Two Lives Are Better than One
Characters: Teddy Toad Tadpole, Freddy Frog Tadpole, Teddy Toad, Freddy Frog, Emmy Eft, Mindy Mink.
Prop: Sign saying “Months Later”
Freddy Tadpole Hello, Teddy Tadpole
Teddy Tadpole Hello, Freddy Tadpole.
Freddy When I grow up, I’m gonna be a frog. I’m not gonna have a tail anymore and I’m gonna have four long legs so I can leap! How about you?
Teddy I’m gonna be a toad! I’ll have four legs too, so I can hop.
Freddy And I’m gonna have a great big mouth instead of this little round one, so I can eat flying insects!
Teddy Me too! And we’re gonna have great big eyes to see them with.
Freddy Yeah, and they’re gonna be on top of our heads to see above water, not on the side like our little eyes. And you know what else? We’re gonna have lungs and breathe air!
Teddy Yeah, no more gills for us.
Freddy Boy, we sure are lucky to be amphibians!
Teddy Yeah, we sure are…um…what’s an amphibian?
Freddy You know, it means we have two lives.
We start out as tadpoles with gills and end up as frogs and toads with lungs!
Teddy I get it! We live in the water now, but we’ll be able to live on land when we grow up!
Freddy Of course, we’re not the only amphibians around here.
Teddy Of course not…we’re not?
Freddy No, salamanders are amphibians too.
Teddy You mean like Spotty Salamander and Nora Newt?
Freddy Sure. They have metamorphosis too.
Teddy Meta – what?
Freddy Metamorphosis. It means changing form. Like us, they start out in the water with gills and no legs, and then they grow four legs and lungs.
Teddy Only they keep their tails.
Freddy That’s right.
Teddy Right now, I’m glad I’m still a tadpole.
Freddy Me too! And I’m a tad hungry, so let’s go nibble some algae!
Teddy Algae – yum! (both exit; put up sign saying “Months Later”)
Emmy Eft Hello there. I haven’t seen you before.
Toad I’m new here. I used to be a tadpole in the pond, but now I’m a toad on the ground. Are you a lizard?
Eft No, no! Lizards have scaly skin and sharp teeth. I have damp skin like yours and no teeth.
Toad You’re certainly not a toad or a frog, so what are you?
Eft I’m a young newt, a special kind of salamander. I used to have gills and live in the pond, but now I have lungs and I live on the ground.
Toad Then you’re an amphibian too!
Eft That’s right. I’m called a red eft. When I grow up, I’ll be a newt and I’ll live in the pond again.
Toad Then you have three lives!
Eft In a way, but I won’t change again. I’ll still breathe with lungs when I go back to the pond. Right now, I’m still an eft, and I’m hungry! Eft-er all, I haven’t eaten in two whole minutes! Bye. (exits)
Toad So long, Emmy Eft. Hmm, I hear something hopping my way. Maybe a grasshopper. No, a frog!
Frog Hello. You look familiar. Have we met before?
Toad I think so! When we were both tadpoles in the pond – remember? You must be Freddy, I mean Frederick!
Frog I am! And you must be Ted, um, Theodore. We were pretty cute back then with our wiggly tails and gills.
Toad Yes. Look at us now – legs, lungs, googly eyes. We’re quite distinguished and mature.
Frog Yes. No more childish chasing each other around the pond. However, it’s so dry today, I’m going for a swim. We amphibians need to keep our skin moist, and catching insects is thirsty work.
Toad If I get thirsty, I just sit in a puddle and soak up water through my skin.
Frog My, my! I can’t do that! I’m going to the pond for a dip. I hear there are lots of bugs there today. Care to join me?
Toad I don’t know. It’d be dangerous hopping all that way.
Frog If we take big hops, we’ll get there in no time.
Toad Well, OK. Let’s go then. (frog makes big hops, toad makes little ones). Fred, Fred, wait for me! I’m falling behind!
Frog Can’t you take bigger hops?
Toad No. My legs are shorter than yours! You’re a leap frog, but I’m just a hop toad.
Frog True. Well, we’re almost there.
Toad Uh oh, there’s Mindy Mink coming our way!
Frog Quick, just one more hop to the pond!
Toad No, it’s too late. You go on without me.
Frog But Ted! I can’t leave you here to die!
Toad Don’t worry. I’ve got a secret weapon. I promise I’ll see you in the pond. Off you go now.
Frog Okay good luck, Ted! (exits)
Mink Oh ho! A tasty treat for me. Hello, toad. Down the hatch you go!
Toad Not so fast, Mindy Mink. Can’t you see my bumpy skin?
Mink Bumpy or smooth, it’s all the same to me.
Toad And can’t you see my short, stubby legs?
Mink Short or long, stubby or sleek, it’s all the same to me.
Toad And can’t you see the lumpy bumps behind my eyes?
Mink Lumps and bumps, it’s all the same to me! Now down the hatch you go and no more arguments! (lunges at toad, then jumps backward) Oh, oh, oh. You taste terrible!
Toad Of course! Don’t you know we toads have poisons in our skin?
Mink I didn’t know! Ugh! I will never eat a bumpy-skinned, short-legged toad again! (exits)
Frog Theodore Toad! You’re still alive!
Toad Of course! I toad you I’d be safe.
Frog Well, I’m glad. And, I’m glad we’re amphibians so we can enjoy our second lives together.
Toad Me too. And with these legs we’re sure to live hoppily ever after!
The End
Nearby Nature 