The golden frog
One ordinary evening, as the sky burned orange and John trudged home from work, something seemed... off.
His street, usually calm and uneventful, was buzzing with noise—cheering, flashing lights, the unmistakable thwack of tennis balls. When he reached his block, he stopped dead in his tracks.
Jack’s modest suburban house had vanished.
In its place stood a massive tennis stadium, complete with towering floodlights, camera crews, packed bleachers, and two of the biggest stars in tennis battling it out on center court. The scent of popcorn and overpriced cocktails filled the air.
John shoved his way through the crowd until he found Jack lounging in a VIP box, wearing a tennis visor and sipping something out of a coconut.
“Jack?! What the hell is this?!” John shouted over the roar of the crowd.
Jack beamed. “Pretty cool, right? You’re just in time for the doubles match!”
“No, I mean—your house! What happened?!”
Jack leaned in and lowered his voice. “I met a golden frog down by the river this morning. Grants one wish to anyone who sees her.”
John blinked. “A frog?”
“Yup. Covered in gold, sits on a lily pad like she owns the place. Only catch—she’s very deaf. You have to shout your wish or she’ll mess it up.”
John didn’t wait to hear more. He turned and sprinted toward the river.
Sure enough, just as Jack said, there it was: a golden frog perched on a lily pad, gleaming in the fading light. Without hesitation, John cupped his hands and shouted:
“I WANT A HOUSE MADE OF GOLD!”
The frog blinked… and slowly nodded.
Heart racing, John ran home, practically glowing with anticipation.
But when he reached his yard, his smile froze—literally.
His house was covered in ice. Thick, glassy sheets wrapped the walls, icicles dangled from the eaves, and the lawn was buried under a layer of frost. The air was bitter cold. A penguin waddled past.
Mouth agape, John trudged back to the tennis stadium, teeth chattering.
Jack looked up from his seat. “Back already?”
“You were right,” John said through clenched teeth. “That frog is deaf. I asked her for a house made of gold, but she gave me cold!”
Jack nodded slowly, almost sympathetically. Then he turned back to the match and murmured:
“Yeah... and I didn’t want a big tennis.”