Chapter 4 (Prologue)

"That was kind of stupid," Callie said. They had descended to the forest floor in thoughtful silence but now Callie had to release some tension.
"It worked, didn't it? And anyways you said he'd think I was poisonous."
"Yeah, but, now that I think about it, spiders might be immune to frog poison."
If Jumper was capable of turning green, he would have. He stared at Callie with a stunned look on his face. "Really?"
Callie relented. "Nah, I'm just joking. But you're not invulnerable and you'll live a lot longer if you remember that. Seriously."
Now Jumper looked crestfallen. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"Aw, don't feel bad. You did it. Maybe even saved my life- if you hadn't been there, that spider might have snuck up on me and had Callie-cargot for supper. Maybe I should write a poem, an epic, Jumper Versus the Spider!"
"Yeah? You mean it?" Already Jumper was feeling better.
"Sure! Except you need a better name than Jumper. That's like calling you Frog."
"How about Spider Slayer?"
"Um, no. No verbs. Verbs don't make the best names."
"What's a verb?"
Callie ignored him as she pondered names. The best ones were simple and easy to remember. She had once met a pinkbelly toad named Atelopus Flavescens. It didn't exactly roll off the tongue, even an extra-long, poetry-spouting dexterous tongue like hers.
A deep voice interrupted her reverie. "How about Dart? It has the advantage of being a verb and a noun."
They whirled in the direction of the speaker and saw an enormous reddish frog with strange horn-like projections over its eyes. By reflex, Jumper made to spring at it, but Callie casually squished him to the ground with her hand.
Ignoring the struggling froglet pinned beneath her arm, she spoke to the newcomer. "Hello Rana."
"Callie. You can let your friend go- I think I am quite safe from him." Although the big frog's mouth was stuck in a permanent frown, giving him a grumpy-looking expression, there was a clear note of amusement in his gravelly voice.
"I was more worried about him, but you're right, of course." Callie released Jumper who did his best to brush himself off with dignity. A chunk of leaf stuck to his chin eluded him. Callie brushed it off with a wink. "Well, Jumper? What do you say? How does Dart sound to you?"
"Dart. I like it! I can be Dart," said the froglet.
The newcomer chorped his vocal sac. "Then it's settled. Pleased to meet you, Dart. My name is Rana."
Dart looked more closely at Rana. Aside from the immediacy of his size, and the odd horns above his eyes, Dart noticed the intricate pattern of his reddish skin- green and black stripes wound around his body in a curious arrangement. And he had a whole bunch of small warty bumps all over his back. The overall impression was that Rana was very, very old. But it was apparent Rana was waiting for Dart to say something. So he did.
'What are those horns over your eyes? And what about all those bumps on your back? How old are you? You're not going to eat us are you?"
"He might eat you if you keep asking so many question," Callie said. Rana just laughed- a deep, rumbly, relaxed sort of laugh that suggested wisdom and patience. His eyes blinked very slowly, as if he were sleepy. But Dart sensed he was far from sleepy.
"I will answer your questions, little froglet, if you answer mine- how did a blue poison frog come to have a red-eyed tree frog for a mother?"
Dart and Callie were momentarily speechless and then they were both laughing and getting in each others' way to explain how they had met. Less excitable frogs would probably have been able to tell from Rana's chortling that he already knew Callie was not Dart's mother.
"Callie's not my mom! Uh, the truth is, I've never met my mom. Either of my parents, actually. I don't know where they are."
"They weren't waiting for you when you Landed?"
"No, sir."
Rana exchanged a glance with Callie. "I see," he said. "Well, it's getting dark- I suggest we get ready for dark. You and Callie should get some rest. Myself, I'm only just starting my day, or night I should say. See that bromeliad behind you? Ideal for two young frogs like yourself to hide in overnight. I'll just be back here awaiting my breakfast."
Callie appraised the suggested plant- a vase-like leafy green hiding place with a small pool of water collected at the base. Perfect. "This will do nicely."
"Perhaps some poetry before you retire, Callie?"
"Of course." Callie turned to Dart and said, "Rana is one of the leaders of the Frog Chorus."
"Oh," said Dart. Before he could ask what that meant, Callie was already singing.
"Night comes to the rain forest
Time for us to sleep
We give the watch over to the Frog Chorus
Help us to dream deep
Sing your song throughout the night
And wake us at the dawn
We'll take over at first light
So the Frog Chorus carries on."
Dart climbed into the cup of the bromeliad. He fell asleep instantly, and dreamed of music and harmonies.
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Dedicated to Emily Weber, zimeta08 who made me that lovely Poison Dart banner!
Soundtrack: Frogs' Lullaby, Blue Rodeo. I have to admit I've never heard this song but a google of frog and lullaby tells me it exists!
Director's Commentary: Rana is an Amazonian horned frog, Ceratophrys cornuta. I tried to derive his name from the latin name, like Callie's, but Corny or whatever didn't cut it. So I chose Rana since Rana is a common genus name for frogs- though unrelated to C. cornuta. In real life Rana would be quite happy to eat Callie, though Dart would likely be safe since he's poisonous.
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