Reading handout 01 - Prince Zak and the Wise Frog

One morning, Prince Zak was playing with a
rubber ball at the bottom of the palace gardens.
Nearby, builders had been working on a new bird
house. So Prince Zak was careful to keep away
from the post hole in the lawn.
He was throwing the ball against the old garden
shed by the duck pond. Someone was watching
keenly. A pair of big yellow eyes peered out from
the mud at the edge of the pond. Suddenly the
ball bounced off the side of the shed. Down it
went, straight into the post hole.
The prince reached deep into the hole, hoping
there was nothing slimy or sharp-toothed down
there. No good. He poked a spade down.
Not long enough. Then he picked up a hose,
wondering whether that might help. It did
reach all the way down. But it was too soft and
bendy to lift the ball. Prince Zak stared sadly at
the hole.
Shlop! Shlop! Shlop! A big wet frog climbed
out of the pond slime and hopped across the
lawn. “I can get your ball out for you,” he
croaked. Zak was shocked! A frog was talking
to him? “I just need to know what it’s made of,”
said the frog boldly.
“It’s rubber,” answered the prince. “I think
it’s hollow because you can squeeze it, and it
doesn’t weigh very much.”
“As long as it’s not made of gold,” mumbled
the frog.
“No way,” said Zak. “My mum and dad met
over a gold ball. But gold balls are really heavy,
and they don’t bounce. Only olden-day princes
and princesses had them.”
“That’s fine, then. But if I get your ball back,
you must do something for me.”
“What’s that?” asked the prince warily. He’d
heard a few frog stories before, and not all of
them were good.
“Will you clean my pond every week? It’s
filthy. You know, a bit of slime is fine for frogs,
but not a mountain of it.”
“That sounds fair. So how do I get the ball
out?”
“You should use the hose,” said the frog.
“But I’ve already tried that!”
“You know, frogs live half their lives in the
water. So we think a lot about how things float
and sink. Go on, put the hose back.”
Zak did as he was told. The frog hopped away
and turned the tap on. Was the frog going to
dive into the hole and fetch the ball back?
Zak wasn’t sure.

Soon he could see the ball bobbing up towards
the light as the hole filled with water. “What a
great idea!” cried Zak. “Why didn’t I think of
floating the ball out?”
“Well, you know, people often forget the most
obvious things,” said the frog, looking at his
slimy, weedy pond.
Prince Zak smiled. “I’ll get my bucket and
rubber gloves right now. Such a wise frog should
have a pond fit for a prince!”