`Jeremiah Was a Boyfrog'

JEREMIAH'S throat hurt awful one morning. Trying to call "Mother," he said: "Croak! Croak!"

Mother looked at him in his green pajamas, his face hot and red. "Crigget, rigget."

"Oh, Jeremiah," Mother said. "You've turned into a frog."

Jeremiah wanted to say, "I don't like being a frog." Instead, he said, "Criggle, crog," and "Hrug, hrok, hroke."

"Don't hop away, frog. I'll help turn you back into a boy," Mother said.

Jeremiah hated being a frog.

His mother returned with something red in a spoon. It tasted sweet -- then really yucky! Mother gave him another pillow and hot tea; sweet with honey and sour with lemon. The steam went up his nose.

"Be patient. It helps you turn back into a boy."

Jeremiah didn't want to be patient. He felt all achy. Mother read and sang to him. Jeremiah's throat hurt terribly. His eyelids closed. "Sleeping helps turn you into a boy sooner." The bed was warm, and Mother's hand was cool. Jeremiah floated into sleep, thinking, "I hope it works."

He woke up feeling better. Maybe Mother was right. Jeremiah went into the kitchen. "I'm hungry." He had a deep, frog voice.

"You're changing into a boy. Would you like some stewed bugs?"

"No!" Jeremiah croaked with laughter. "Hrook. Hrook. Hrook!"

"Boyfrog!" Mother said as she carried soup into his room on a tray. "Hop into bed until you are all boy. Patience helps make you well."

So Jeremiah patiently played with cars, trucks and picture books. Maybe tomorrow he would be a whole boy.

And it worked! Next morning, he saw a whole new boy in the mirror. But the good thing was, he could still hop!

This is a Kids' Reading Room Classic that first appeared March 26, 2000. It will be on The Times' website at latimes.com/kids.