Help find the cure

Bullfrog Pops!

by Rick Walton

(My Bullfrog books rely on page turns, so I defined what was on each page. I also added a few illustration notes where necessary.)

Once there was a bullfrog who hopped...

..a stagecoach and rode far away. After many miles he came to the town of Ravenous Gulch.

Bullfrog was hot. He was dirty. He hadn't showered in many days. And he smelled...

..PIZZA! Bullfrog was HUNGRY! All he'd had to eat for days was one horsefly.

He followed his nose to a sidewalk cafe where a man sat eating a large, hot pizza.

"Name's Bullfrog," said Bullfrog. "Mind if I have a bite?"

"I'm Starvin' Marvin," said the pizza eater. He held out his pizza. "Eat...

(Illustration note: On the wall of the cafe is a poster announcing a county-wide Super Eater Contest.)

..your heart out, Bullfrog. You're gettin' none of this!"

"That's not neighborly," said Bullfrog, and he grabbed the pizza and leaped away.

"Give me back my pizza, you ornery varmint!" yelled Starvin' Marvin. He chased Bullfrog into a dead end. (And off he ran after Bullfrog...) Bullfrog tried to hide...

..the pizza. But it was too big. So he ate it. Mmmmmm! "RiBurp!" That was good!

"YOU PICKLE-SKINNED PIZZA THIEF!" Starvin' Marvin yelled.

"I'M STILL HUNGRY!" yelled Bullfrog, as he leaped over Starvin' Marvin and hopped away.

Bullfrog leaped for his life until he came to a garden. There on the ground was a large watermelon. Bullfrog loved watermelon. He picked it.

"HEY, YOU MELON FILCHING FLY TRAP! PUT THAT DOWN!" An old man with a pitchfork was running toward Bullfrog. Behind the old man was Starvin' Marvin. Bullfrog dashed...

..the watermelon to the ground and gobbled up the juicy red insides. As the gardener and Starvin' Marvin drew closer, Bullfrog leaped off.

"STOP HIM!" the men yelled.

"I'M STILL HUNGRY!" yelled Bullfrog.

He hopped until he came to a bakery. "Ahhh! Bread!" said Bullfrog. And he grabbed an armload and hopped out the door.

Then he heard the order. "HIT THE DIRT, YOU LOAF LIFTING COUSIN TO A GRASSHOPPER!" or

Bullfrog turned to look. The baker was aiming a slingshot at Bullfrog. Bullfrog dropped...

..the bread, all but one big loaf which he ate as he raced down the street.

"STOP HIM!" yelled the baker.

"STOP HIM!" yelled the gardener and Starvin' Marvin.

"I'M STILL HUNGRY!" yelled Bullfrog.

Bullfrog raced away, often looking back to see who was following him, until WHAM! he ran into an apple tree.

"Ohhhhhh!" moaned Bullfrog. "Where am I?"

"You're in trouble, that's where you are," said Starvin' Marvin.

"Double trouble!" said the gardener.

"You're headin' to jail!" said the baker.

(Illustration note: The picture shows the gardener with his pitchfork and the baker with his slingshot.)

"You're under my apple tree!" said an old lady with pruning shears.

Bullfrog was surrounded. He began to shake...

..the tree. Down fell apples. Bullfrog caught dozens in his mouth and swallowed them. "STOP EATING MY APPLES, YOU CANYON-MOUTHED FRUIT CATCHER!" shouted the old lady, and Bullfrog jumped over her and away.

"STOP HIM!" yelled the people.

"I'M STILL HUNGRY!" yelled Bullfrog.

Bullfrog hopped until he came to the Ravenous Gulch Fine Groceries Fine Dining and Fine Art Emporium. The food inside smelled so good. He stepped inside. Then he looked out the door and down the street. A crowd of people were racing towards him, waving weapons. "Oh no!" said Bullfrog, and he bolted...

..the door shut and began to eat. He threw everything he could find into his mouth. Hot dogs and hot tamales. French fries and fried chicken. Soda pop and popcorn. Potato chips, chocolate chips, even wood chips. He hopped so quickly from food to food that the building shook and the pictures fell from the walls.

And then Bullfrog noticed that he wasn't alone. Sitting quietly at one of the tables was the sheriff. The sheriff stood up and rested his hand on his holster. "Bullfrog," he said, "draw...

..a chair up to my table and let's talk." Bullfrog sat down with the sheriff.

"Now Bullfrog," said the sheriff, "what you've been doin' is serious. You're gonna hang...

..those pictures back up.

"I see," said Bullfrog. "I see...

..DOUGHNUTS! And he grabbed a doughnut right off the sheriff's plate and ate it.

Pages 23

The door rattled and then broke. In came Starvin' Marvin, followed by the angry crowd. "Where's my food," roared Starvin' Marvin. "How am I supposed to practice for the county Super Eater Contest?" Starvin' Marvin grabbed a doughnut rolling on the floor and stuffed it into his mouth. He began to choke...

..Bullfrog.

"STOP!" yelled the sheriff, pulling Starvin' Marvin away. "You're not thinkin' straight here, Marvin. For twenty years you've tried to win that eatin' contest for us, and we're mighty grateful for your effort. But you've never been able to do it.

"This year though we're gonna enter someone new, someone who can out eat anyone in the county. Why, he can out eat anyone in the state, and probably the whole country. Marvin, Bullfrog's gonna put Ravenous Gulch on the map!"

As the sheriff spoke, the townsfolk gathered...

..food for Bullfrog.

"Give him anything he wants!" they yelled.

"Great!" said Bullfrog, "because I'M STILL HUNGRY!" And he started to eat.

"Does he look bigger to you?" asked the baker, handing Bullfrog a plum pie.

"He won't burst, will he?" asked the old lady, giving Bullfrog a basket of peaches.

"Just might," said the gardener, handing Bullfrog a bunch of grapes.

And then, Bullfrog popped...

..a grape into his mouth. And he was full.

"No more," he groaned.

"Bullfrog," said the sheriff, "because you've eaten so much of our food, you're gonna have to pay... (cash register)

..us a visit next week for the county Super Eater Contest. Come hungry."

And he did.

(Illustration note: When Bullfrog arrives in town, he's quite skinny. As his eating progresses, however, he grows noticeably larger, until at the end he's quite large.)