I asked questions about everything around me. I was the most inquisitive frog around. I drove all the other frogs crazy with all my questions. Later, I drove all the other frogs crazy because I had an answer for everything. I knew so much because I took the interest to learn.

What surprised me was the curiousity of the young. They were captivated by my knowledge and they always wanted to know more. They reminded me so much of myself when I was young. I was even more surprised when I found that I enjoyed telling them about the world around them. It was fun.

That's how I became a teacher. I teach on the lilypads at The Lilypads. Now, that's a story in itself.

When I started teaching, I had but a few young frogs around me. I was teaching by the banks of the pond. It was quite manageable. There will a few problems with birds and animals of prey that try to make a meal of us. Every now and then a snake would slither by, hoping to catch us unaware. We were alert and managed to hop away to escape from the snake.

The problem came as the group grew larger.

We had more and more young frogs joining the groups. It was getting harder and harder to find a clearing on the bank of the pond large enough for everyone. More importantly, it was getting to be a hazard. It was getting difficult to run away from birds and snakes that prey on us. We stampeded some of the frogs were hurt.

It was obvious that a solution must be found in order for the class to continue -- and fast.

Whilst hopping along the banks, I absent-mindedly hopped on to the lilypads that was found in abundance in the pond. I merrily hopped from one lilypad to another when I suddenly realised where I was.

I had a brainwave!

The lilypads will be where we will hold our lessons. I named our school "The Lilypads".

This will be an ideal solution. Each lilypad can only hold 1 frog so there will be no over-crowding. We will be in our elements as we are right on the lake. If danger lurks, we can easily seek protection by jumping off the lilypads and into the pond.

I moved the class to The Lilypads. The younger frogs loved it. The parents loved it. I loved it. Everyone was happy.

More importantly, everyone was safe..