Froggy little jump

The late afternoon sun did not brighten the narrow alley. Apart from the occassional whirrr of the Bajaj Chetak scooter, or the 'trring!' of a bicycle, the lazy afternoon was broken only by the buzz of a tiny fly. The fly alighted on little Mia's head, who was engrossed in surveying her queen-dom.

During the afternoon, when the world dozed, Mia entered her realm. The front garden was the vast valley, while the shaded verandah comprised the mysterious highlands. The side alley, however, was the formidable canyon... full of nameless beasts and spirits, the mere thought of which tingled the adventurous girl's spine!

At this moment, Mia was peering into the alley. Arched back, brows furrowed, and hands muddied from her excursion in the garden, Mia looked the part of a tiny warrior princess.

Taking measured steps, she advanced into the alley. She held her imaginary sword ready in her tiny hand, in case Rakkhushi, the scary and loud demon pranced on her. Her mission was to make it to the very end of the alley and emerge into the backyard, and hence renew her claim to the territory.

Midway into the alley, she stopped, startled. There was something that moved - actually moved. Mia crouched and frowned even more. Far from being afraid, she was intrigued. "What is it?" she wondered, and crept forward.

And then from behind the stack of bricks, a mouldy corner where garden equipment was stored, emerged a tiny frog.

Hardly a centimeter long, the slippery grey creature stared back at Mia. In her realm, the little frog equated to an emissary from a faraway land, a being that carried messages and stories, a potential friend. Queen Mia was enthralled. After all, in a five-year-olds worldk, it isn't every day that you get to see a being much smalled than yourself... and she felt big and magnanimous. But of course, she wasn't going to kiss the frog! "Only silly kids believe in the frog prince story!" she thought.

Gently, she stretched out her arm, and placed her hand close to the little frog. "Com'on!" she urged the surprised creature. The frog, on its part, looked on indecisivly. And then, its animal impulse took over and it tried to leap over the hand. Only, Queen Mia was quicker. "Whether froggy likes it or not, I am its friend," she thought and quickly caught it mid-flight.

Though safely ensconced in the cavity between her hands, the bewildered froggy kept jumping. Mia wasn't sure she liked the ticklish sensation. So she hurried inside the house and rushed to the bathroom. There, she let out her unenthusiastic new friend into a bucket full of water.

The little froggy, now was at home in the big bucket. Mia looked on enthralled as it swam around. It was almost an hour before it occured to her that the little froggy might be tired of swimming. "Mia! Come and drink milk!" she heard her mother call out. She looked at the froggy and thought that even its mother might be missing it.

"Ma, I'm just coming!" she shouted as she enclosed the froggy in her hands once again. Next, she ran out and back into the alley. As the last rays of the sun illuminated the sky, Mia let out the little froggy, which promptly scampered away into the darkness.

"Huh, I wonder whether frogs drink Bournvita," she wondered aloud. The Queen Mia surveyed her realm once more in the twilight, adjudged herself to be agood ruler, and went inside to drink milk.