(///gravy.amplifier.frog – McDonald’s, Apia, Samoa)
There are no frogs native to Samoa. That was what clinched it for Terry.
A Solomon Islands leaf frog, he was part of Ronan Hatton’s collection of exotic amphibians, unceremoniously squashed together in a far from ideal glass box, forced to drink water the colour of gravy and listen to an amplifier blaring out nature sounds that were more disconcerting than relaxing.
Ronan saw it rather differently, forever telling them they were his pride and joy, how much he enjoyed seeing native frogs when he travelled, and how sad he was that there were no frogs living in his next destination. Terry decided he had to go.
His fellow frogs helped him with his ambitious plan to hop into a side pocket of Ronan’s bag, impossibly encased in the plastic egg from the tank. They said he was unlikely to survive, but he was accepting of that. The promise of what might be to come sustained him.
Somehow the plastic and the liquid inside protected him from the X-ray machine, the overhead locker and the turbulence, and Terry finally felt safe when he sensed that Ronan had reached his destination. Carefully he peeked and saw plastic tables, smelt the same burger aroma he recognised from home. Had he gone nowhere after all? Well he had to find out.
Terry hopped out, between feet and legs and found himself outside. This looked different from what he knew. Vibrant blue sky. Palm trees wafting gently in the warm air. People in shorts strolling around. He was in heaven.
Terry headed away from the nearby sea, making his way inland to his new paradise. Lush trees, babbling water, unlimited insects, with all the space he wanted and nobody to share them with. It was bliss. He could relax for the rest of his life.
But he was off guard. A few days later a stranger saw him spreadeagled on a leaf and reacted with wonder. A frog. In Samoa. A native frog. What a discovery. Before he knew it, Terry had been scooped up and put in a box. Back on a plane.
Within weeks he found himself in a clean glass tank, with eyes peering at him from all directions as the newest botanical marvel at London Zoo. And as they all stared, one face in particular caught his attention. And he was convinced he could hear an all too familiar voice asking one of organisers ‘How much would it cost to add him to my collection?’
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Image copyright Brian Gratwicke
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