Once there was a girl who lived in a small village where there was no labour to be had. So she and her brave husband traveled far and wide together every day down the long road to reach their places of work, and traveled again back to their village each night. The girl had a great love for knotting of colorful, woolen string with wooden sticks, all manner of which she would bring with her in a bag each day, hoping for one moment in the long day's toil that she could enjoy her beloved craft.
After one long day's labour, when the girl arrived to pick up her beloved husband along the path, he was not to be found. She searched and finally found him, still in his place of work, toiling before a glowing square object. He then informed her that alas, his cruel and heartless master bestowed upon him extra labour to complete this day, which must be finished before the next day's sunrise. The girl, not able to return to the village alone for fear of stranding good husband at his place of labour, and being a goodly wife, decided to sit and wait patiently for him to finish his tasks. An easy favour to be done for such a hard-working husband, thought she.
It was then that a spark of happiness lit in the girl's eyes, as she realized that even though she was exhausted from her day's long journey and toil, she could make good fun of the waiting time by pulling out the bag containing her beloved woolen strings and sticks to knot to her heart's content. She even found a spot next to a lovely pond, where she settled in to cozily enjoy her craft long into the dark night, while waiting for good husband.
As one hour wore into another, the girl continued to wait for good husband next to the lovely pond and knot her woolen string happily. Though her eyelids became ever so slightly heavy, she continued on contentedly, striving mightily to maintain the rows of perfect stitches on the lovely, lacey form growing before her. Weariness be damned, she would not lose these rare stolen moments to rest when she could enjoy wooly merriment!
As the girl sat contentedly plying her craft, she happened to notice a frog perched on the other bank of the pond. She greeted him well and paid him no further mind, for he was an ordinary frog and of no consequence to her and her happy activity. The frog then jumped into the pond and swam off to do frogly things, while she continued on with her stolen hour of lace knotting.
It was then that strange happenstance occurred! As the girl carefully counted her meticulously-laid stitches of lace she found a disturbing discovery, indeed!.....Alas! A stitch had gone missing! A single, tiny stitch had wandered off, and she knew not where! Where could one tiny stitch go while she paid such close attention as she knotted?! She searched far and wide for the one tiny stitch to reappear. She searched the pond bank around her, in the bushes there around, and even reluctantly and tediously unknotted several rows of her lace in her search, but to no end! The stitch was not to be found. Anywhere.
As she continued to search frantically, the girl heard a small splash in the pond. She turned just in time to catch sight of the frog as he swam away across the pond. She thought nothing of this at first, as of course, he was only a frog and of no bother to her. "Go on with you into the happy night, good frog," she thought to herself, "I have bigger woes this night and have not time for you and your frolic!"
The girl rubbed her eyes in exhaustion and scratched her head, knowing not where the tiny stitch could have gone. She sat down again on the pond bank to ponder her plight. It was then that a sight not to be believed caught her eye. As she gazed across the pond at the frog as he swam away, she caught site of a tiny, colored object in his mouth! Could it be....?!? As the frog continued to the far side of the pond, the girl realized with great surprise that indeed, the frog held a colorful object in his mouth! Egads! It was her missing stitch!! What nerve had that frog to steal one of her precious stitches away and ruin the perfection of her knotted lace! "He shall not get away with THIS!" she cried.
The girl dropped all she was holding, and set off afoot around the pond bank to capture this robber frog and demand return of her stolen stitch forthright! As she finally reached the other side of the pond in exhaustion, she realized the futility of her chase. For as fast as she could run around the pond bank, the frog could swim swiftly across at twice the speed and out of reach! The bounder of a frog had stolen away with her stitch, and there was not a thing she could do about it!
As the girl trudged defeated back to her side of the pond, she saw another sight most disturbing! There, on the opposite bank of the pond, where she had sat that night happily knotting, she saw the frog leap out of the pond and hop to where she had left her goods.....and her knotted lace object! She made good haste back to her side of the pond, but to her woe, she was not quick enough this night. She arrived just in time to see the robber frog jump back into the pond....holding in his mouth the end of the woolen string attached to her beloved lace object!
The frog swam mightily with the woolen string firmly clenched in his froggy jaws! The girl could only watch forelornly as the frog frolicked mockingly, pulling her beloved knotted lace into the pond, and unraveling it away into the dark night, stitch by stitch, row by row, until it was no more. Oh, the woe! She hung her head as she gathered her wooden sticks, and what was left of her precious bag of colorful strings, and returned to find good husband.
As time wore on past the mid of night, the weary girl and her very-weary husband made their way down the long road back to their village, where they finally settled in for the night. The girl dreamed of her colorful, knotted lace and wished for it's return, but it was not to be. But be not sad for the girl. She was not one to lose a battle with a silly frog and be defeated!
On the next day, she thought fondly and wistfully of her lost lace as she again packed her bag of colorful strings and wooden sticks to take on her long day's journey. Happily, the girl had many strings of bountiful colors and many fine wooden sticks with which to play, if she found a few stolen minutes that day! No frog trickery would ruin her happy craft, thought she! She would gleefully create new and colorful lacy forms, just as soon as she was able! "But I must avoid strange ponds and the trickery of their frogs," she reminded herself as she set off for the day.
The moral of this story, loyal readers, and a cautionary to good knitters everywhere is this-----
NEVER shall ye sit and knit on the banks of an inviting pond late at night and after a long day's labour! For though the moon is luminous on the cool water, and the banks beckon to sit and cool your feet while you go happily to your craft, resist the urge to rest there! And most assuredly take ye heed of the friendly-appearing frog resident of the pond, for the goodly gentleman frog of the day indeed becomes the robber frog of the night! The frog will frolic in the moonlight while your eyes become heavy, and your carefully-made stitches he will steal away into the dark pond! Once there, good knitters, no salvage be for your beloved woolen stitches. The property of the bastardly frog they will become and sink into his pond forever, never to be further gazed upon by you this day or ever more!
The End
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