The
Widow And The Toad
A
widow was feeling very lonely and decided that the best thing to do would be
to find a companion. So, off she went to the pet shop. She wasn't sure just
what kind of pet she'd like, so she figured she'd just walk around until she
found just the 'right one.' She went past the adorable little puppies, past
the playful kittens, past the preening parrots, past the sleeping hamsters,
past the whirling gerbils, and past the colourful fish in there huge tank.
Nothing
really appealed to her or seemed to be what she was looking for. She decided
to look around the store again. On the way over to the puppies, she walked by
a barrel. At the bottom of the barrel was a rather ugly looking toad. But when
she looked in, he winked at her! The poor widow shook with surprise! She
couldn't believe it and quickly went back to the other pets on display.
Once
again, she checked out those sweet little puppies, the darling kittens, the
fluttering birds, the fuzzy hamsters, the sleek gerbils, and the darting fish.
Nothing really, really did it for her. She was starting to get discouraged.
So, she figured one last time around, just in case she missed something.
Going
by the barrel again, she warily took another peek. There was that big ugly
toad, and this time, he puckered up and threw her a kiss!! This was almost too
much for the poor widow and she just about ran out the shop.
But
once more, she tried to find just the right pet to take home with her, but not
one of those cute puppies or silky kittens or chirping birds or golden
hamsters or skinny gerbils or fancy fish seemed right for her. Totally
discouraged by now, the widow decided to go home.
On
the way out of the shop, she had to walk past the barrel again. As she
furtively peeked in, the toad just gave her the most beseeching look, and he
had a little tear on the corner of his eye. He even sniffed a bit. This was
too much for our widow, she started heading for the exit in a hurry.
All
of a sudden it struck her that this poor toad was probably just as lonely as
she was. Not only that, but he was so ugly that no one would probably buy him,
especially not with all the other nice pets available. So up to the counter
she marched, told the salesperson she'd take the toad, but requested that he
be put in a sturdy box. When she got to her car, she placed the box on the
seat next to her and proceeded to drive home.
As
she was driving along, she heard some scratching coming from the box. She
tried to ignore it for a bit, but then thought that the toad might need some
air, so she opened the box a bit. She would glance over at the toad from time
to time, and he kept winking at her and throwing her kisses. She finally
thought, "Oh heck, what could it hurt?" and she leaned over and
KISSED him!
And
POOF! He turned into a HANDSOME PRINCE!!!
And
do you know what our poor widow turned into?
The
first hotel she came to!