Newt Is Nervous

Part One · The Job

Newt had one sentence to say. It was the worst job in the whole pond.

The pond held its yearly meeting on a warm day. It met on the big flat log.

"Someone must say hello to the new frogs," said Muskrat. Every eye in the pond turned toward Newt.

"Me?" said Newt, and his spots went pale. "All right, just one sentence," he said. His knees went soft.

That night, Newt practiced his sentence in the reeds. He recited it to a snail.

The snail did not respond. Newt thought that was fair. It was a snail.

Part Two · The Morning

In the morning, his knees would not stay still. His red spots felt hot, and his tail twitched twice.

Duck wandered by. "Are you nervous?" she asked. Duck always said the plain thing.

"A little," whispered Newt. Duck did not say, "Don't be." She sat down in the mud right beside him.

They watched a beetle crawl across a leaf. It took a very long time. Neither of them minded.

Muskrat came and sat in Newt's shade. "Once I forgot my own name," he said. "At a meeting."

"What was it?" asked Newt. "Still don't remember," said Muskrat. Newt made a tiny noise, almost a laugh.

Part Three · The Log

By noon, the log was crowded. There were eleven frogs and two turtles. There were a great many eyes.

Newt climbed up the log. His mouth felt as dry as a stick. Heron stood at the front, perfectly still.

Nobody said anything. Newt did not say anything either. A fly buzzed past, and Newt counted it.

Then he looked at Duck, at Muskrat, at Heron. "Welcome to the pond," he said.

It came out small, but every single frog heard it. They clapped their wet hands together. Newt sat down so fast that the log wobbled.

Afterwards, they shared sweet cress on the log. Newt's knees were still shaking, but nobody mentioned it. Duck passed him the last piece.