Teresa and the Magic Frog

The girls were playing a game of jacks on the living room floor while Uncle Artor sat in the captain’s chair, smoking tobacco from a pipe.
“Carolina, Teresa, I just had a thought. Would you like to go into the city with me?”
The girls’ faces filled with excitement.
“Sure we would!” said Teresa, “Where are we going?”
“Ever heard of El Sapo?”
“Yes, I see them in the pet store or by the pond. They’re green and slimy and they go “Kreek-kreeek!”
“Not those kinds of El Sapo. I mean the game.”
“Yes, I’ve heard of it.”
“Have you ever played it?”
“Just once, but it was a long time ago,” replied Carolina.
“How about my daughter?”
“I have never heard of it until now.”
“Then we must take a trip.”
The girls put on their coats and got into the pickup truck. Teresa sat in the middle, while Carolina had the window seat. She rolled down the window and let the cool mountain wind blow over her face. She poked her right arm outside and waved it in the wind.
“Where are we going?” asked Teresa.
“Every Saturday evening after our fishing trip, Uncle Jose and I stop at a Ice Cream shop. We eat Ice Cream and play a few games of El Sapo. I’ve always said I was going to bring you girls here; now I’m keeping my promise.”
“Why is it called El Sapo?” asked Teresa.
“It comes from an ancient folk tale shared by the Incas. The Incan Indians would go to Lake Titicaca and throw their gold coins into the lake, hoping to attract the attention of the frogs. The Inca believed that frogs had special powers.”
“Frogs aren’t magic,” replied Teresa.
“How do you know?”
“I just do,” replied Teresa.
Uncle Artor drove into the city and pulled the truck into a parking spot just in front of the Ice Cream store.
“We’re here,” he said.
Two windows sat at the front of the building, with a line of people waiting in front of each one. The Ice Cream shop was a small, rectangular building that sat on top of a slab of concrete. People filled the picnic tables that sat on either side of the building, enjoying their desserts.
“Where’s this magical frog?” asked Teresa. She folded her arms and investigated her surroundings.
“Be patient,” said Uncle Artor.
The lines moved quickly as people were served. Finally, Uncle Artor approached the counter.
“Tres cucuruchos, por favor,” said Uncle Artor. The waitress served up three ice cream cones. The girls each took an ice cream cone and began eating.
“Senorita? Puedo requestar doce fichas?”
The waitress handed 12 gold tokens to Uncle Artor. Meanwhile, Teresa found an empty picnic table and sat down.
“I just don’t get why anyone would think a frog is magic,” said Teresa.
“You’re always the doubtful one, aren’t you?” replied Uncle Artor.
“I’m sorry, but I have to agree,” replied Carolina, “Why would anyone think a frog has magic powers?”
“Haven’t you heard of the frog that turns into a prince? This may be that some sort of thing.”
“Oh, father,” sighed Teresa.
Uncle Artor finished his ice cream cone and stood up.
“Follow me. It’s time to find El Sapo.”
Uncle Artor went around to the back of the store. A child stood behind a white line, tossing tokens at a wooden cabinet. On top of the cabinet, there was a shelf with five rows of holes. In the center sat a golden frog, with his mouth open. He was waiting for the boy to throw him a golden token.
“I see,” said Carolina.
Uncle Artor handed six tokens to each of the girls. They got in line and waited their turns. Carolina went first. She tossed the coins at the cabinet. They landed on top of the cabinet and went into the holes. When she was finished, a man standing beside the cabinet lifted up the lid. Below each of the holes was a tiny compartment to collect the tokens. The man pulled out the coins, counting Carolina’s score. He gave her a leather bracelet and then motioned for Teresa.
Teresa tossed the first token at the cabinet, but it fell short, landing in the dirt in front of the cabinet. Teresa frowned, then shot again. The next one landed in a hole behind the frog, worth 500 points. The third token landed in another hole, in the back corner. That hole was only worth 100 points. Teresa threw her fourth and fifth tokens. They both missed the cabinet, too. The fourth hit the front of the cabinet and the fifth almost hit the man standing beside the cabinet.
“It’s okay,” Uncle Artor said.
Teresa concentrated as she swung her arm back and forth. She was determined. She flung the token through the air. With a metallic clink it landed squarely in the frog’s mouth. Everyone applauded Teresa.
“Come here, dear girl,” said the man standing beside the cabinet. He pulled a tiny gold frog off the shelf behind him and stung a leather strap through the ring near the frog’s tail. He reached over Teresa’s head. He tied the necklace to the correct length and cut off the remainder.
Teresa’s face was red with embarrassment. Everyone was applauding for her. She wasn’t comfortable with all that attention. Uncle Artor came up and hugged her, then they returned to the pickup truck.
“It was destiny,” said Uncle Artor.
“Destiny? It was luck.”
“No matter what you say, there is one thing I forgot to tell you,” said Uncle Artor.
“And what is that?” asked Teresa.
“The Inca used to make wishes before they threw their coins into the lake.”
“Sort of like a wishing well,” said Carolina.
“Right, a wishing well. If the frog catches your coins, then you are granted one wish.”
“One wish for anything?” asked Teresa.
“Almost anything,” said her father.
Teresa grasped the golden frog pendant in her hand. “I wish for a pet horse.”
“We don’t have any place to keep a horse."
“I wish for a stable and a I wish for a large field for him to run free.”
“Teresa, that’s three wishes.”
“If I only get one wish, I guess I’d better not waste it.”
Teresa spent the rest of the night thinking about her wish. She wondered if her father really meant it or if he were really joking. She knew he couldn’t afford a pony and there was no place to keep it if he could.
They arrived at home, but when Aunt Beatriz asked Teresa about her day, she had little to say. Carolina, on the other hand, shared every detail.
“We plaed El Sapo. Have you ever heard ot it, Auntie?”
“I’ve played el Juego de Sapo. I used to play all the time when I was a little girl.”
“We played and Teresa threw her last coin into the mouth of the frog. Now he owes her a wish.”
“What did you wish for?” asked Aunt Beatriz.
Teresa shrugged her shoulders.
“She wished for a pony.”
“A pony? What would you do with a pony?” asked Aunt Beatriz.
Teresa did not answer her mother. She knew the frog would not grant such a wish. In fact, she was silent for the rest of the night.
At bedtime, she changed into her pink nightshirt and knelt beside her bed to say her prayers.
“Our Father who art in Heaven, today has been quite a day for me, as you may already know. I am sure it has probably been quite a day for you, too, but I need your help. I’m not praying for a pony. I just want to come up with a way to own a pony for a little while.”
As Carolina returned from the bathroom, Teresa unfolded her hands and quickly jumped into bed.
“Praying for that pony?”
“Absolutely not,” answered Teresa. She reached up and turned off her reading lamp, then laid in the darkness. The aroma of pipe tobacco filled the air, followed by the mutter of conversation from the living room. Teresa imagined they were talking about the pony.
“It would be so wonderful to own a pony, wouldn’t it?” whispered Carolina.
“It would.”
The girls drifted off to sleep and dreamt of a large field, with two ponies and two girls, riding through the valleys below the Andes Mountains.