Dead Frog

"What's this, mom?"  I looked at the crumply brownish lump on the bedroom carpet and wasn't quite sure.  It sort of looked like a flattened small pine-cone; completely out of place amongst the shiny Hot Wheels surrounding it.  I bent down for a better look.  Well, it was organic alright - a little more organic than I had first thought.  There, lying on the floor was a perfectly deceased dried up frog.  Lucky for me, there was an empty snack bowl nearby that became the scoop to retrieve the corpse from the floor.  "Where did this come from, Nolan?"  I was expecting any one of the following responses, "Outside," "Michelle's house," "The driveway."  Any of those would have been fine.  "Under the dresser."  ACK!  This petrified amphibian was laid to rest under a piece of my furniture?!  I immediately ran to Dillon, "Dillon, is this a dead frog?" knowing the answer.  "My frog died?" he asked with tears welling.  Gulp!  Ok, A) he knew there was a frog in the house? and B) was apparently so fond of said frog that he is upset by it's passing?  I wasn't quite convinced of the story that began spilling from his loose-toothed little mouth.  "He was alive, he was my pet, I brought him inside when dad was gonna take me somewhere and I can't remember where....it was like a year ago."  I couldn't stop looking at the poor little frog.  He was dusty - which made sense.  He'd been under the dresser for WHO knows how long?  He had a little fuzzy tongue peeking out of his mouth.  There's no way this frog died inside this house!  The Facebook comments began coming in..."EWWW....." "Did you smell anything?" "ewww!"  NO!  I didn't smell anything!  Boys generally smell anyway, but I'm guessing a dead frog would give off a more pungent smell.  So I ask Mr. Story-Teller again, "Where did the frog come from?  Was he already dead when you brought him into the house?"  The truth finally came out.  Yes, Mr. Frogson had indeed been deceased before finding his final resting place under the dresser.  I felt a little better knowing it hadn't suffered inside the home.  It's a dried out, unsmashed frog.  We've had a very dry and hot summer.  He's peaceful - arms and legs tucked underneath with no signs of external trauma.  He passed very quickly and painlessly and most likely in his sleep.  (Hey - it's my story I'll assume what I want!)  With the truth finally out, I placed Mr. Frogson in his very final resting place.  One of the Facebook comments was from my aunt.  She told of her boys bringing a dead snake into her house asking to keep it.  I'll take a petrified frog over a dead (or alive!) snake any day! It's going to take some real guts to raise these boys!