Free The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker Page A

Li'l.
    "It sure is!" chimed in a breathy voice. "I wish I could count. It would probably help me with some of my patterns."
    My legs were beginning to itch. The rash was spreading. "Now it's your turn," I said, feeling moderately appeased. "I want to hear everyone else's names."
    "That's easy enough," said the bat. "I'm Li'l, as you know, and in the cage below you are the spiders, Eenie, Meenie, and Moe. They used to live by the broom in the corner, but Vannabe found them and stuck them in a cage."
    "We had another brother named Miney," whispered a tiny voice, "but the witch stepped on him when she caught us."
    "I'm so sorry!" I said, furiously scratching behind my eardrum.
    "It's one of the hazards of being a spider," said the voice sadly.
    "Clifford and Louise live in the cage next to the spiders," continued Li'l. "Clifford and Louise are the mice who used to live under the bed. They've been together for a long time, so they tend to finish each other's sentences."
    "Vannabe said she got tired—"
    "—of hearing us scurry around."
    "She put us in the cage—"
    "—and we don't have anywhere to go."
    "It's so boring!"
    "We used to have the best adventures!"
    "You wouldn't believe—"
    "—what we found in the walls!"
    "Some things are better left alone," said Li'l. "And that brings us to Fang. Fang has lived here since Vannabe moved in. She found him in the yard and put him in a cage her very first day. Fang doesn't talk much, so I'll tell you a bit about him. His cage is on the floor in the corner. It's the biggest cage in the cottage, but it's not nearly big enough for Fang. He was a large snake when he got here and he's grown since then."
    A snake, I thought. Even if it was in a cage, the thought of a snake in the room made my heart beat faster and my skin feel cold and clammy.
    "It's our turn!" breathed one of the spiders. "I want to hear how the two frogs were enchanted."
    "Go ahead, princess!" squeaked a mouse.
    "Tell us how—"
    "—you became a frog!"
    With a snake in the room, all I wanted to do was hide, but it seemed only fair that I answer. I swallowed hard and tried to speak normally. "Actually," I began, "it was Eadric who became a frog first. He said something to a witch that she didn't like and she turned him into a frog. Then when I kissed him so he would turn back into a prince, I turned into a frog, too. When we first saw Vannabe, we thought she was the witch who did it, but it wasn't her at all."
    "Are you kidding?" said Li'l. "Vannabe couldn't turn a cabbage into coleslaw. She's trying to be a witch, but she doesn't have the knack for it."
    "If she's not a witch, what does she want with Eadric and me? What is she going to do with those plants she found?"
    "I'll tell you if you really want to know," said the bat.
    "She'd be the one to tell," whispered one of the spiders in a voice so soft I might have imagined it. "Li'l Stinker has lived here most of her life. She's tied to that rafter with a piece of twine. It's too short to reach any of the cages, or one of us would have helped her untie it long ago. I've seen her try many a time, but that knot lasts like iron. I wish I could get up there to see what kind of knot the old witch used."
    "Moe's very interested in knots. Eenie and I like to try different designs in our webs, but our brother has made knots his life study. You can see some of our handiwork on the broom against the back wall. Eenie, Miney, Moe, and I did it before the witch caught us."
    "I'm sure you're very talented," I said.
    "If you all are finished talking, I'll tell her about Vannabe now. I refuse to try to speak over your cackling!" Li'l glared at each of the cages before swinging around to face me. "I'm going to have to give you a little history first. Vannabe has lived here for about a year. I'm the only one who's been here longer than that. I used to live here with the old witch, Mudine. She was a nice old lady, although kind of crazy toward the end. Hardly anybody came by because she