Bedtime stories with Galatea and Litho

Reflections

Stabbing her walking stick into the dirt and dragging it, Galatea walked the perimeter of a campground. She whispered a chant at the four directional winds. Jumping across a stream the spell changed but then her voice went back.

“Rise up high From earth to sky Protect all that dwell on the inside.”

Once the circle had been completed Galatea walked over and set her supplies down by a circle of rocks. Opening the flap of her leather pouch and lifting out a bullfrog she said,

“Hi sleepy head,”

Beaming back at her Litho replied, “Hi Galatea.”

Holding him higher and slowly turning around she explained, “Look where our journey has taken us. It’s a perfect spot for us to spend the night. You know… It’s almost time for our bedtime story.”

“Nice Place, Litho answered as he eyed several snacks crawling near the water and a drop of spit fell from his lips. “Oooooo, yes, yes, and yes,”

Sitting him down Galatea giggled, “You always make me laugh, you silly frog.”

Litho leaped off in the direction of the stream and then turned around and smiled at her. “You always make me feel safe…and loved.” Then he left with a little dance as he sang.

“Bom bom bom bom

Slurp them down

Bom bom bom bom

Squishy and round

Bom bom bom bom

Wings or feet

Clap clap clap clap

They are a treat

Bom bom bom bom

Bugs are yummy

Bom bom bom bom

Bugs are sweet

Clap clap clap clap

Tasty…tasty… Tasty….treats.

Hm hm hm hm”

Galatea watched Litho dance and sing until he reached the water and then she walked in the opposite direction. Finding a large branch she reached down as a beetle ran out. “Ug….I hate… nasty…crawly…things.”

Shaking her shoulders she continued on the search for firewood until….darkness began to move in. Her arms heavy with wood she walked towards a circle of rocks and noticed Litho hopping back. Dropping the wood Galatea mentioned, “I have been thinking about storytime, I want to share a family story.”

Patting the ground Litho replied, “Galatea….come sit over here and tell me a story.”

Rubbing bits of debris off her arms she sat on top of her bedroll. “At home on the first day of winter we would wear something special and head into the village. I liked to wear my dark… rose velvet shirt which is embroidered with different colors of snapdragons.

Litho asked, “What did you do in the village?”

“Arriving the breeze greeted you with the scent of rosemary. It is our custom to use these sprigs of evergreens to summon the spirits of good fortune and health for the new year. Families brought dishes of food as an offering for their support of the community. People wished each other well as they tasted spicy and sweet foods placed in various locations around the town center.”

“Eating all day, You are my kind of people. Did you do anything else?’

“Yes, When it got dark we would sit around a bonfire and sing about our history. I look forward to the lore of the heath.”

“Yes, there is nothing better than a good lore story,'' mentioned Litho as he watched Galatea stack the firewood from largest to smallest.

“Galatea, Your story reminds me of a celebration my family had.”

Galatea turned around and smirked, “You're kidding me, what do bullfrogs have to celebrate?”

Litho's front lip rolled out and he glared. Pointing a toe at Galatea he said, “We have special celebrations.”

“No way…bullfrogs have special celebrations.”

”We do…and you shouldn’t make fun of me.”

“I am sorry. I should not have made fun of you. Please tell me your story.”

Litho leaned in. “Bullfrogs celebrate the winter solstice by selecting their favorite place to hibernate. You stake your claim by squatting down and croaking your song. Mine sounds like this, Rru, Rru, ruuuu! Rru, Rru, rruuu! The celebration continues until the entire family has become a choir and the day is ending. Oooooo, then my favorite thing happens.”

“You burp.”

“No…no, I don’t burp,….okay you're right I do but that’s not my favorite thing that happens. I stand up and point my toes….. drilling them down into the squishy mud… shoving myself as far as I can go. Then I move my legs back and forth. Like I’m doing a little dance. I gotta make room for my butt to slither down. As I get into a comfortable sitting squat the mud oozes in around me ..until I’m all…. cozy and nice. Then…I..Zzzzzz”

“That’s cool the mud tucks you in for the winter.” replied Galatea while standing up and leaning over the woodpile. Snapping her fingers she cast a spell.

“Fire Bright but no smoke tonight.”

Flames erupted throughout the wood as she opened her bedroll and asked, “Is there any more to your story?”

“Absolutely! In the spring when it rains and the sun warms up the mud, you wake up. The rain washes the dirt off you. Animals of all kinds get together to eat, lullaby all night and of course there are events.

My friend Stewart the albino mouse leads a treasure hunt. While we search he makes us laugh with a quick card trick or a bit of magic.

Bun Bun of the dirt usually wins at the game, Find your Friend. The boy is so camouflaged I have sat down right next to him and not noticed. He never even blinks. To find me he calls out…Litho…I laugh and he yells, found you!

Jeremiah the bullfrog with the raspy voice, uses his calm and cool attitude to snap his fingers in a rhythmic beat as he sings and directs the bullfrog quartet of Taddius, Wild Bill and me. Together we sing those low notes down by the pond.

Impy Jr. who is a ball of green slime sashays around greeting everyone. It is all organized by Splotch the black cat. Since she doesn’t hibernate she has all winter to think of wonderful mischievous activities.”

Nodding her head, Galatea poked the fire, put on another log and said, “Sounds like it was really fun.”

“Fun times and great memories.”

Litho stared at the fire for a few moments and then snuggled closer to Galatea. He laid his head on her foot. The glow of the fire reflected off his eyes and Litho asked, “Galatea, what are you thinking?

“I am reflecting on how much we are the same. My family ate and sang songs like your family…and your community.”

“Except we are really different too.”

“Litho, being different isn’t good… or bad….It’s just being different. Life is about finding others who accept you no matter who you are or what you look like.”

“Galatea, Most would look at us and say, What do they have in common? You have antlers and I am a green bullfrog.”

Leaning forward until they were face to face Galatea said, “I care about you. You care about me. We are totally different in looks but we are the same in so many ways. You are my family and community now.”

“Yes, yes I am and you are my family too.'' Litho replied as he blinked away happy tears. Movement caught his eye. A centipede was headed towards Galatea’s bedroll until….it wasn’t.

“Ugh, I hate….nasty…. crawly… things,”

“I know you do Galatea, Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Litho”, she replied while laying down.

All was quiet…..until….softly

“Bom bom bom bom

Slurp them down

Bom bom bom bom

Squishy and round

Bom bom bom bom

Wings or feet

Clap clap clap clap

They are a treat

Hm, hm, hm, hm.”

The following wizard friends allowed me to use their familiars in my story.

Warder- #7084 Aldus of the Astral Plane and his familiar a lucky black cat named Splotch

Milk-#4769 Impy and his familiar an emerald slime named Impy Jr.

Henry-#7238 Druid Merlon of Dreams and his familiar a dirt rabbit named Bun-Bun of the dirt.

Wizdaddy-#5564 Hydromancer Soran of the Psychic Leap and his familiar swamp bullfrog named Wild Bill.

Madotuski-#9815 Mystic David of the Bastion and his familiar an albino rat named Stewart.

Tadmajor-#4044 Druid Froggy of the Gnostics and his familiar a swamp bullfrog named Taddius.

Magus Wazir-#1229 Sage Bartholomew and his swamp bullfrog named Jeremiah.

Bedtime Stories with Galatea and Litho

Real Friends

Inside of the pouch Litho could barely hear the stick being dragged as it formed a trench into the dirt. He mouthed the words Galatea recited as she walked.

“Rise up high From earth to sky Protect all that dwell on The inside.”

When the end of the trench met the beginning Galatea headed towards the shade of a large oak tree. Opening her pouch a head popped out.

”Hello Litho?”

“Hello right back at you. I’m soooooo….hungry. Where’s the bugs?”

Picking up her bullfrog Galatea said, “See that marshy area over there. I’m sure it’s full of slimy crawly things.”

“Sit me down, please…. sit me down! My tummy is rumbly.” Galatea set Litho on the ground. He stretched out his front legs as far as they would go and then did the same with each of his back legs. “Oooo, that feels so good after a long nap.”

Litho faced the marsh and took one hop forward, turned around and winked, then continued on his way as he danced and sang,

“Bom bom bom bom

Slurp them down

Bom bom bom bom

squishy and round

Bom bom bom bom

Wings or feet

Clap clap clap clap

They are a treat

Bom bom bom bom

Bugs are yummy

Bom bom bom bom

Bugs are sweet

Clap clap clap clap

Tasty…tasty… Tasty….treats

Hm hm hm hm”

“Don’t you bring back any of those nasty…crawly things,” Galatea called after him. Litho kept hopping forward until he disappeared into some tall weeds. Galatea went over to a grassless area and began to move rocks into a circle.

A half hour later she headed to the fire pit with her arms full of wood when she heard.

“Help! Help! gurgle.”

Galatea dropped the wood and ran. Her face became red and her eyes scanned from left to right.

“Litho, Litho where are you?”

Reaching the weeds, she stopped and listened. The only sound was her heart pounding. Even the song birds were nowhere to be seen.

“Litho, Litho,” she shouted.

Galatea carefully walked through some tall grass and called again for her friend, “Litho, where are you?”

She went a few more steps deeper into the marsh and found a small area of open water. A red hawk was sitting on top of a log that was half way stuck in the mud. The bird was hunched over staring downward. It was here she saw Litho curled up underneath it. Only his eyes were sticking out of the water. Noticing Galatea….Litho eyeballs got bigger.

Galatea quickly raised her left hand and blurted out, “Raise up water!”

A single wave rose up above the hawk. The bird turned its head at Galatea and glared. Galatea leaned forward and moved her hand higher. The wave rose up too.

Letting out a piercing scream…the hawk flew away.

Galatea released her hand and called out, “Litho, Everything is okay. You can come out now. I made the hawk leave.”

The bullfrog lifted his head out of the water and looked around.

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Yes, I am sorry that happened to you. The hawk must have been in here somewhere before I cast my protection spell. He left and he won’t be able to fly back in.” Litho slowly climbed out while checking his surroundings. He sat on top of the log for a moment and then hopped over to Galatea. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, Good thing I am fast. I was almost a snack.”

“What happened?”

“I was sitting by the water and a muskrat appeared. He said, ‘Hello Friend, welcome!’ He asked if I knew the best place for catching bugs. I told him I didn't. Then the muskrat said I should sit on that log. I thanked him and jumped over to it. When I went to ask his name he was gone. I saw a large shadow and…I realized the hawk was coming at me. I hopped into the water and I yelled for you.”

“I am thankful I heard you and could get here in time.”

“I thought it was weird the muskrat left because he said we were friends. I think he wanted me to sit there on purpose.”

“I agree,” replied Galatea.

She picked Litho up until they were face to face. Several tears escaped from his eyes. “I promise to always take good care of you, Litho. You are going to stay close to me tonight. You can eat whatever bugs you find hiding under rocks and the wood pile as I build the campfire.”

“Okay, I would like that.”

Later when the crickets started to sing their night song Galatea snapped her fingers at the wood and recited,

“Twist and turn Until rings are formed.”

The smoke rose up and made whispery circles that floated in all directions. Litho spied a moth flying towards the campfire. When it went through the center of a smoke ring. His tongue zapped it.

“Oh, one of my favorite games. Bullseye the bugs.”

“Have fun tonight, you silly frog,” Galatea replied while opening her bedroll and sitting down.

After a while, Litho went over and snuggled next to her. “Galatea, how can you tell if someone is a friend or not?”

“That’s a good question, Litho. Sometimes it is hard to tell. The muskrat you talked to today was a fake friend. He only wanted to get you into trouble. He didn’t really want to help you.”

“Why would he do that?”

“We will probably never know? Maybe he didn’t want to share the marsh with anyone. Maybe he just wanted to see you get eaten? Litho, real friends try to find ways to take care of you, get you out of trouble or cheer you up to make you happy. You told me Midas is your friend. How do you know he is a real friend?”

“Hmmm…let me think. I know when I have asked Midas for help. It makes me feel happy to that golden toad hopping over. When my brothers and sister moved away I cried. Midas came over to see how I was. He made jokes to make me laugh. When he did that it made me feel special.”

“That’s because Midas is a real friend. He is there for you in good times and bad. Litho, What if…. sometimes…Midas is too busy to help when you ask him?”

“He will tell me and I will understand because he helps me at other times.”

“What about Bloody?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Everyone is afraid of Bloody. He’s a red frog who was born with fangs and sucks the blood of his prey.”

“Are you afraid of Bloody?” ask Galatea.

“No…no I’m not.”

“Why?”

“Bloody saved my life once. I almost got eaten by a black water snake. Bloody attacked it and bit it with his fangs. He noticed I was upset and he invited me to sit with him at the end of his pond. After that whenever I hopped by his pond, I waved. Sometimes I stopped for a visit. We have things that are the same like we both get our feelings hurt easily.”

“Would you say Bloody is a real friend?”

“Hmmmm….Yes, yes I would. Oh I get it…everyone should not be judgy because you might be wrong about somebody.”

“Litho, you don’t get to decide how others feel but you can improve on how…. you feel… and how….you act.”

“Galatea, I like real friends.”

“Yes, I totally agree. Litho, did you know that you can tell if someone is smart because it takes…..brain power, it takes thought and effort to give compliments and be nice. It takes no brain power to hurt someone’s feelings.”

“Ooooo, then I am super smart!”

“Yes you are!”

“And…so are you!”

“It’s time for me to go to sleep. Good night Litho.”

“Good night Galatea”, he replied as he hopped to the front of her bedroll and watched the smoke rings.

All was quiet…… until…… softly…

“Bom bom bom bom

Slurp them down

Bom bom bom bom

Squishy and round

Bom bom bom bom

Wings or feet

Clap clap clap clap

They are a treat

Hm hm hm hm”

The following wizard friends allowed me to use their familiars in my story.

Kel 1/1-#8721 Arch-Magician Pumlo of the Bastion and his familiar a golden toad named Midas.

Panico-#3930 Battlemage Drako of the Obelisk and his familiar an ember frog named Bloody.

Entered by: 0x0337…eAd7 and preserved on chain (see transaction)