CHAPTER 1
Dear Frogman
I T ALL STARTED when Whitaker Murphy sent a letter to Frogman. âHoney,â said his mother, âI really think itâs just a waste of time.â His father said, âListen, Whit, it canât hurt to try. Just donât feel bad if you donât get an answer.â Molly, his little sister, screamed and said that sheâd die if Frogman wrote back. That was all the incentive he needed.
Whitaker wasnât sure where Frogman lived, so he simply wrote the words
FROGMANâSUPER HERO
in large capital letters across an envelope, put his own return address in the upper left-hand corner, stuck on plenty of stamps, and mailed it at the box downtown.
When Orson Pitt, the head clerk at the post office, saw the envelope, he grumbled and groaned. âItâs things like this that slow up the service,â he muttered as he stamped Return to Sender, Not Deliverable As Addressed on the envelope. âDumb kids.â
Then the letter was placed in one of the cubbyholes in the shelves above Barney Edwardsâs desk. He was Whitakerâs mailman.
Barney first noticed the letter as he shuffled up the Murphy front walk. He saw the stamp. And he saw the words FROGMANâSUPER HERO. He chuckled. Barney knew the Murphy children and he was certain that Whitaker would be terribly disappointed if he didnât get a reply, so he gingerly put the letter in his shirt pocket and continued on his route.
That night at home, after a dinner of three grilled cheese sandwiches, apple slices, corn chips, and cinnamon ice cream, Barney opened the envelope and read the letter. It said:
Dear Frogman,
Were you born a frog? Do you really live underwater? Is your skin really green? Or is it fake?
Your friend,
Whitaker Murphy
P.S. My sister Molly is afraid of you.
P.S.S. She thinks you are slimy and ugly.
Barney found some stationery, took out his old Remington typewriter, and wrote this reply:
Dear Mr. Murphy,
Yes, I was born a frog. Yes, I really live underwater, but just part of the time. And yes, my skin is really green.
Your amphibious* friend,
Frogman
P.S. I am not afraid of Molly.
P.S.S. I am not slimy and ugly.
*Go ahead and look that up in your dictionary!
Just for fun, Barney signed Frogmanâs name in green magic marker. After addressing the envelope to Whitaker, Barney sprinkled a few drops of water on it, blurring the letters a bit, for a touch of authenticity. Then he set the envelope on the kitchen table, next to his vitamins, so that he wouldnât forget it in the morning.
The late-August sun was hidden behind Franklinville, Wisconsinâs tallest structureâthe water towerâby the time Barney turned the corner onto Kewaunee Street. Whitaker lived on Kewauneeâthird from the cornerâin the square blue house with the long, rambling porch. Ivy leaves, like musical notes, sang their way up and down and around the railings.
Whitaker and Molly were sitting on the porch steps, waiting for Barney.
âSee, Molly,â Whitaker explained, pointing to the water tower, âit really is a spaceship. Itâs just disguised as a water tower.â
âI donât believe you,â Molly said as she dressed her doll and carefully brushed its golden hair.
Whitaker raised his hands in disgust. âWhy else do you think itâs painted silver or has that red light that blinks on and off at night, then?â
Molly looked at Whitaker. âLast time you scared me, Daddy told me that the light is so airplanes donât hit it in the dark.â
âWRONG,â Whitaker protested. He took the doll away from Molly and held it by its hair. âThis dumb doll is really one of the space creatures. And tonight while youâre asleep, itâs going to turn green like Frogman and eat you!â
Molly didnât even try to get her doll back. She just ran into the house, shrieking, âMO-O-O-O-o-o-o-om!â
Whitaker was too absorbed