Tadpole starts wriggling and jiggling around,
then plops from his egg with hardly a sound.
“Tadpole, Tadpole, what do you see,
as you sit in the pond; so quietly free?”
“Nothing,” said Tadpole, “its murky and dim,
but it’s warm here and safe until I can swim.”
Tadpole eats jelly, day after day,
Now he’s stronger and longer and ready to play.
“Tadpole, Tadpole, what do you see,
as you dash and you splash; so swimmingly free?”
“Oh, algae and mosses and watery weeds,
I feast all day long as I race through the reeds.”
Tadpole grows legs, and feet, and toes!
He climbs up the reeds and sticks out his nose.
“Tadpole, Tadpole what do you see,
as you rise from the pond; so cautiously free?”
“The sky so blue and the trees so green.
The most beautiful sight I have ever seen!”
Tadpole’s no tail, but he doesn’t care;
he hops on a rock and breathes the fresh air.
“Tadpole, Tadpole what do you see,
as you leap through the grass, so totally free?”
“Bluebells and daisies and buttercups too,
bunny’s and squirrels…
…and I see YOU!”
“But do you see me as I sit on this log?
Don’t call me Tadpole. Look! I’m a frog!”
Carol Jones' Stories 