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Swamp Call
- Thread starter TogetherAgain
- Start date
TogetherAgain
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Chapter ten
“Thanks for the ride, Wilson!” Kermit called to the man in the truck. “Tell Mary and Pilgrim I say hi!”
“I sure will!” Wilson called back. “Welcome home, Mr. Frog!”
“Wilson, I’ve told you before, you can call me Kermit!” the frog said.
“Sure thing, Mr. Frog!” Wilson said.
Kermit watched the truck drive back down the dusty road, and turned to Maggie and Robin. “Ready?”
Maggie pretended to be bored. “We’ve been ready, Mit!” she said with a devious twinkle in her eye. “You take so long to talk.”
Kermit shook his head and led them into the marsh grasses. “Hi ho everyone!” he called into the swamp.
He was instantly bombarded by a dozen young frogs. “UNCLE KERMIT! UNCLE KERMIT!” they shouted as they ran to him, hopping all over him, attaching themselves to his legs. “UNCLE KERMIT! UNCLE KERMIT!”
“Uncle Kermit, I can hop REALLY high now!”
“Uncle Kermit, I can swim faster than Kelly!”
“No you can’t! I’m still faster than her, Uncle Kermit!”
“Uncle Kermit, did you bring us anything?”
“What’d you bring us, Uncle Kermit?”
“Can you tell us a story, Uncle Kermit?”
“Uncle Kermit, I know how to spell my name!”
Kermit laughed, trying to greet all of them.
“UNCLE KERMIT’S HERE!” someone shouted. Within seconds, Kermit found himself surrounded by almost a hundred young frogs, all shouting to him.
“Can’t I even get past the marsh grasses?” he asked loudly. They immediately ushered him into the swamp, with Maggie and Robin close behind.
“Hey, look who the wind blew in,” a familiar voice said.
“Croaker!” Kermit lightly slapped his friend on the back. “How are ya?”
“Can’t complain, Kermit,” Croaker said. “How’s show business?”
“Like no business I know,” Kermit said. He felt a tap on his leg.
“Uncle Kermit! Listen!”
“I’m listening, Tate, I’m listening,” Kermit said as he sat down and let himself be flooded by all that his nieces and nephews had to tell him.
Maggie folded her arms across her chest. “Croaker, don’t I get a hello?” she said with a devious twinkle in her eye.
“Of course you get a hello, Maggie,” Croaker said as he snaked an arm around her waist and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She smiled and hugged him.
“ROBIN! There you are!” A young blue frog shouted.
“Hi Ed!” Robin shouted back.
Ed grabbed Robin’s hand. “We built a new fort! Come see! It’s GREAT!” Robin happily followed.
“Uncle Kermit! Uncle Kermit!” a little frog said, “I can count to twenty!”
“Let’s hear it, Rachel,” Kermit said.
Rachel stood up straight. “One two three four five six seven eight nine ten... twelve, fifteen, nineteen... um...” she looked down, ashamed.
Kermit patted her on the back. “That's a really great start, Rachel,” he said. “We’ll work on that.” She smiled up at him.
A younger frog pushed his way to Kermit’s side. “Unca Kermid, I catched my fiwst fwy today!” he said.
“You caught your first fly today?” Kermit repeated. “Wow, that’s great, Kyle! Congratulations!”
A gravelly voice shouted out, “ROBIN!”
Robin looked up. “HI DAD!” he shouted as he hopped over to the frog.
Kermit looked up to see his brother and his nephew hugging each other close. He smiled. It was good to be home.
As they got off the bus, Scooter, Rowlf, and Clifford watched Miss Piggy storm into the boarding house and slam the door behind her.
“Alright,” Clifford said, “Which lucky victim gets to try to calm her down?”
They were silent. This was one of Kermit’s responsibilities that was conveniently omitted from the job description.
“I guess I can try,” Rowlf said, and he went inside.
Miss Piggy was already upstairs. She was going to her room, but she stopped at Kermit’s door instead. She glanced inside and went to walk past, but something caught her eye.
It was Kermit’s banjo, leaning up in the corner, with no frog home to play it.
It didn’t take long for Kermit to find who he was looking for. Towards the center of the swamp there was a rock slab, with a tiny fire burning beneath a pot three times the size of anything the Swedish Chef used. The elderly lady frog was by herself, stirring the pot, and enjoying a moment of solitude. Kermit stood a few feet behind her, leaned against a log, and took a good deep breath.
“Mm,” he said. “Centipede and barley soup.”
“One of your favorites, isn’t it?” the elderly lady frog said. She turned around and smiled at him. “Welcome home, Kermit.”
He smiled back at her. “Hi Mom.”
She turned back to the soup. “Do you have a hug for your mother?” she asked in her forever-gentle voice.
He was already next to her. “Of course, Mom,” he said. “I always do.”
“Do you?” she said. “It’s hard to tell when you’re far away.”
“I could have gone farther,” he said somewhat apologetically. “I mean it’s not like I left the country. For long, anyway.”
“I know, Kermit, I know,” she said. She squeezed her son close and sighed. “Is this what it takes to get you back home, dear? I should pretend it some time just to make you and Robin come.”
Kermit scrunched up his face. “I’d really rather you didn’t, Mom,” he said.
She stepped back, recognizing a certain tone in his voice. “Have you been worrying, Kermit?” she asked gently as she turned back to the soup.
“No of course not,” he said a little too quickly.
She looked up at him. “Kermit.”
He sighed. “Well maybe a little.”
She shook her head. “No worrying, Kermit,” she said, and she rested a hand on his shoulder. “It is what it is. We’ll just have to do our best with it.”
Rowlf hadn’t seen Miss Piggy in her bedroom, or the bathroom, or the line for the bathroom, or the kitchen, or any other room on the first floor, or anywhere outside. He was starting to worry. He sat down at his piano, trying to think. How could he calm her down if he couldn’t find her? Where was she? Had she left? But no one had seen her go. Then again, no one had seen when he had left, either. If only Kermit was there. Kermit would know what to do. Rowlf needed to think like Kermit. Maybe it would help to be in Kermit’s room. Well, there was no time to lose, so he hurried up the stairs.
He slowed down as he got to Kermit’s room. He could hear... was it... someone crying? He stepped through the door.
Miss Piggy was sitting on the floor in the corner, cradling Kermit’s banjo in her arms, crying. Rowlf watched her for a moment. She didn’t know he was there. Best to use a quiet approach.
He took the box of tissues off of Kermit’s dresser and pulled one out. Then he sat down next to her.
Her eyes flared up at the unknown presence, cooling only slightly when she saw who it was. He held out the tissue. She took it and blew her nose.
“I thought he told you not to worry,” he said quietly.
“I’m doing my best,” she said, “But...” she looked sadly up at him. “Rowlfie, why didn’t he tell us she had cancer ten years ago?”
Rowlf shook his head. “I don’t know, Miss Piggy.” He handed her another tissue. “Maybe he just didn’t want us to worry.”
“Really?” she said as she wiped her tears. “Could it really be just that?”
“It’s possible,” Rowlf said. “Think about it. Ten years ago, we were just getting back on our feet.”
She sniffled. “It feels like... we, we still are.”
“But it’s a lot different,” he said as he handed her another tissue. “Besides, this is probably the first time it doesn’t coincide with vacation time. It’s possible that by the time vacation was over, she was well on the way to recovery.”
“He... he could have still... told us,” she said.
Rowlf shook his head. “I don’t know, Piggy,” he said. “He’s a very private frog.”
“I know,” she whispered. “But... doesn’t he need us?”
“Of course he needs us,” Rowlf said. “Just like we need him, and his family needs him, and he needs them. And right now, what he needs is for us to do our best and go on with the show.”
She didn’t seem to want to agree, but she knew she had to. “Well... alright,” she said. “For Kermie.” She carefully put the banjo back the way she found it. They stood up together and went downstairs for dinner.
I just have to share: this is my 2000th post! Yay! You know it's kind of funny, my 1000th post was chapter ten of Chasing Robin, 2000th post is chapter ten of Swamp Call... hm...
“Thanks for the ride, Wilson!” Kermit called to the man in the truck. “Tell Mary and Pilgrim I say hi!”
“I sure will!” Wilson called back. “Welcome home, Mr. Frog!”
“Wilson, I’ve told you before, you can call me Kermit!” the frog said.
“Sure thing, Mr. Frog!” Wilson said.
Kermit watched the truck drive back down the dusty road, and turned to Maggie and Robin. “Ready?”
Maggie pretended to be bored. “We’ve been ready, Mit!” she said with a devious twinkle in her eye. “You take so long to talk.”
Kermit shook his head and led them into the marsh grasses. “Hi ho everyone!” he called into the swamp.
He was instantly bombarded by a dozen young frogs. “UNCLE KERMIT! UNCLE KERMIT!” they shouted as they ran to him, hopping all over him, attaching themselves to his legs. “UNCLE KERMIT! UNCLE KERMIT!”
“Uncle Kermit, I can hop REALLY high now!”
“Uncle Kermit, I can swim faster than Kelly!”
“No you can’t! I’m still faster than her, Uncle Kermit!”
“Uncle Kermit, did you bring us anything?”
“What’d you bring us, Uncle Kermit?”
“Can you tell us a story, Uncle Kermit?”
“Uncle Kermit, I know how to spell my name!”
Kermit laughed, trying to greet all of them.
“UNCLE KERMIT’S HERE!” someone shouted. Within seconds, Kermit found himself surrounded by almost a hundred young frogs, all shouting to him.
“Can’t I even get past the marsh grasses?” he asked loudly. They immediately ushered him into the swamp, with Maggie and Robin close behind.
“Hey, look who the wind blew in,” a familiar voice said.
“Croaker!” Kermit lightly slapped his friend on the back. “How are ya?”
“Can’t complain, Kermit,” Croaker said. “How’s show business?”
“Like no business I know,” Kermit said. He felt a tap on his leg.
“Uncle Kermit! Listen!”
“I’m listening, Tate, I’m listening,” Kermit said as he sat down and let himself be flooded by all that his nieces and nephews had to tell him.
Maggie folded her arms across her chest. “Croaker, don’t I get a hello?” she said with a devious twinkle in her eye.
“Of course you get a hello, Maggie,” Croaker said as he snaked an arm around her waist and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She smiled and hugged him.
“ROBIN! There you are!” A young blue frog shouted.
“Hi Ed!” Robin shouted back.
Ed grabbed Robin’s hand. “We built a new fort! Come see! It’s GREAT!” Robin happily followed.
“Uncle Kermit! Uncle Kermit!” a little frog said, “I can count to twenty!”
“Let’s hear it, Rachel,” Kermit said.
Rachel stood up straight. “One two three four five six seven eight nine ten... twelve, fifteen, nineteen... um...” she looked down, ashamed.
Kermit patted her on the back. “That's a really great start, Rachel,” he said. “We’ll work on that.” She smiled up at him.
A younger frog pushed his way to Kermit’s side. “Unca Kermid, I catched my fiwst fwy today!” he said.
“You caught your first fly today?” Kermit repeated. “Wow, that’s great, Kyle! Congratulations!”
A gravelly voice shouted out, “ROBIN!”
Robin looked up. “HI DAD!” he shouted as he hopped over to the frog.
Kermit looked up to see his brother and his nephew hugging each other close. He smiled. It was good to be home.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As they got off the bus, Scooter, Rowlf, and Clifford watched Miss Piggy storm into the boarding house and slam the door behind her.
“Alright,” Clifford said, “Which lucky victim gets to try to calm her down?”
They were silent. This was one of Kermit’s responsibilities that was conveniently omitted from the job description.
“I guess I can try,” Rowlf said, and he went inside.
Miss Piggy was already upstairs. She was going to her room, but she stopped at Kermit’s door instead. She glanced inside and went to walk past, but something caught her eye.
It was Kermit’s banjo, leaning up in the corner, with no frog home to play it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It didn’t take long for Kermit to find who he was looking for. Towards the center of the swamp there was a rock slab, with a tiny fire burning beneath a pot three times the size of anything the Swedish Chef used. The elderly lady frog was by herself, stirring the pot, and enjoying a moment of solitude. Kermit stood a few feet behind her, leaned against a log, and took a good deep breath.
“Mm,” he said. “Centipede and barley soup.”
“One of your favorites, isn’t it?” the elderly lady frog said. She turned around and smiled at him. “Welcome home, Kermit.”
He smiled back at her. “Hi Mom.”
She turned back to the soup. “Do you have a hug for your mother?” she asked in her forever-gentle voice.
He was already next to her. “Of course, Mom,” he said. “I always do.”
“Do you?” she said. “It’s hard to tell when you’re far away.”
“I could have gone farther,” he said somewhat apologetically. “I mean it’s not like I left the country. For long, anyway.”
“I know, Kermit, I know,” she said. She squeezed her son close and sighed. “Is this what it takes to get you back home, dear? I should pretend it some time just to make you and Robin come.”
Kermit scrunched up his face. “I’d really rather you didn’t, Mom,” he said.
She stepped back, recognizing a certain tone in his voice. “Have you been worrying, Kermit?” she asked gently as she turned back to the soup.
“No of course not,” he said a little too quickly.
She looked up at him. “Kermit.”
He sighed. “Well maybe a little.”
She shook her head. “No worrying, Kermit,” she said, and she rested a hand on his shoulder. “It is what it is. We’ll just have to do our best with it.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Rowlf hadn’t seen Miss Piggy in her bedroom, or the bathroom, or the line for the bathroom, or the kitchen, or any other room on the first floor, or anywhere outside. He was starting to worry. He sat down at his piano, trying to think. How could he calm her down if he couldn’t find her? Where was she? Had she left? But no one had seen her go. Then again, no one had seen when he had left, either. If only Kermit was there. Kermit would know what to do. Rowlf needed to think like Kermit. Maybe it would help to be in Kermit’s room. Well, there was no time to lose, so he hurried up the stairs.
He slowed down as he got to Kermit’s room. He could hear... was it... someone crying? He stepped through the door.
Miss Piggy was sitting on the floor in the corner, cradling Kermit’s banjo in her arms, crying. Rowlf watched her for a moment. She didn’t know he was there. Best to use a quiet approach.
He took the box of tissues off of Kermit’s dresser and pulled one out. Then he sat down next to her.
Her eyes flared up at the unknown presence, cooling only slightly when she saw who it was. He held out the tissue. She took it and blew her nose.
“I thought he told you not to worry,” he said quietly.
“I’m doing my best,” she said, “But...” she looked sadly up at him. “Rowlfie, why didn’t he tell us she had cancer ten years ago?”
Rowlf shook his head. “I don’t know, Miss Piggy.” He handed her another tissue. “Maybe he just didn’t want us to worry.”
“Really?” she said as she wiped her tears. “Could it really be just that?”
“It’s possible,” Rowlf said. “Think about it. Ten years ago, we were just getting back on our feet.”
She sniffled. “It feels like... we, we still are.”
“But it’s a lot different,” he said as he handed her another tissue. “Besides, this is probably the first time it doesn’t coincide with vacation time. It’s possible that by the time vacation was over, she was well on the way to recovery.”
“He... he could have still... told us,” she said.
Rowlf shook his head. “I don’t know, Piggy,” he said. “He’s a very private frog.”
“I know,” she whispered. “But... doesn’t he need us?”
“Of course he needs us,” Rowlf said. “Just like we need him, and his family needs him, and he needs them. And right now, what he needs is for us to do our best and go on with the show.”
She didn’t seem to want to agree, but she knew she had to. “Well... alright,” she said. “For Kermie.” She carefully put the banjo back the way she found it. They stood up together and went downstairs for dinner.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I just have to share: this is my 2000th post! Yay! You know it's kind of funny, my 1000th post was chapter ten of Chasing Robin, 2000th post is chapter ten of Swamp Call... hm...
theprawncracker
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You planned it that way didn't you Lisa?
But anyway, EXCELLENT chapter! My favorite chapter of any of your fan-fics. I loved it! I loved the show buisness exchange between Kermit and Croaker. And Croaker and Maggie? I never expected it!
And I can't decide if Ed the Frog is a reference to Ed in my fan-fic, or Ed The Count. But then again, Ed the Frog in my fic was a reference to Ed The Count...Hm...
Great chapter! What? Oh...We Know That It's Probably Magic? Is coming is coming!
But anyway, EXCELLENT chapter! My favorite chapter of any of your fan-fics. I loved it! I loved the show buisness exchange between Kermit and Croaker. And Croaker and Maggie? I never expected it!
And I can't decide if Ed the Frog is a reference to Ed in my fan-fic, or Ed The Count. But then again, Ed the Frog in my fic was a reference to Ed The Count...Hm...Great chapter! What? Oh...We Know That It's Probably Magic? Is coming is coming!
TogetherAgain
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got two hands only?
And as for whether Ed the Frog is referencing your Ed or Ed The Count, well... yes.
And as for whether Ed the Frog is referencing your Ed or Ed The Count, well... yes.
redBoobergurl
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I just love the strength of Kermit's mom already. She seems amazing. I loved how the whole family greeted them and all these young frogs are all over the place and how chaotic it was. And poor Piggy. I can't believe I actually want to give her a hug! Hugs for Rowlf for being there for her!
Beauregard
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Ha! Great!!! She's marvelous! She's really taken on a life of her own!AgainTogether said:
Uncle Kermit! Uncle Kermit! Uncle Kermeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!TagainAgether said:
“Can’t complain, Kermit,” Croaker said. “How’s show business?”
“Like no business I know,” Kermit said. He felt a tap on his leg.
This was a great exchange!!!
Wondering about the relationship here...Two Get Her's Again said:
“Mm,” he said. “Centipede and barley soup.”
This whole...whole scene is just so...wow...
TogetherAgain
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So I guess, um, no one picked up on uh, something? Or rather some things, plural, but something specifically. I'm wondering if no one picked up on it, or if some one just forgot to mention it, or... well, maybe someone'll catch it eventually.
Oh and uh, about this:
And speaking of getting ahead, I'm getting behind. With this- no, I can't post more tonight, because- and with homework. So, if you'll kindly excuse me, I have eighteen questions to answer about Mr. Henry David Thoreau.
Oh and uh, about this:
<devious twinkle in eye> Don't get ahead of yourself, Beau.Reaubegard said:
And speaking of getting ahead, I'm getting behind. With this- no, I can't post more tonight, because- and with homework. So, if you'll kindly excuse me, I have eighteen questions to answer about Mr. Henry David Thoreau.
ryhoyarbie
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since you did it to me when I wrote my story, I'll do it to you...."GET TO THIS STORY NOW CHIEF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
And I'm done....
ryan
And I'm done....
ryan