Dear friends: I don’t normally post my fiction stories on this blog but decided to make an exception in this case. The story below is a (hopefully) humorous rhyming story for children of all ages. May it brighten the day of those who are finding it hard to smile.
With Love,
Russ
Zach and the Toad Who Rode a Bull
By Russ Towne
Zach’s friends had frogs to jump and race.
The boys held contests all over the place
To see how far they’d jump and how fast they’d go,
They really put on quite a show.
Zach wanted a frog so he could play
With the other boys and their frogs all day.
He looked for hours without finding a frog
But then he spotted a toad on a log.
It had zebra-type stripes,
But instead of being black and white,
His stripes were purple and yellow.
He was certainly a colorful fellow.
The toad had a friendly face,
So Zach took him to a jump and race.
The other boys laughed but didn’t mind
When Zach put his toad on the starting line.
He whispered, “Please try to jump far.
It’s now your turn to be a star.”
When the toad began to jump
The wind blew into him with a whump
It caught the startled jumping toad
And pushed him way back down the road!
“No fair!,” said his friends. “Your toad doesn’t score.
We won’t play with him anymore!”
Zach whispered to his toad, “You’re no slacker
Since you jumped backwards I’ll name you Backer
I like you just the way you are!
To me you’ll always be a star.
If you want to stay with me
We’ll be friends just wait and see.”
One day they went to a rodeo
And to help Backer see the show
Zach put him on a wooden rail
But he was slapped by a horse’s tail
That pushed Backer so far back
He landed in a lady’s lap!
She shrieked, “EEEK! What’s that?”
And threw him onto a cowboy’s hat
Things were now very rough,
The rider who wore it looked mighty tough.
He didn’t know Backer was on his head,
As the announcer pointed to him and said,
“He’ll be riding Last Ride Red.”
The other wranglers all looked down,
For Last Ride Red was the meanest around.
No one rode him more than a second or two
And when they hit the ground they were black and blue
The crowd held their breath when the announcer said,
“The reason he’s called “Last Ride Red”
Is because every rider who’s ever tried
Never ever took another bull ride.”
But this cowboy was mighty brave
And would try to ride him anyway.
He climbed onto the side of the bull’s pen
Then leaned forward to look at him.
That’s when Backer slid off the rider’s hat,
Onto Last Ride Red’s great big back!
That startled the man holding the gate.
He tried to close it but was too late.
Last Ride Red came charging out,
The crowd saw Backer and began to shout!
“That toad’s in trouble! Everyone look out!”
Backer knew he had to hang on tight
So he grabbed the bull’s hair with all his might.
He knew if he was thrown down
He’d be quickly stomped into the ground.
Last Ride Red was having a fit.
He ran through a fence shattering it.
But no matter how high and hard he bucked,
That brave little toad never gave up.
After an hour of stomping all around
Last Ride Red gave up and laid down.
Everyone jumped to their feet and cheered.
The bull hadn’t done what they had all feared.
Instead of the toad being stomped in the ground
Backer rode the bull all the way down.
Zach ran out and picked Backer up,
Then a man gave them a buckle and trophy cup.
He yelled, “Congratulations, son!
Your brave little toad has won!
No one’s ever done what he’s done.”
The announcer said, “The best bull rider is right here
Backer’s our Rodeo Champ this year!”
The next day the news was full
Of how Backer the toad rode the great big bull.
The rodeo retired Last Ride Red.
He’s now happy and very well fed
He gets to eat grass and hay all day
And stay in a field full of cows and play.
The End
(c) Copyright Russ Towne 2015 All rights reserved.
That was great fun!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Quiall! Thank you for letting me know.
Russ
D–e–l–i–g–h–t–f–u–l !
(B-I-G G-R-I-N!) I’m delighted you found it delightful, Tess.
Russ
Did so… ❤
The toad won and so did the bull! Yay! ❤
Diana xo
You know how much I like happy endings, Diana. Thank you of your kind comment!
Russ
amazing story!!!!! big thumbs up!
I’m delighted you like it! Thank you for taking the time to say so. It means a lot to me.
Russ
A perfect ending to a perfect story! Backer saved Last Ride Red!!!!! They all lived happy!!!! 🙂
Your comment brightened my day, Colleen. Thank you of taking the time to read and comment on this fairly lengthy post.
Russ
My pleasure Russ. 🙂
So cute . I don’t know where you get your ideas from…. except I guess from your vivid imagination… Diane
Thank you, Diane. I often don’t know where my ideas come from either. I get a hint of an idea and follow it to see where it takes me.
Russ
i love this, very whimsical and wonderful, russ.
Your comment brightened my morning, Beth. Thank you!
Russ
L-O-V-E-L-Y!
I’m delighted by your comment, Ute. Thank you!
Russ