Other Stories by Lucetta Gibbon

The Rainbow Frogs

I located the frogs and tried to persuade them to leave the rainbow. But the frogs had no intention of leaving and had in fact spawned many tadpoles there.

I soon saw though, to the consternation of the frogs, the tadpoles rebelled and transferred their living arrangements to the edge of a mountain glacier.

I believed Tessa was secretly spying for the frogs and wasn't concerned at all. I have decided to mount a vigil from the summit of the mountain to make sure.

The tadpoles soon discovered us and appealed to the amphibian community for help and protection. The salamanders came to their rescue and quickly constructed a white hulled speedboat big enough for them all.

The tadpoles looked back at Tessa and I through misty eyes as they sped off with the salamanders. Would we ever see them again? 

I searched far and wide for the tadpoles, but the salamanders had hidden them well. Tess and the frogs looked for them too, but left a guard at the rainbow, so I couldn't take it for myself.

The situation was getting complicated. I went back to the rainbow, but Tessa and the frogs continued to thwart me at every turn. This colour preserving arc is a prize beyond imagining, but the frogs wouldn't give it up.

Every time I approached them, the frogs would ring the end of the rainbow *booing* and *hissing* at me. This unnerving sound from frogs kept me at bay. Tessa had obviously told  them of my weaknesses.

Instead I followed every frog who left camp thinking they would lead me to the missing tadpoles. One day I spotted a single green frog meet half a dozen salamanders in the road below my vantage point.

They soon set off together and I followed behind. They were swimming now and fast too, so I commandeered a hovercraft and followed behind. I lost them at the entrance to a cave off the coast of Sandwick, Orkney.

After scouring the coastline, I eventually discovered the noise of chattering from the inside of a cave near Yesnaby. It had to be the salamanders. I tied the hovercraft to an obliging rock and headed in.

Deep inside the cave I finally caught sight of the salamanders. I couldn't believed what I saw. Instead of protecting the tadpoles, they were selling them to puffins! The puffins flew past me carrying little pouches of tadpoles. I felt sick. 

I hitched a ride on a sea-eagle and followed the puffins to Stromness. When I caught up I saw they were selling the tadpoles to schoolchildren for projects. The schoolchildren paid them with rubies and the puffins flew away smiling. 

The tadpoles were growing and had sprouted legs which they used to jump away from the schoolchildren. I caught their attention and offered to take them home to the rainbow. Most of them agreed and jumped on the back of the sea-eagle. 

A minke whale had towed my hovercraft to the Old Man of Hoy and hollered across the Flow to tell me. Once aboard we sped across the sea to the land of the frogs. I knew what I had to do now and Tessa was not going to stop me this time. 

We arrived in the land of the frogs just before midnight. With no way to find the rainbow, the tadpoles and I set up camp in the centre of a giant daisy. While the sea-eagle kept watch, we slept until dawn.

The next morning we said ta-ra to the sea-eagle and set off to find the rainbow. The tadpoles knew the way home now. They had had enough of adventure after encountering the sneaky salamanders. I warned them to be on their guard. This reunion was not going to be easy. 

At midday, we stopped at a pool to have a swim. I scouted around the perimeter. From the top of a sycamore tree I finally saw the rainbow. I raced down to the pool, only to find Tessa gathering up the last of the tadpoles and running off towards the end of the rainbow. 

I cobbled together a rudimentary mountain bike and raced after her. Too late. By the time I got to the rainbow, the tadpoles were being welcomed back by their parents and Tessa was triumphantly standing amidst them grinning at me. 

Once more they *booed* and *hissed* at me, so I retreated to a safe distance. From my vantage point that evening I could hear the frog party in full swing. I couldn't think what to do next. I had been thwarted again.

The next morning I awoke to the sound of frogs, not at a distance, but all around me. I scrambled to my feet and looked around. They were all there, the tadpoles too. I couldn't believe it. "You can't have the rainbow!" they all said at once. I took an involuntary step backwards. 

"BUT!" the frogs interjected. "As a reward for rescuing the tadpoles, you can have five minutes in the rainbow. "What will that do?" I asked. "You'll see" said the frogs, and led me down to the centre of the valley. I'd never been this close to a rainbow before.

As we approached the centre the light refracted into many colours which surrounded us. I stood in the centre and bathed in the light. I'd never felt so calm and grounded. It was amazing. "Time's up" shouted the frogs and ushered me out with splayed green hands. "What?"

"What? Is that it? I said. "Five minutes is five minutes. Time's up" the frogs said. When I walked out of the rainbow, I didn't feel like fighting any more. I felt at peace. I thanked the frogs and said 'cheerio' to the tadpoles, glad they were safe. Time for me to go home. 

Back at the pool Tessa was there, still grinning. "Look in the pool", she said. I looked at my reflection. My hair was a myriad of colours held in a golden headband. "I got the same" said Tessa and took off her hat. I grinned back at her and we went home together. 

THE END

Written on Twitter entirely tweet to tweet in April during the 2020 Coronavirus Lockdown