Part 19 (1/2)
”He apologizes,” said the frog. ”Apparently he ate it.”
”He ate the treasure?” Jill exclaimed.
”Oh, boy,” said Jack.
The salamander reared back with his huge, pink, fleshy head and roared some more. ”He's very sorry,” said the frog. ”He didn't mean to.”
”At least he's polite . . .” Jack marveled.
”He said someone dropped it into his pit a long time ago by accident, and he ate it.”
”Can you-” Jill began, but the frog cut her off.
”Sure,” he said. ”I'll ask him to explain.”
So the frog croaked at the salamander. The salamander wrapped his enormous, fleshy tail around his legs. As he moved it, the cavern shook and s.h.i.+fted, and in the distance hundreds of stone stalact.i.tes fell from the rock ceiling into the lava sea. The salamander roared.
”He says he didn't used to live so far under the ground,” said the frog. ”He used to live near the surface.”
The salamander roared again. ”The goblins used to like him, he says. He sounds kind of sad about it.”
The salamander roared yet again. ”He powered their forges with his breath.” The frog waited for more from the salamander.
When there'd been silence for a moment too long, the frog croaked at him.
Eddie roared in reply.
The frog said to the children, ”Right. Sorry. He's starting the story over again. You've got to get used to this with salamanders. It's very hard for them to remember anything they've said more than a few sentences ago.”
After a bit of roaring, the frog said, ”Okay, he's back to where we left off. So he lived in a big sinkhole, and would breathe fire to heat the goblins' homes and power their forges. But then, one day, at some ceremony that he tried to explain but I didn't understand, they dropped the Gla.s.s into his mouth. By accident. And they were very mad.” Jack and Jill looked up at the salamander. He was watching them with his tiny black eyes, as if he wished they would understand.
The frog croaked at Eddie, and Eddie roared some more. ”He forgot where he was again. Hold on.” The frog croaked, the salamander roared, and the frog turned to Jack and Jill. ”And we're back. So once he'd swallowed their treasure, they drove him deep down into the earth by dropping boulders on his head and pouring cold water on him, which he did not like at all. So now he lives down here by himself, and he never gets to ask anyone any questions.”
”He never gets to what?” said Jill.
”Ask anyone any questions,” replied the frog. ”You know. Salamanders love to ask stupid questions.”
”Oh,” said Jack and Jill at once. ”Right.”
They stood there in silence, staring up at the ma.s.sive, grotesque head of the beast, who stared back down at them as if he was waiting for something.
The frog said, ”Hold on,” and he began croaking at the salamander. The salamander nodded his huge head and the whole cavern shook. ”It's still in his stomach!” said the frog. ”It's lodged right next to his intestines. He can feel it!”
Jill thought she was going to be sick. Jack said, ”You mean, he could cough it up for us?”
The frog croaked at Eddie. Eddie roared back.
”He's tried to disgorge it for however many hundreds of years he's had it in there. He can't. But he'd be happy to let you go in and get it.” Jill turned green and shook her head violently.
Eddie's tiny eyes narrowed. Jack looked up at him and thought that that was probably what pa.s.sed for a sly look for a salamander. Eddie roared. The frog turned to the children. ”But before he lets you crawl down his throat, we have to answer his questions.”
”That doesn't sound so bad,” said Jack.
”It's going to be awful,” said the frog.
”Can we go back to the part about 'crawling down his throat'?” Jill interjected.
”One trauma at a time, please,” said the frog. He croaked at Eddie, and was answered by a roar. The frog smiled. He turned to Jack and Jill. ”What's better, red or blue?” he said.
”What?” said Jack.
”Is that a joke?” said Jill.
The frog smiled smugly at them. ”It's the first question. Welcome to my world.”
”I don't know!” said Jill. ”What's the right answer?”
”No idea,” said the frog. ”That's the beauty of it.”
”Blue,” said Jack.
”Red,” said Jill.
Eddie roared loudly. Jack and Jill clamped their hands over their ears. ”Don't confuse him,” said the frog. He turned and croaked at Eddie.
”What'd you say?” Jill demanded.
”Purple,” replied the frog. ”Compromise.”
”He accepted that?” asked Jack. But Eddie's eyes were glazed over and his mouth was drawn back like he was lost in a contemplative smile.
”That's going to be a lot of information for him to process,” said the frog. ”Give him a minute now.” Sure enough, a few minutes pa.s.sed, and the salamander stopped grinning and roared again. ”He wants to know which is bigger, the sky or the earth.”
”The sky,” said Jill.
”The earth,” said Jack.
Eddie roared, and Jack and Jill covered their ears. Their bones shook. ”Guys!” the frog hissed.
Jill whispered, ”The sky goes all the way around the earth, and it is really, really high! It's bigger!”
”But the earth is really thick,” replied Jack. ”It's like wrapping a ball in a quilt! Which is bigger, the ball or the quilt?”
”Depends on the quilt,” said Jill.
The frog turned and croaked.
”What'd you tell him?” Jill wanted to know.