“It is idyllic lying in both water and sunshine. Only a fool would fear the wading birds messing around in the swamp. Fear of wading oystercatchers is an unnecessary fear. I need to rest after laying so many eggs. Besides, as their name suggests, oystercatchers aren’t interested in frogs.”
And now Janet herself had grown into a stunningly beautiful frog. She still admired Queen Japonica greatly.
“That frog is almost a goddess,” said Janet. “She fears nothing, and rightly so.”
It therefore came as a great surprise when Charlie, the Head Sycophant in the Frog Court, approached Janet, bowed low and said, “Your Majesty – you are now queen.”
“Goodness gracious,” declared Janet. “What on earth happened to that magnificent queen we had?”
“Sadly, she passed away last Friday.”
“I first shall mourn for the late Queen Japonica,” said Janet.
“Japonica?” declared a surprised Head Sycophant. “Japonica was queen forty frogs ago. Queen Frogs keep getting eating by oystercatchers while basking in the sun. However I can understand your misunderstanding; we frogs all look the same.”
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