Sadie and the tree frog in the tub

Sadie, age 3, was sitting in the shallow water of the bathtub. Sadie likes to pick up bugs and other small creatures, but apparently she had visited Ripley's Aquarium recently and had seen the terrarium of poison dart frogs -- or something.

We all heard: "AIIGGHH! There's a frog! There's a frog!"

Her sister Audrey (age 7) and I ran into the bathroom. A cute, little, green tree frog was perched at the far end of the white tub. Sadie had her back against the faucet at the other end and was staring at the frog.

Audrey bent over the tub and started trying to catch it.

Sadie: "DON'T! IT'S POISONOUS! IT'S POISONOUS!"

Me and Audrey: "No no, it's not poisonous...."

Sadie: "IT'S POISONOUS! IT'S POISONOUS! It'll bite! Audrey, it'll bite!"

Audrey continued to try to capture the frog, who was flitting between the edge of the tub and a little steel basket on suction cups about an inch above the tub's rim.

Me and Audrey: "Sadie ... this kind isn't poisonous... look at me Sadie... Sadie, look at me... this kind's not poisonous."

Sadie calmed down a bit -- I think she started to believe us.

Audrey was still trying to catch the frog, who now jumped into the water and started zipping around the perimeter of the tub with a marvelous ease and swiftness, an effortless motion of legs for a quick glide through the dirty water only a 3-year-old can provide.

The little green frog went behind Sadie's back and continued its loop back to the far end of the tub. Sadie seemed more worried about Audrey's attempts to capture the frog. I don't know if she had even noticed that the little green daredevil had gone behind her back.

Finally, Audrey captured the frog, but only with one hand.

As she turned toward the bathroom door, the frog wiggled free and began hopping down the hallway toward Audrey and Sadie's bedroom.

Then Audrey used two hands, cupped the frog from the hallway floor, and took it outside. She wanted to put it in a bucket so she could show Mommy.

When she saw through a window that Mommy was inside, Audrey started yelling about the frog through the glass. Then she brought it back into the house. This time, the frog remained in Audrey's hands.

Eventually, the frog was released outdoors, and I began to wonder, and worry about, how the heck that thing had slipped into the house.