The bell frogs have halted, after forming a circle around the grass pile covering Prawny.
One of them speaks:
Goodbye Prawny, I am the bell frog who did not eat you. Much good did that do.
Another one speaks:
I am his neighbour. Goodbye Prawny.
The first one speaks again:
Is that all you're planning on saying?
The neighbour speaks again: Yes.
The other twenty five bell frogs croak in unison:
Rrrr! Rrrr! Rrrr!
They disperse, towards their pyramids and holes.
The funeral seems to be over.
That was a fascinating display of bell frog behaviour, says Gaius. Curses! I wish I had filmed it.
Write it down in your notebook, says Margaret.
Who will believe me? says Gaius.
I can attest to it, says Margaret.
That might help, I suppose, says Gaius.
Let's go back to Minnie's for lunch, says Margaret.
Didn't we bring anything? asks Gaius.
No, we didn't, says Margaret.
They head back to Minnie's, on bikes.
Katherine and Minnie are already there, making cheese toasties.
How were the frogs? asks Katherine.
You won't believe this, says Margaret.
I thought you were going to attest to the story, says Gaius.
I am, says Margaret. The frogs were holding a funeral for Prawny..
Katherine and Minnie look sceptical.
Terence comes in.
Guess what? says Terence.
You guess what, says Katherine.
What? asks Terence.
The bell frogs held a funeral for Prawny, says Katherine. Ask Gaius and Margaret.
Did they say a poem? asks Terence.
In a manner of speaking, says Gaius. The first speaker claimed to be the one who didn't eat Prawny, but added much good did that do.
What does that mean? asks Terence.
It means he may as well have eaten Prawny, says Margaret.
That was a rubbish poem! says Terence.
It may have been intended as a sorrowful remark, says Gaius.
Did anyone say anything else? asks Terence.
Another bell frog claimed he was the neighbour, says Gaius..
And he said Goodbye Prawny, says Margaret.
So he did, says Gaius. Thank you, Margaret.
That was the shortest poem ever, says Terence.
Everyone agrees that it was.
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