Grenouille Bouchard's First Christmas

A bedtime story featured in the book 24 contes pour le dodo, a collection of tales created by Éditions Julie Normandin.

Grenouille Bouchard's First Christmas

By Maude Paquette (Mila Lune)

It was a beautiful August afternoon, and as usual, she was alone and sad. She was drowning in boredom, longing for company, when a pair of big blue eyes suddenly locked onto her. Annabella-Bella, a little wood frog, froze in terror under the gaze of a boy she estimated to be about seven or eight years old. He stood there, smiling, staring at her. She had no idea that Charlot Bouchard was about to grant her greatest wish.

The boy gently scooped the frog into his hands and took her home.

Charlot’s father wasn’t entirely on board with his son’s desire to keep a frog in the house. However, faced with Charlot’s pleading eyes, he helped set up a cozy space for her and taught his son how to properly care for his new little friend. He seemed to know a thing or two, because Annabella-Bella lacked nothing and was quite comfortable in her new home, feasting daily on crickets caught by Charlot. Days passed, then weeks, and soon, months.

One Monday in November, after school, Charlot took Annabella-Bella for a walk in the woods, nestled snugly in the pocket of his shirt. She shivered slightly from the cold and suddenly froze. A thought struck her—by now, she should have been preparing her winter refuge!

Wood frogs, as winter approaches, burrow into tree roots or hide beneath layers of dead leaves to survive. They hibernate, their little bodies freezing solid until spring!

Charlot was excitedly telling her how much he was looking forward to Christmas. He needed to write his wish list and send it to Santa Claus as soon as possible to make sure the elves wouldn’t forget him.

— Christmas? What is Christmas? Who are the elves? And what does this Santa Claus do? asked Annabella-Bella, confused.

— You don’t know what Christmas is? Charlot exclaimed in shock.

— I usually hibernate! I sleep all winter! the little frog explained.

Charlot proudly announced that Annabella-Bella would experience her first Christmas. Relieved and thrilled to realize that Charlot was keeping her with him for the winter, she listened as he described what Christmas was all about—the festivities, the delicious food, the family visits, and the presents under the brightly lit tree. He certainly didn’t forget to mention Santa Claus, the elves, the reindeer, and all the magic surrounding the holiday.

The little wood frog couldn’t believe her ears. She vowed to have a front-row seat on the night of Santa’s visit. She wanted to meet this big man dressed in red with a long white beard. And maybe… just maybe… steal one of his cookies. Oh yes, she definitely wanted to steal a cookie!

And so, on December 24th, at exactly 7:45 PM, at Annabella-Bella’s request, Charlot carefully placed her in the living room, making sure she had a perfect view of the Christmas tree. Under the gleeful gaze of his little frog and the affectionate smiles of his parents, the boy set to work preparing a plate with two chocolate chip cookies and a tall glass of milk for Santa. He kissed his mom, dad, and Annabella-Bella goodnight, then headed to bed, happy and excited.

In the Bouchard living room, at precisely 1:11 AM on December 25th, Annabella-Bella—who had dozed off despite her best efforts to stay awake for her grand cookie heist—suddenly jolted awake at the sound of a muffled BOOM coming from the chimney.

A big man dressed in red with a long white beard appeared.

"Santa Claus!" the little wood frog gasped, awestruck.

He carried a large red sack overflowing with what Charlot had described as gifts. As Santa busied himself placing presents under the tree, Annabella-Bella summoned her courage, took a great leap, and landed right next to the plate of cookies.

Just as she had managed to devour half of a delicious, long-coveted chocolate chip cookie, a deep voice suddenly interrupted her:

— Ahem, ahem!

The little frog looked up.

Santa Claus was standing right above her, peering down through his tiny spectacles, eyes narrowed.

— Well, well… By Rudolph’s red nose, is that a frog eating my cookies? he exclaimed.

Annabella-Bella, ashamed, scrambled to apologize. But instead of scolding her, Santa let out a deep, hearty laugh.

— Ho! Ho! Ho! No worries, little one! I eat way too many cookies anyway.

Annabella-Bella was so relieved… she accidentally let out a tiny frog fart!

Santa laughed even harder. In fact, he laughed so loudly that Charlot woke up and ran to the living room—just in time to see Santa disappear into thin air. Or… was it the magic of Christmas?

— Annabella-Bella BOUCHARD! Charlot exclaimed, now wide awake. What on earth are you doing in Santa’s cookie plate?

The little wood frog, chocolate smeared across her face, beamed with joy.

At that moment, she realized her greatest wish had finally come true.

She was part of a family now.

She would never be alone again.

She was a Bouchard!