He felt as if he was suffering from lovesickness.
Every day that Ian woke up, he couldn"t help but think of the girl"s cold face, along with her faint whispers.
In his longing, he couldn"t push away the various thoughts that plagued his mind: Who is she? What is her name? Does she like me? Did she ever worry if this frog would get severely ill? Will she ever come back? Will she come and see me? If the maiden does return…..he will do everything possible to chase after her.
Hoping to someday reunite with the girl, the frog forced himself to swallow those insects, even if they were disgusting. Although he could already be considered a mature young man, he still couldn"t help but tremble in anxiety each day while living absent-mindedly. Every day he would look at the direction from whence the girl left, hoping that she would appear once again. However, after waiting for two months, she still did not return……he listlessly looked towards the same direction. It was hard not to lose hope.
The weather began to cool, and more and more leaves began to fall to the ground.
He knew that autumn was coming; it was time for him to find a place to spend the winter instead of continuing to guard the scarf and the stone.
The pond nearby had some muddy spots. When Ian jumped down towards the water, he splashed into the mud and accidentally stained the scarf. Every time the scarf gets dirtied, he couldn"t help but feel embarra.s.sed and humbled; how could he not be able to do something as simple as protecting a silk scarf! Afterwards, he would go through great pains to bring the scarlet scarf to a clean stream. When he finished washing it and letting it dry, the frog would use great efforts to bring the cloth back to the special stone. In his exhaustion, he slept with the scarf—only the scent of the cloth can calm his mind, blessing him with a dreamless sleep.
At first he was able to smell the young girl"s faint scent from the scarves, but after washing it a couple more times, he could only smell the nauseating odor of frogs and mud. But even so, he was unwilling to let go; as a frog he looked exactly the same as other wild frogs—there was no difference. Only that scarlet scarf can make him especially eye-catching, making it possible to recognize him.
That is, if the girl ever comes back.
Three months had pa.s.sed since Ian was left waiting on the pond.
He stared up at the moon, feeling his heart break.
Unexpectedly a shadow appeared and covered the moon.
"You are still here?"
The frog narrowed his eyes in disbelief as he stared wide eyed at the pale girl.
I am here!
I"ve been waiting for you!
The young girl looked at him thoughtfully, then reached out to touch the silk scarf.
The scarf was very clean as if it had been washed often. The frog looked at her with brightened eyes; it was as if she was his entire world.
"Are you waiting for me?" Many storms had pa.s.sed since she had left, and now fall was turning into winter. Despite all these things, he was still dwelling by this pond.
Yes, ah.
I have been waiting for you.
The girl blinked and pondered to herself.
She had compa.s.sion on small animals who were helpless, being easily moved by their plight. Seeing the small frog rest on her silk scarf, the maiden felt her inner feelings well up, causing her to break into tears. But she still kept a gentle smile on her face.
She reached out and placed her hand in front of him. "Do you want to come with me?"
The frog"s eyes brightened even more and he directly jump into her palms. His front paws held her thumb.
The girl laughed and her other hand caressed his head. "Yes, I won"t leave you again. If I knew then that you wanted to come home with me, I would have brought you along……You actually waited all this time like a fool."
Yes, I am a fool.
As long as I can be with you, it doesn"t matter if I become your fool for life.
(for other translated works)