Tiddalik the Very Thirsty Frog

Tiddalik the Very Thirsty Frog Story

Long ago, in the warm Australian bush, the morning sun peeped over the gum trees. The kookaburras laughed, the cockatoos screeched, and the kangaroos hopped softly through the grass.

Beside a quiet billabong, a little frog slowly woke up. His name was Tiddalik.

Tiddalik opened one eye, then he opened the other. He blinked. He stretched one leg, then he stretched the other. Then he smacked his wide frog lips and said, “I am thirsty.”

So Tiddalik hopped to the billabong.

Plop.

He took one drink.

Slurp.

Then another.

Slurp, slurp.

Then another.

SLURP, SLURP, SLURP!

The water slid into his round belly. The billabong got lower and lower, but Tiddalik kept drinking.

The reeds drooped. The mud cracked. The fish flapped. The waterbirds stared.

Still Tiddalik drank.

SLUUUUURP!

At last, the billabong was empty. Not one little drop was left.

Tiddalik sat in the mud with a huge, wobbling belly.

“Oh,” he said. “That was better.”

Then he gave a tiny burp.

Bup.

But all around him, the bush went quiet.

The kangaroos came looking for water. There was none.

The emus came looking for water. There was none.

The lizards came looking for water. There was none.

Even the little ants marched to the billabong and stopped.

No water. No puddle. No drip. No drop.

“Who drank it all?” cried Kangaroo.

“Who took every sip?” asked Emu.

“Who has a belly as round as the moon?” whispered Lizard.

Everyone turned.

There sat Tiddalik. His belly was so big that he could hardly hop.

“Tiddalik!” cried the animals. “You drank all the water!”

Tiddalik blinked slowly.

“Yes,” he said.

“But we need water too,” said Kangaroo.

“The birds need water,” said Cockatoo.

“The fish need water,” said Platypus.

“The trees need water,” said Wombat.

Tiddalik looked at them. Then he looked at his belly.

Then he gave another tiny burp.

Bup.

But not one drop came out.

The animals gathered in a circle.

“We must make him laugh,” said Kookaburra. “If Tiddalik laughs, the water may come tumbling out.”

“That is a good idea,” said Kangaroo.

So Kookaburra hopped onto a branch. He puffed up his feathers. Then he laughed his loudest laugh.

“Koo-koo-koo-koo-KAAAA!”

The birds laughed. The wallabies giggled. Even the ants wiggled.

But Tiddalik did not laugh. He only blinked.

“That was not funny,” he said.

Next, Kangaroo came forward.

“I can make him laugh,” she said.

She bounced high.

Boing!

She bounced higher.

BOING!

Then she bounced so high that she landed nose-first in a bush.

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

Her tail stuck out. Her feet kicked in the air.

The animals roared with laughter.

But Tiddalik did not laugh. He only yawned.

“Too bouncy,” he said.

Next came Emu.

“Watch me,” said Emu.

She strutted left. She strutted right. She fluffed her feathers.

Then she tried to dance on one skinny leg.

Hop.

Hop.

Wobble.

Wobble.

FLUMP!

Emu sat down in the dust.

The cockatoos screeched with laughter. The lizards rolled on their backs.

But Tiddalik did not laugh. He only rubbed his belly.

“Too dusty,” he said.

The animals groaned. The sun climbed higher. The ground grew hotter. The trees drooped lower. The little fish gasped in the mud.

“We must try again,” said Platypus.

So Platypus waddled forward. He crossed his webbed feet. He spun in a circle.

He slipped.

Splodge!

His bill landed in the mud.

Now Platypus had mud on his nose, mud on his tail, and mud on his bottom.

The animals laughed so hard that Cockatoo nearly fell off her branch.

But Tiddalik still did not laugh. He only said,

“Too muddy.”

Everyone sighed.

“What will make him laugh?” whispered Wombat.

Then, from behind a stone, came a small, quiet voice.

“I will try.”

It was Snake. Long, shiny, wriggly Snake.

The animals looked at him.

“You?” said Kangaroo.

“You are very small,” said Emu.

Snake smiled.

“Sometimes small things can do big things,” he said.

He slid across the dry ground.

Slip.

Slide.

Wiggle.

He curled himself into a loop. Then into a knot. Then into a twisty, turny, tangly shape.

Tiddalik watched.

Snake twisted again. Now his tail was near his nose. His nose was near his tail. His middle was somewhere in between.

Tiddalik blinked.

Snake wriggled upside down. He wriggled right-side up. He tied himself into a wobbly bow.

The animals held their breath.

Tiddalik’s mouth twitched.

Snake wiggled faster. He spun like a ribbon in the wind. He pulled the silliest face he could.

Then he sneezed.

“Achoo!”

His whole long body sprang into the air.

Boing-wiggle-wiggle-SPLAT!

Tiddalik stared. His round belly jiggled. His wide mouth opened.

And then…

“Heh.”

The animals leaned closer.

Tiddalik tried to stop it.

“Heh-heh.”

His belly wobbled. His cheeks puffed.

“Heh-heh-heh!”

“Keep going!” cried Kangaroo.

Snake rolled down a little hill like a curly stick.

Tiddalik could not hold it in any longer.

He laughed.

“HA!”

The ground trembled.

He laughed again.

“HA HA!”

The trees shook.

Then Tiddalik laughed the biggest frog laugh the bush had ever heard.

“HAAAAA HA HA HA HAAAAA!”

And out came the water.

Splash!

It poured from his mouth. It rushed across the mud. It filled the cracks in the ground. It ran under the trees. It swirled around the reeds.

It lifted the fish.

It filled the billabong again.

The animals cheered.

The kangaroos drank. The emus drank. The lizards drank. The ants drank tiny ant-sized drops.

The trees lifted their leaves. The birds sang.

And Tiddalik?

Tiddalik sat beside the billabong with a much smaller belly. He looked at the animals. Then he looked at the shining water.

“I think,” he said slowly, “I drank too much.”

Kangaroo nodded.

“Water is for everyone.”

Emu nodded.

“Even for little ants.”

Platypus nodded.

“And muddy platypuses.”

Snake smiled.

“And thirsty frogs.”

Tiddalik dipped one toe into the cool water.

“I am sorry,” he said.

Then he took one very small sip.

Just one.

The animals laughed. Tiddalik laughed too.

And from that day on, whenever Tiddalik felt thirsty, he remembered the dry billabong, the worried animals, and clever little Snake.

So he drank carefully.

Sip.

And he always left enough water for everyone else.