CHAPTER NINE -- PRINCE FROG

On they went, through the winding streets, until in the middle of a dark woods, the road suddenly ended. It was night, and the woods were dense and wild and scary. The class could hear crickets and locusts and frogs, and nobody knew where they were.

"I can't understand it. I was sure I knew just where we were. But here we're lost again. We'll just have to turn around and try again, children," said Miss Morgan. "Your parents must be frantic by now. But we can't be far from home. I know we can't".

Suddenly, they heard a voice that seemed to come from a bush, "Hello, miss, can I help you?"

Miss Prysby screamed.

Mr Newman, who was still riding on the roof of the car, reassured her, "Don't worry, Miss Prysby. I'll protect you".

Gaynell whispered from the bottom of the pile of kids, "What is it, Kathy? I can't see a thing down here".

"It's a tall handsome prince," answered Kathy.

"How can you tell?" asked Gaynell.

"He has a crown on, so I can tell he's a prince. And even with nothing at all on, I can tell that he's very handsome".

The kids started giggling.

Indeed, a tall, handsome, naked prince was standing right by Miss Morgan's window.

Miss Morgan just sat there, staring for the longest while, without saying anything. So the prince said, "My name's Prince Frog".

Miss Morgan said, "I'm Miss Morgan, I mean Judy. Pleased to meet you". She got out of the car and shook his hand politely.

"Enchanted," replied the prince.

Then Timmy asked, "Gee, Miss Morgan, aren't you ever going to ask him how to get home from here?"

Miss Prysby whispered loudly, "Let's get out of here, Judy". Then she said louder, "Judy". Then she shouted, "Judy!" Then she called up to the roof, "Paul, she doesn't even hear me!"

Mr Newman answered, "Maybe he's some sort of magician, and he's put her under a spell".

"Now, Paul, you know there's no such thing as magic".

Miss Morgan and the prince were standing very close to one another, looking very quietly into one another's eyes.

Donny said, "Gosh," and looked the other way.

Eugene laughed and said, "Go ahead and kiss him".

They probably didn't hear anyone, but in a minute, without either of them seeming to move, they were kissing.

Suddenly the prince turned into a frog. Miss Morgan would have screamed, but she had a frog on her throat.

"You don't love me?" The frog was hopping mad; so he hopped right down to the ground.

Donny said, "Gosh, that was neat. Can you do that again?"

"Mr Shermin! Mr Shermin!" shouted Mrs O'Rourke.

"Calm down now, Mrs O'Rourke," said Mr Shermin. "Calm down".

"But Mr Shermin," Mrs O'Rourke persisted, "the prince just turned into a frog, and he's the handsomest frog I've ever seen".

Meanwhile the frog told Miss Morgan, "All these years I've been looking for somebody who'd love me, and I did everything imaginable to make myself so somebody would love me. I even changed myself into a prince, which not many frogs can do. And I thought finally it had worked, and you had fallen in love with me, and I could relax and go back to being a frog again and live happily ever after. But you didn't really love me". And he sobbed big frog tears.

Miss Morgan felt sorry for the frog and felt bad about making him so sad. "Didn't you like being a prince?" she asked, and smiled, hoping that maybe he'd turn himself into a prince again.

"Well, I feel sort of amphibian about it. I don't really know what I want to be. It's so good to be loved, at least I'm sure it must be; but then it's so comfortable being a frog. I think I'll go down to the river and croak".

"No, don't do that".

"Everybody croaks sooner or later. Frogs just do it more often".

Miss Morgan could tell that he was getting really depressed, and she was getting depressed herself. So she said, "We were trying to get home, and the road suddenly ended, and we'd very much appreciate it if you could show us a way out of here".

"You passed a way a few miles back," he said.

"We didn't see it".

"Well, you must have passed a way. Nobody ever gets to the Underworld without passing away".

"The Underworld?" she asked. "Not Mack the Knife again ..".

"Mack the who? Well, whoever you want, you can meet him in the Underworld. If he isn't there now, just wait a while".

"Is this the Underworld?"

"We're very close," he said. "We just have to go down to the river. Maybe you can give me a lift. Just keep going".

"Well, I guess we have no choice. Which way is it?"

"Any way at all. All paths lead there sooner or later".

So the frog hopped into the fishbowl, and Miss Morgan decided to take him to the river because she felt she owed him something and because she didn't know where else to go.

"Didn't I tell you, Mr Shermin?" said Mrs O'Rourke. "Isn't he the handsomest frog you've ever seen?"