C I P R I A N I

Once upon a time, there was a small frog by the name of Uli.

Uli didn’t do very much with his day, save for taking in the scenery around the swamp and sucking down the occasional fly.

Then one day when he was minding his own business, the swamp began to rumble and from its depths emerged a 1967 Dodge Charger. The paint was chipped, the left door dented, and water erupted from its cracked windows.

Uli decided to take a closer look and as he hopped toward the floating car, upon further review, he realized the Charger was being pulled from the swamp by a large tow truck.

A few humans milled about, muttering their usual gibberish.

Uli could never quite understand what came out of these strange being’s mouths. In fact everything about them was strange: Their two legs, their languid movements- though he had to admit he was intrigued by their faces, no two seemed to be the same.

The Charger finally landed on terra firma when two of the humans popped open the trunk, finding another human bound, motionless.

Uli noticed that this particular human wasn’t really dressed, as much as wrapped.  Almost like a mummy, though Uli never understood the concept of “a mummy”.  Try as they might, friends made attempt after attempt to educate Uli in the ways humans behaved, but none of the lessons really stuck.

That body wasn’t moving much at all.  It fact, it wasn’t. 

The humans in motion, however, continued their conversation, one made a joke while the other just shook his head.

A few more humans arrived and seemed quite industrious as they went about their business around the lifeless body from the trunk.

None of this made much sense to Uli, he found it interesting for awhile, humans were always good for a bit of diversion.  But as more humans arrived, they brought with them the inevitable noise.

And splashing. 

So Uli departed from this particular section of the swamp, trying to find a quiet place a little further away, finally discovering a small patch under a tree, seemingly miles away.

He indulged in the relative quiet, taking in the scenery around the swamp and sucking down the occasional fly.