The Day I Saved the Frogs

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When I was in high school in Yorktown Heights I was not doing well in science. The teacher offered us a chance to earn extra credits if we brought in a large frog. I went to a local marshy area and caught a huge bull frog. The next day I brought it to school where it was placed in a large tank with water and rocks. There were about six other frogs in the tank. I was proud that mine was the biggest.

Later, near the end of class, the teacher mentioned that we were going to dissect the frogs and see their beating hearts! I almost fainted with horror. It was all I could think about. When the class ended I waited to talk to the teacher to ask for my frog back. While I was standing there another girl in the class drew me aside. She was Pam Panta, the daughter of the earth science teacher. She told me it wouldn't do any good to ask for my frog. I wouldn't get it back. 

So we cooked up a scheme to rescue all the frogs. I got my big bucket and we broke into the empty classroom and put all the frogs in the bucket. We we nervous about being caught, but somehow we got the frogs out of the school without anyone catching us. I took the frogs back to the marshy area and set them all free. It was the best feeling seeing them hop and plop back into the water.

The next day Pam and I tried to look innocent and normal. The science teacher was furious the frogs were gone. He knew someone had taken them. He knew it was me. Either I looked guilty, or he had seen how horrified I was the day before. After class he told me that if I didn't bring the frogs back he was going to fail me. I tried to lie and act innocent, but I'm not good at that. I never mentioned Pam, and he didn't suspect her because she was a teacher's daughter and we didn't hang out together routinely.

Sure enough he failed me. He threatened to have me prosecuted for theft, but he only failed me. I had to take the class again in summer school. We never did dissect live frogs, just horrible pickled frogs in formaldehyde. They smelled horrible. I didn't see the point in doing it. But we cut the dead frogs up and labeled the body parts. It was disgusting.

But still, I had a happy feeling inside knowing that my bull frog, and the other frogs, were out there in the wild. Happy in the marsh. 

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