A Boy Who Became A Frog and Others (Short Stories For Children)

A Boy Who Became A Frog

 “Oh, being a human boy must be the most boring thing in the world,” Cal thought as he rode his little bike up and down the path in front of his cottage. It was a sunny day, but Cal had nothing to do. 

“Why don’t you bring back some berries, so I can make a berry pie today?” Mama called.

Berry pie! Yum! Cal wandered deep into the forest in search of berries, but it was a very hot day and Cal was tired. “Oh, being a human boy must be the most tiring thing in the world,” he thought. 

He walked deeper and deeper into the forest, but then stopped. Something had caught his eye.

Strangely, the first thing Cal saw was not the witch in billowing black robes nor the owl that perched upon her shoulder, but the tiny green frog by his feet. 

It was a marvelous frog, quite vivid in shade like the outside of a lime, and with big, starry eyes. 

“What a curious frog,” Cal thought. The witch stepped forwards and raised her wand. 

“You are trespassing in my woods, boy,” she boomed. Lightning crackled in her hair and fire flashed in her eyes, and she was a very terrifying sight.

Naturally, Cal was very frightened. “I’m sorry, Ms. Witch, I didn’t know these were your woods. I’ll get going now.” 

The witch cackled. “Not so fast, boy. For stepping foot in my beloved woods, I shall turn you into a tasty mouse for my owl!” She waved her wand.

“Oh, being a human boy must be the most unfortunate thing in the world,” Cal thought as he ducked away from her spell. 

“I can save you,” a tiny voice murmured as Cal went tumbling to the ground. 

“Yes, please,” Cal cried, and before the witch could cast another spell, there was a bright green flash, a puff of smoke, and Cal was a frog. 

He hopped away into the tall grass as the witch bellowed with anger, and there he hid until she had stormed away, owl and all. 

“Oh no, I can’t be a frog,” he moaned. “I must go back to Mama and Papa before sunset so they won’t worry!” 

Another frog came hopping up to him. It was the curious green frog from earlier! “I thought you didn’t want to be a human boy any longer,” he said. 

“Are you the one that turned me into a frog? Could you change me back please?” Cal asked hopefully. 

“No, but the shrew lady at the end of the stream can,” the other frog answered. “I can take you there.”

Together, Cal and the magical frog hopped down the stream. Small things were big now, and many things seemed dangerous. Cal jumped over a flower bigger than him and thought sadly, “Oh, what wouldn’t I give to be a human boy again!” 

Finally, they reached the end of the stream where a shrew was sweeping away the leaves from her burrow. 

“Oh Miss Shrew, could you turn me back into a human boy, please?” Cal cried. The shrew lady looked at him with beady black eyes. 

“So, you are a frog. Do you really want to be a human again?” She asked. 

“Oh yes, oh yes! I want to go back to Mama and Papa and ride my little bike and bake berry pies!” He said. 

“Very well,” the shrew lady said, and placed one small paw on his head. There was another green flash, a puff of smoke, and Cal was a human again!

“Thank you,” he said to the tiny shrew, and ran back home as fast as he could. 

That night, as he sat eating berry pie after dinner with Mama and Papa in front of the fireplace, he thought happily, “Oh, being a human boy must be the happiest thing in the world.”

The end. 

Laura the Ladybug 

In a sunny meadow filled with beautiful flowers, lived a little bug named Laura. She was small and looked a bit like a caterpillar, except she had only six legs while caterpillars had ten. She looked a bit like a worm, except she was short and gray while worms were long and pink.  “Oh, I wonder what I am,” she sighed. 

Her friend, a caterpillar named Eliza, said, “I bet you are a caterpillar, like me!” 

“You have ten legs, but I only have six,” Laura pointed out. 

“You’re right,” said Eliza. “But we can still be friends!” 

Her other friend, a worm named Chris, said, “Maybe you are a worm, like me!” 

“You are long and pink, but I am short and gray,” Laura wailed. 

“That’s alright,” Chris said. “We can still be friends.” 

As the days passed, Eliza grew bigger and changed from light green to dark green, while Chris stretched and became even longer. Laura stayed the same. “Why am I not changing? Will I stay a mystery forever?” She said sadly. 

“Don’t worry, you are great just as you are,” Eliza and Chris soothed. 

One day, Eliza wove herself a little cocoon and didn’t come out. 

“What is she doing?” Laura wondered. 

“She’s changing into a butterfly,” Chris told her. “When she comes out, she’ll look different, you’ll see.” 

“Wow,” Laura said. “If she really does change maybe I will weave a cocoon myself!” 

On one beautiful day, Eliza emerged from her cocoon. She had bright yellow wings and could fly around the meadow, greeting all the flowers. 

“You were right Chris! She did change!” Laura said. “And now I shall make myself a cocoon as well!” 

Laura closed her eyes, clenched her fists, and soon, she felt a hard shell start to cover her. “I’m doing it!” She said. 

Soon she was completely covered in a hard cocoon, and there she stayed for three days. On another beautiful day, Laura crawled out of her cocoon, where Eliza and Chris were waiting for her. 

“Wow, Laura, you changed too!” Eliza said. 

And so she had. She had a shiny red shell with pretty black dots, and lacy wings that let her fly among the flowers. 

She was...she was…

“Laura, you’re a ladybug!” Chris cheered. 

And they lived happily ever after, the end.