colita colita de de rana rana
by Kevin Bernal-Rivera
Artwork by Haven Jovel Morales
There once was a small remote pond that flourished for generations. All types of aquatic life lived in relative harmony. That was of course – with the exception of the frogs that battled for power and ruled with impunity. They took, they withheld, they controlled.
With his final desperate plea, Phyoretic exclaimed, “My lineage has been known to assassinate those unworthy and has created allegiances to those who aid in times of need!” Gered jumped at this opportunity, and proudly yelled, “Exterminate Droghain, and you shall share my spoils until the day you die!”
Then came the years of drought. Slowly, the pond shriveled up and death became the only certainty. Soon, only the three most powerful frogs remained: Phyoretic the Perilous, Gered the Graceless, and Droghain the Draconian.
Before Droghain had time to realize what happened, Phyoretic leapt up and stomped him into the ground. A quick and painless death, but one that put fear in the eyes of Gered. He realized the disadvantage he was at now.
Each frog owned a section of the pond and sought to lengthen their own survival. Droghain stockpiled food and refused to share. Gered possessed land in the most shaded region of the pond. Phyoretic had no advantage of his own: he held no food and had land in the sunniest section. Fearing his demise, he attempted to make separate deals, but to no avail.
“If you could have taken our resources that easily, why didn’t you take them earlier?” asked Gered. “Well, it’s simple really,” said Phyoretic. “I needed to see which
3
