Palimpsest_Features
9th Feb 2004, 10:16
Chapter Two
The Froggerfly's Adventure
The Hoppopotamus was sitting right in the middle of the room, with a look of panic on his big hippopotamus face and his bunny ears sticking straight up in the air.
"It's all right, Mister Hoppo!" Madeleine said. "We'll have to be more careful, though, and I don't think you should hop around too much until we go back outside." She then looked over the Hoppopotamus's head into the far corner of the room, her eyes narrowing quizzically. "Now what are you doing, peeking out from behind the bookcase, Miss Dragonfly? And where are the Butterfly and the Froggerfly? Why don't you all come out and say hello to my new friend?"
A dragonfly flitted nervously out from behind the bookcase, rich, jewel-like colors dancing around her wings as she flew through the sunlight pouring through the bedroom window. A butterfly with bright blue, pink-spotted wings also emerged from behind the curtains, gliding gracefully over to float alongside her.
Madeleine looked around. "Froggerfly!" she called. "Where are you?"
The Hoppopotamus took a good look around Madeleine's room for the first time, noticing that scenes of forests and rolling countryside were painted on her walls. A shape seemed to materialize out of a group of trees on one wall, and he saw that it was a frog, dark green (like most frogs) but with very exotic-looking red and gold markings. "Sorry," the frog said, in a deep voice, "I was napping." Suddenly, wings lifted from his back, and he flew up to hover with the dragonfly and the butterfly.
"You have wings!" the Hoppopotamus said, amazed. "I've never seen a frog fly before!"
"Of course he has wings," Madeleine said, "he's the Froggerfly. And this, Miss Dragonfly, Miss Butterfly, and Mister Froggerfly, is my new friend, the Hopp…Hoppopotamus."
They all nodded politely to each other in greeting, then, without any warning, Madeleine jumped up in the air and snatched at the Dragonfly.
"I was ready for that," the Dragonfly murmured pleasantly, darting out of her reach just in time. "You won't catch me that easily."
"Nor me!" said the Butterfly, flying in that magical way butterflies often do, seeming to move so smoothly and effortlessly while sharply changing directions with almost every flutter of her wings. If you didn't watch her very carefully, you would almost swear she kept disappearing then reappearing a short distance away from one second to the next, especially when she flew through the sunlight coming through the window.
Madeleine giggled and chased them around, happily whirling and jumping. The Hoppopotamus found himself alone with the Froggerfly momentarily.
"So you're a Froggerfly?" he asked. "I've never heard of one of those before."
"Yes, well, I'm actually the Winged Frog of Bali," the Froggerfly responded, blinking slowly and rumbling in his deep voice, "a place far, far from here. Old Balinese legends still remember my story. Long ago, I was the Prince of Frogs, and I decided one day that I wanted to fly. I was advised by all of the wisest Frogs that this was impossible, but I willed myself into flight right there before them, sprouting these wings and soaring out over the trees and the ocean. The legends say that my flight is a symbolic representation of the Balinese cultural belief that one can do what one wants to do, if one's will is strong enough."
The Hoppopotamus was completely bewildered by all of this. "What?"
The Froggerfly rolled his eyes (which is a very difficult thing for a frog to do). "Never mind. I'm the Froggerfly. I live in Madeleine's room."
By this time, Madeleine had collapsed breathlessly to the floor, either because she had worn herself out chasing the Butterfly and Dragonfly around, or because she was giggling too hard to remain standing. The Butterfly and Dragonfly alighted on her tummy, and this made her giggle even more.
She finally stopped giggling, then popped up into a sitting position. "Oh, Mister Froggerfly! Tell me about your adventure last night!"
"Adventure?" the Hoppopotamus said.
"Yes, yes! On some nights, the Froggerfly flies right out the window, and he goes on exciting adventures. He tells me about them when he comes back."
The Froggerfly nodded and dropped to the ground, landing next to Madeleine. "That's right, Miss Madeleine," he rumbled, "I have a very exciting adventure to tell you about—so exciting that I only managed to get home just before you woke up this morning."
Madeleine's eyes went wide. "Wow," she said, "that must have been a big adventure."
"Where did you go?" the Hoppopotamus asked.
The Froggerfly blinked slowly and made himself comfortable. "Sit down, Mister Hoppopotamus, and I'll tell you."
The Hoppopotamus plopped down on the floor with Madeleine, while the Butterfly and the Dragonfly flew over to sit on her shoulder, and the Froggerfly began his story.
"As I looked outside last night, I immediately could see that something was wrong. The Moon should have been just over the top of that big birch tree right outside of the window, where it usually is, but it wasn't there. The night-time is a very dark place without the Moon, you know…"
Madeleine nodded, looking slightly frightened, and she scooted closer to the Hoppopotamus.
"…so I decided to visit Madame Moon to see what was wrong."
"Wait," the Hoppopotamus cut in, "did you say ‘Madame Moon'? I thought the Moon was a man—you know, Man in the Moon and all that?"
"Oh yes, that's her boyfriend. He often visits her and they take walks together, and he likes to look at the Earth while they're walking. That's why we can see his face sometimes. Trust me, I was just there last night, and Madame Moon most definitely is a she."
"But how did you get there?" Madeleine asked. "Isn't the Moon terribly far away?"
The Froggerfly smiled gently, or at least I think it was a smile. It's hard to tell with frogs, really. "It is far away, Miss Madeleine, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let me tell the story."
"OK, Mister Froggerfly," Madeleine said, "but I do hope you fixed the Moon in the end."
The Froggerfly continued. "So, as I said, I decided to visit Madame Moon. Now, as Madeleine has suggested, the Moon is very, very far away, and you need some help getting there, especially if you want to be back home in time for breakfast. Fortunately, the Wind was out that night, and he was full of energy, whipping the tree branches fiercely about.
"'Master Wind,' I called out to him, and he stopped blowing for a moment to settle in front of my window.
"'Prince'—that's the name by which he had known me, many years ago—'you are a long way from home, are you not? It is good to see you.'
"'This is my home now,' I told him, 'and it is good to see you, too. I see you are well-rested, Master Wind, for your gales are quite strong tonight. I am hoping to visit the Moon, because it seems that something is wrong with her. Might you help me?'
"'Yes,' he replied, 'I have noticed that Madame Moon is missing. I am strong enough this evening to deliver you to her. I hope you can solve her problems, whatever they may be, for the night is a dreary place without her.'
"'I will do my best,' I said, flying out beyond the trees into the open air, so he could blow me to the Moon without smashing me against the tree branches, 'and thank you, Master Wind.' It's very important to be polite to the Wind and to the other elements—don't ever forget that. They are very old and very strong, and they also are wild, and they are capable of terrible things when they are upset. If you respect them, though, you usually will be all right."
Madeleine shuddered. "I don't think I ever want to talk to Master Wind," she muttered to the Hoppopotamus. He nodded gravely.
"So," the Froggerfly continued, "Master Wind blew me high into the sky, faster than I had ever flown before. Up and up I went, heading for the place above the birch tree where Madame Moon should have been. As I left the Earth and reached Outer Space, I could see something that looked like a shadow in front of me, with a faint glow behind it. I flew closer and closer to the shadow, and suddenly the shadow turned, and I saw that it was a monstrous Dragon, lying directly between the Moon and the Earth."
"Oh no!" Madeleine said, scooting even closer to the Hoppopotamus. "A dragon?"
"A dragon in Outer Space?" the Hoppopotamus said, looking nervous but skeptical. "Are you sure? I thought they lived on the Earth in caves or something, or on mountains—not in Space."
"Not this one," the Froggerfly said, shaking his head, "he was much too big to live on the Earth. In fact, he was as big as our entire planet—that's how he was able to block out all of the Moon's light.
"So, the Dragon turned toward me as I approached him. 'What manner of creature are you?' he asked, glaring, with wisps of smoke pouring out of his mouth and nose. I was more than a little bit frightened, I don't mind telling you. I was flying very quickly on the wind, though, and I knew if I could keep from annoying him for just a few seconds more, I would be safely past him.
"'I'm a Froggerfly,' I said, as inoffensively as possible, hoping not to upset him.
"'Hmmm!' he snorted, a small blast of flames escaping from his mouth. 'Well don't you bother me, Froggerfly, or I'll turn you into a Cajun delicacy. I'm getting a lovely moontan at the moment.'
"A moontan?" Madeleine cut in. "Is that like a suntan?"
"Yes," the Froggerfly replied, "Dragons don't like suntans, you see, because the fires inside them already make them so hot. They much prefer moontans."
He cleared his throat before he continued, and the Hoppopotamus leaned over to whisper to Madeleine while they were waiting. "What's a Cajun delicacy?" he asked. Madeleine shrugged her shoulders.
"So," the Froggerfly said, "the Dragon told me that he was getting a moontan, and then the wind carried me away from him.
"By now, Madame Moon was in plain sight, and what a welcome sight she was after all that darkness the Dragon had caused. I knew we had a serious problem, though, because the Earth needed her light, and the Dragon hadn't seemed inclined to move any time soon.
"'Greetings, Prince of Frogs, or Froggerfly, as you now are known,' Madame Moon said as I reached her. 'It has been long since we last met.'
"'Hello, Madame Moon, it has been a long time, and it is a pleasure to see you, too,' I replied. 'You look absolutely lovely, as always.'
"'Thank you,' she replied, curtseying gracefully. The Moon does everything gracefully you know—very elegant, very understated…not at all like the Sun, who tends to be a little more flashy.
"I asked her if the Man in the Moon—or Fred, his real name—"
"Fred?" the Hoppopotamus said. "The Man in the Moon's name is Fred? That's not a very distinguished name for someone as important as the Man in the Moon, is it?"
The Froggerfly blinked slowly at the Hoppopotamus, clearly growing impatient with his audience's continued interruptions. "I don't know what makes a name distinguished in your eyes," he said, "but in any case, you'll have to take the issue up with his parents the next time you see them. Now, may I get on with the story?"
The Hoppopotamus seemed embarrassed and nodded.
"Thank you. I asked the Moon if Fred was around, and she said that he had gone out for a walk. He had been very troubled that he couldn't see the Earth on their most recent walk together, and he had gone out on his own to figure out what the problem was.
"'A Dragon,' I told her. 'I met him on the way here—most unpleasant, quite large, and quite settled. He's sitting directly between you and the Earth, and none of your light is getting through to us. That's why I came to visit, actually.'
"'Oh dear,' she said, 'a Dragon? I do hope Fred is careful with him. Did the Dragon say why he was there?'
"'Getting a moontan, apparently.'
"'And none of my light is getting through?'
"'None,' I replied. 'It's very dark and dreary on the Earth tonight.'
"Just then, the Man in the Moon returned from his walk. 'We have a problem,' he said.
"'Yes, a Dragon--the Froggerfly already has told me,' said the Moon.
"'Oh, hiya Froggerfly, how are you?' Fred asked. 'So you met the Dragon on your way up?'
"'Yes, that's right Fred, I even spoke to him briefly—he said he was getting a lovely moontan.'
"'Moontan, yes, he mentioned that to me, as well. I asked if there was any chance that he might clear off, and he told me that he still had to flip over and tan his other side. I don't think he's going anywhere soon.'
"'This is a real problem,' the Moon said. 'Froggerfly says that none of my light is getting through to the Earth. We're going to have to move him somehow.'
"'Easier said than done,' Fred said. 'He's huge, and he doesn't want to go anywhere, and there are those flames to deal with, too.'
"'Well, we'll have to think of something,' the Moon replied firmly, and we all sat down to think.
"As we were thinking, I looked back out in the direction of the Dragon, and the hidden Earth beyond him, and I saw something sparkling in the distance. It was just off to the left of where the Dragon would have been and was moving in his direction.
"'What is that, Madame Moon?' I asked, pointing it out to her.
"'Oh, that's a shooting star,' she said.
"Suddenly, I had a plan. 'Do either of you have an extraordinarily large rope?' I asked.
"'Why yes, as a matter of fact, I do,' Fred said. 'I found it years and years ago, and I have kept it, figuring I might find some use for it some day.'
"I immediately flew up into the air. 'Excellent—bring it with you, and let's go.'
"The Moon seemed to have guessed at my plan, and she smiled at me. 'I wish you the best of fortune, Froggerfly,' she said, 'and, to speed you on your way, I have kept the wind you flew in on, and now you can ride it back.'
"I hadn't thought of the problem of flying all that way back to the Earth, so I was glad that she had held on to the wind for me. We said our good-byes, then she opened her hands and released the wind. Fred and I, carrying Fred's extraordinarily large rope, rode the wind swiftly back toward the Dragon and the shooting star.
"As we closed in, we saw that the shooting star had drawn even with the Dragon and now was passing him. 'Quickly,' I said to Fred, 'give me the rope.' He handed it to me, and I tied a knot in one end and threw it over one of the points of the shooting star.
"By this time, the Dragon had spotted us. 'What are you doing?' he asked us, sounding quite annoyed. Flames flared from his nostrils, and I knew we were treading on dangerous ground.
"'Er…just trying to pull this shooting star out of your way,' I said. 'We thought it might be bothering you.'
"'It certainly is,' he replied, lashing his tail in a very ill-tempered fashion. 'It's interfering with my moontan, and it's making me QUITE HOT!' A blast of fire erupted from his mouth, as if to prove his point.
"By this time, he was glaring at us pretty steadily, and the wind almost had blown us past him. I knew we had to move quickly. I tied the loose end of the rope into another knot and handed it to Fred, then flew a little distance away from him.
"The dragon eyed me suspiciously as I flew. 'Here, what are you playing at?' he growled. 'Look, I'm not in the best of moods…'
"'What's that?' I said suddenly, pointing over his shoulder. As he turned to look, I shouted, 'Throw it over his head, Fred!'
"Fred threw the knot perfectly over the dragon's head so that it slipped down his neck, and he immediately ran away, stepping off the wind to race back toward the Moon. The Dragon was furious and let out a huge burst of flames as the shooting star began to drag him away.
"'Where are you, Froglegs?' he bellowed, twisting violently to try to find me. By that point, I prudently had begun to fly as quickly as I could along the wind…"
"Froglegs?" Madeleine cut in. "What's that?"
"It's a Cajun delicacy. So, I flew away as quickly as I could along the wind, and I escaped, getting back home just in time for breakfast."
"Hooray!" Madeleine said, jumping off the ground and hugging the Hoppopotamus. The Dragonfly and the Butterfly also leaped from Madeleine's shoulders and flew happily in circles around each other. "So did you fix the Moon, then?"
"Yes, yes," the Froggerfly nodded, "the Moon is fixed. Well, rather, the problem with the Moon is being fixed as we speak. The Dragon is very big, as I told you, and the shooting star is dragging him out of the way very slowly. We should be able to see a little bit of the Moon tonight, and then a little more tomorrow night, and the next night, and so on, until all of the Moon's light reaches us again."
"Hooray!" Madeleine said again, clapping. The Hoppopotamus was beaming happily, too, and the Dragonfly and the Butterfly seemed unable to stop flying around each other for joy. "That might have been your best adventure yet, Froggerfly, or at least your most important one. But it has worn me out—I think it's time for a nap."
They all agreed, and Madeleine, the Froggerfly, the Dragonfly, and the Butterfly all settled into her bed to sleep. The Hoppopotamus wouldn't fit on the bed, but he didn't mind; he sat down next to the bed and leaned back on it, and they all dozed off to visions of bright, silvery moonlight dancing through windswept trees.
.
The Froggerfly's Adventure
The Hoppopotamus was sitting right in the middle of the room, with a look of panic on his big hippopotamus face and his bunny ears sticking straight up in the air.
"It's all right, Mister Hoppo!" Madeleine said. "We'll have to be more careful, though, and I don't think you should hop around too much until we go back outside." She then looked over the Hoppopotamus's head into the far corner of the room, her eyes narrowing quizzically. "Now what are you doing, peeking out from behind the bookcase, Miss Dragonfly? And where are the Butterfly and the Froggerfly? Why don't you all come out and say hello to my new friend?"
A dragonfly flitted nervously out from behind the bookcase, rich, jewel-like colors dancing around her wings as she flew through the sunlight pouring through the bedroom window. A butterfly with bright blue, pink-spotted wings also emerged from behind the curtains, gliding gracefully over to float alongside her.
Madeleine looked around. "Froggerfly!" she called. "Where are you?"
The Hoppopotamus took a good look around Madeleine's room for the first time, noticing that scenes of forests and rolling countryside were painted on her walls. A shape seemed to materialize out of a group of trees on one wall, and he saw that it was a frog, dark green (like most frogs) but with very exotic-looking red and gold markings. "Sorry," the frog said, in a deep voice, "I was napping." Suddenly, wings lifted from his back, and he flew up to hover with the dragonfly and the butterfly.
"You have wings!" the Hoppopotamus said, amazed. "I've never seen a frog fly before!"
"Of course he has wings," Madeleine said, "he's the Froggerfly. And this, Miss Dragonfly, Miss Butterfly, and Mister Froggerfly, is my new friend, the Hopp…Hoppopotamus."
They all nodded politely to each other in greeting, then, without any warning, Madeleine jumped up in the air and snatched at the Dragonfly.
"I was ready for that," the Dragonfly murmured pleasantly, darting out of her reach just in time. "You won't catch me that easily."
"Nor me!" said the Butterfly, flying in that magical way butterflies often do, seeming to move so smoothly and effortlessly while sharply changing directions with almost every flutter of her wings. If you didn't watch her very carefully, you would almost swear she kept disappearing then reappearing a short distance away from one second to the next, especially when she flew through the sunlight coming through the window.
Madeleine giggled and chased them around, happily whirling and jumping. The Hoppopotamus found himself alone with the Froggerfly momentarily.
"So you're a Froggerfly?" he asked. "I've never heard of one of those before."
"Yes, well, I'm actually the Winged Frog of Bali," the Froggerfly responded, blinking slowly and rumbling in his deep voice, "a place far, far from here. Old Balinese legends still remember my story. Long ago, I was the Prince of Frogs, and I decided one day that I wanted to fly. I was advised by all of the wisest Frogs that this was impossible, but I willed myself into flight right there before them, sprouting these wings and soaring out over the trees and the ocean. The legends say that my flight is a symbolic representation of the Balinese cultural belief that one can do what one wants to do, if one's will is strong enough."
The Hoppopotamus was completely bewildered by all of this. "What?"
The Froggerfly rolled his eyes (which is a very difficult thing for a frog to do). "Never mind. I'm the Froggerfly. I live in Madeleine's room."
By this time, Madeleine had collapsed breathlessly to the floor, either because she had worn herself out chasing the Butterfly and Dragonfly around, or because she was giggling too hard to remain standing. The Butterfly and Dragonfly alighted on her tummy, and this made her giggle even more.
She finally stopped giggling, then popped up into a sitting position. "Oh, Mister Froggerfly! Tell me about your adventure last night!"
"Adventure?" the Hoppopotamus said.
"Yes, yes! On some nights, the Froggerfly flies right out the window, and he goes on exciting adventures. He tells me about them when he comes back."
The Froggerfly nodded and dropped to the ground, landing next to Madeleine. "That's right, Miss Madeleine," he rumbled, "I have a very exciting adventure to tell you about—so exciting that I only managed to get home just before you woke up this morning."
Madeleine's eyes went wide. "Wow," she said, "that must have been a big adventure."
"Where did you go?" the Hoppopotamus asked.
The Froggerfly blinked slowly and made himself comfortable. "Sit down, Mister Hoppopotamus, and I'll tell you."
The Hoppopotamus plopped down on the floor with Madeleine, while the Butterfly and the Dragonfly flew over to sit on her shoulder, and the Froggerfly began his story.
"As I looked outside last night, I immediately could see that something was wrong. The Moon should have been just over the top of that big birch tree right outside of the window, where it usually is, but it wasn't there. The night-time is a very dark place without the Moon, you know…"
Madeleine nodded, looking slightly frightened, and she scooted closer to the Hoppopotamus.
"…so I decided to visit Madame Moon to see what was wrong."
"Wait," the Hoppopotamus cut in, "did you say ‘Madame Moon'? I thought the Moon was a man—you know, Man in the Moon and all that?"
"Oh yes, that's her boyfriend. He often visits her and they take walks together, and he likes to look at the Earth while they're walking. That's why we can see his face sometimes. Trust me, I was just there last night, and Madame Moon most definitely is a she."
"But how did you get there?" Madeleine asked. "Isn't the Moon terribly far away?"
The Froggerfly smiled gently, or at least I think it was a smile. It's hard to tell with frogs, really. "It is far away, Miss Madeleine, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let me tell the story."
"OK, Mister Froggerfly," Madeleine said, "but I do hope you fixed the Moon in the end."
The Froggerfly continued. "So, as I said, I decided to visit Madame Moon. Now, as Madeleine has suggested, the Moon is very, very far away, and you need some help getting there, especially if you want to be back home in time for breakfast. Fortunately, the Wind was out that night, and he was full of energy, whipping the tree branches fiercely about.
"'Master Wind,' I called out to him, and he stopped blowing for a moment to settle in front of my window.
"'Prince'—that's the name by which he had known me, many years ago—'you are a long way from home, are you not? It is good to see you.'
"'This is my home now,' I told him, 'and it is good to see you, too. I see you are well-rested, Master Wind, for your gales are quite strong tonight. I am hoping to visit the Moon, because it seems that something is wrong with her. Might you help me?'
"'Yes,' he replied, 'I have noticed that Madame Moon is missing. I am strong enough this evening to deliver you to her. I hope you can solve her problems, whatever they may be, for the night is a dreary place without her.'
"'I will do my best,' I said, flying out beyond the trees into the open air, so he could blow me to the Moon without smashing me against the tree branches, 'and thank you, Master Wind.' It's very important to be polite to the Wind and to the other elements—don't ever forget that. They are very old and very strong, and they also are wild, and they are capable of terrible things when they are upset. If you respect them, though, you usually will be all right."
Madeleine shuddered. "I don't think I ever want to talk to Master Wind," she muttered to the Hoppopotamus. He nodded gravely.
"So," the Froggerfly continued, "Master Wind blew me high into the sky, faster than I had ever flown before. Up and up I went, heading for the place above the birch tree where Madame Moon should have been. As I left the Earth and reached Outer Space, I could see something that looked like a shadow in front of me, with a faint glow behind it. I flew closer and closer to the shadow, and suddenly the shadow turned, and I saw that it was a monstrous Dragon, lying directly between the Moon and the Earth."
"Oh no!" Madeleine said, scooting even closer to the Hoppopotamus. "A dragon?"
"A dragon in Outer Space?" the Hoppopotamus said, looking nervous but skeptical. "Are you sure? I thought they lived on the Earth in caves or something, or on mountains—not in Space."
"Not this one," the Froggerfly said, shaking his head, "he was much too big to live on the Earth. In fact, he was as big as our entire planet—that's how he was able to block out all of the Moon's light.
"So, the Dragon turned toward me as I approached him. 'What manner of creature are you?' he asked, glaring, with wisps of smoke pouring out of his mouth and nose. I was more than a little bit frightened, I don't mind telling you. I was flying very quickly on the wind, though, and I knew if I could keep from annoying him for just a few seconds more, I would be safely past him.
"'I'm a Froggerfly,' I said, as inoffensively as possible, hoping not to upset him.
"'Hmmm!' he snorted, a small blast of flames escaping from his mouth. 'Well don't you bother me, Froggerfly, or I'll turn you into a Cajun delicacy. I'm getting a lovely moontan at the moment.'
"A moontan?" Madeleine cut in. "Is that like a suntan?"
"Yes," the Froggerfly replied, "Dragons don't like suntans, you see, because the fires inside them already make them so hot. They much prefer moontans."
He cleared his throat before he continued, and the Hoppopotamus leaned over to whisper to Madeleine while they were waiting. "What's a Cajun delicacy?" he asked. Madeleine shrugged her shoulders.
"So," the Froggerfly said, "the Dragon told me that he was getting a moontan, and then the wind carried me away from him.
"By now, Madame Moon was in plain sight, and what a welcome sight she was after all that darkness the Dragon had caused. I knew we had a serious problem, though, because the Earth needed her light, and the Dragon hadn't seemed inclined to move any time soon.
"'Greetings, Prince of Frogs, or Froggerfly, as you now are known,' Madame Moon said as I reached her. 'It has been long since we last met.'
"'Hello, Madame Moon, it has been a long time, and it is a pleasure to see you, too,' I replied. 'You look absolutely lovely, as always.'
"'Thank you,' she replied, curtseying gracefully. The Moon does everything gracefully you know—very elegant, very understated…not at all like the Sun, who tends to be a little more flashy.
"I asked her if the Man in the Moon—or Fred, his real name—"
"Fred?" the Hoppopotamus said. "The Man in the Moon's name is Fred? That's not a very distinguished name for someone as important as the Man in the Moon, is it?"
The Froggerfly blinked slowly at the Hoppopotamus, clearly growing impatient with his audience's continued interruptions. "I don't know what makes a name distinguished in your eyes," he said, "but in any case, you'll have to take the issue up with his parents the next time you see them. Now, may I get on with the story?"
The Hoppopotamus seemed embarrassed and nodded.
"Thank you. I asked the Moon if Fred was around, and she said that he had gone out for a walk. He had been very troubled that he couldn't see the Earth on their most recent walk together, and he had gone out on his own to figure out what the problem was.
"'A Dragon,' I told her. 'I met him on the way here—most unpleasant, quite large, and quite settled. He's sitting directly between you and the Earth, and none of your light is getting through to us. That's why I came to visit, actually.'
"'Oh dear,' she said, 'a Dragon? I do hope Fred is careful with him. Did the Dragon say why he was there?'
"'Getting a moontan, apparently.'
"'And none of my light is getting through?'
"'None,' I replied. 'It's very dark and dreary on the Earth tonight.'
"Just then, the Man in the Moon returned from his walk. 'We have a problem,' he said.
"'Yes, a Dragon--the Froggerfly already has told me,' said the Moon.
"'Oh, hiya Froggerfly, how are you?' Fred asked. 'So you met the Dragon on your way up?'
"'Yes, that's right Fred, I even spoke to him briefly—he said he was getting a lovely moontan.'
"'Moontan, yes, he mentioned that to me, as well. I asked if there was any chance that he might clear off, and he told me that he still had to flip over and tan his other side. I don't think he's going anywhere soon.'
"'This is a real problem,' the Moon said. 'Froggerfly says that none of my light is getting through to the Earth. We're going to have to move him somehow.'
"'Easier said than done,' Fred said. 'He's huge, and he doesn't want to go anywhere, and there are those flames to deal with, too.'
"'Well, we'll have to think of something,' the Moon replied firmly, and we all sat down to think.
"As we were thinking, I looked back out in the direction of the Dragon, and the hidden Earth beyond him, and I saw something sparkling in the distance. It was just off to the left of where the Dragon would have been and was moving in his direction.
"'What is that, Madame Moon?' I asked, pointing it out to her.
"'Oh, that's a shooting star,' she said.
"Suddenly, I had a plan. 'Do either of you have an extraordinarily large rope?' I asked.
"'Why yes, as a matter of fact, I do,' Fred said. 'I found it years and years ago, and I have kept it, figuring I might find some use for it some day.'
"I immediately flew up into the air. 'Excellent—bring it with you, and let's go.'
"The Moon seemed to have guessed at my plan, and she smiled at me. 'I wish you the best of fortune, Froggerfly,' she said, 'and, to speed you on your way, I have kept the wind you flew in on, and now you can ride it back.'
"I hadn't thought of the problem of flying all that way back to the Earth, so I was glad that she had held on to the wind for me. We said our good-byes, then she opened her hands and released the wind. Fred and I, carrying Fred's extraordinarily large rope, rode the wind swiftly back toward the Dragon and the shooting star.
"As we closed in, we saw that the shooting star had drawn even with the Dragon and now was passing him. 'Quickly,' I said to Fred, 'give me the rope.' He handed it to me, and I tied a knot in one end and threw it over one of the points of the shooting star.
"By this time, the Dragon had spotted us. 'What are you doing?' he asked us, sounding quite annoyed. Flames flared from his nostrils, and I knew we were treading on dangerous ground.
"'Er…just trying to pull this shooting star out of your way,' I said. 'We thought it might be bothering you.'
"'It certainly is,' he replied, lashing his tail in a very ill-tempered fashion. 'It's interfering with my moontan, and it's making me QUITE HOT!' A blast of fire erupted from his mouth, as if to prove his point.
"By this time, he was glaring at us pretty steadily, and the wind almost had blown us past him. I knew we had to move quickly. I tied the loose end of the rope into another knot and handed it to Fred, then flew a little distance away from him.
"The dragon eyed me suspiciously as I flew. 'Here, what are you playing at?' he growled. 'Look, I'm not in the best of moods…'
"'What's that?' I said suddenly, pointing over his shoulder. As he turned to look, I shouted, 'Throw it over his head, Fred!'
"Fred threw the knot perfectly over the dragon's head so that it slipped down his neck, and he immediately ran away, stepping off the wind to race back toward the Moon. The Dragon was furious and let out a huge burst of flames as the shooting star began to drag him away.
"'Where are you, Froglegs?' he bellowed, twisting violently to try to find me. By that point, I prudently had begun to fly as quickly as I could along the wind…"
"Froglegs?" Madeleine cut in. "What's that?"
"It's a Cajun delicacy. So, I flew away as quickly as I could along the wind, and I escaped, getting back home just in time for breakfast."
"Hooray!" Madeleine said, jumping off the ground and hugging the Hoppopotamus. The Dragonfly and the Butterfly also leaped from Madeleine's shoulders and flew happily in circles around each other. "So did you fix the Moon, then?"
"Yes, yes," the Froggerfly nodded, "the Moon is fixed. Well, rather, the problem with the Moon is being fixed as we speak. The Dragon is very big, as I told you, and the shooting star is dragging him out of the way very slowly. We should be able to see a little bit of the Moon tonight, and then a little more tomorrow night, and the next night, and so on, until all of the Moon's light reaches us again."
"Hooray!" Madeleine said again, clapping. The Hoppopotamus was beaming happily, too, and the Dragonfly and the Butterfly seemed unable to stop flying around each other for joy. "That might have been your best adventure yet, Froggerfly, or at least your most important one. But it has worn me out—I think it's time for a nap."
They all agreed, and Madeleine, the Froggerfly, the Dragonfly, and the Butterfly all settled into her bed to sleep. The Hoppopotamus wouldn't fit on the bed, but he didn't mind; he sat down next to the bed and leaned back on it, and they all dozed off to visions of bright, silvery moonlight dancing through windswept trees.
.