Jan 22, 2012
Nippers is at it again.
Pretty soon, you’ll hear all about him, but for now, he thought it would be fun to tell you about his species.
Here’s some facts and myths about Frogs:
1. Touching frogs and toads does not give you warts.
2. Although they belong to the same animal group (anura), frogs and toads are different species.
3. The Frog Prince was made famous by the Brothers Grimm. Early tellings of this fairy tale have the frog turning into a Prince not with a kiss from the Princess, but initially because she was disgusted with the creature and threw it into a wall. Other early stories state that all the Frog had to do was spend the night on the Princess’s pillow as she dreamed.
4. There are over 3,500 species of anura in the world.
5. The smallest frog was discovered in Cuba. They’re only 8.5 millimeters long – that’s 1/3 of an inch!
6. The largest frog lives in West Africa and grows to nearly 12 inches (30 cm).
7. Japan considers Frog symbols to bring good luck.
8. Le Grenouille (“La Grahn-wee”) is French for “The Frog”. French are nicknamed “frogs”.
9. Frogs were the second plague that God used to punish Pharoah for not letting Moses and his people leave Egypt. [Exodus 7:25 – 8:11.]
10. Famous frogs include the Budweiser commercial frogs, Kermit the Frog created by Jim Henson, and The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County written by Mark Twain.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Jan 16, 2012
I’m rediscovering my love for Le Grenouille.
This is him:
Handsome little guy, isn’t he? I also call him “Nippers”.
He just wanted to hop on over and see what this blog is all about.
He cuts quite the profile, doesn’t he?
He’ll be making appearances now and then, with and without his friend, Will Power.
Right now, he just wanted to introduce himself and say hi. Well, actually, he says “Ribbit!” and let’s me interpret for him.
‘Le Grenouille’ is French for ‘The Frog’. I come from a diverse ethnic background… on my father’s side. From my mother, it’s just French. A little Canadian thrown in, but the French kind. So I don’t think it counts. Her brother, my favorite uncle, also had a love of words and writing. He let me live with him during my college years and introduced me to the term Le Grenouille.
Many years later (hey! Not that many!), NCIS ran an arc through Season 4 that involved a French arms dealer nicknamed Le Grenouille. I was so excited. I explained to Dot what it meant.
Now, my daughter has all the ethnicity I have and then some. But she loves her French heritage. While I’m only about 0.05% Italian, you’d think I’m 100%. It’s how I decorate, cook, talk with my hands, love. My daughter is 100% French. No matter what other countries run in her blood.
So having a personal link to a character nickname on NCIS was just a fun little treat for her. And me. Shortly after the first few episodes, we went out and bought a Webkin and named him Le Grenouille.
But as we moved and she grew older, Le Grenouille found himself buried in boxes and bins. Through this weekend’s spring cleaning, he’s been rediscovered and just in time.
Because I need a frog for my mascot. And this little guy just jumped at the chance!
He’ll be playing a much more important role in days to come, and we’ll be more than willing to share those stories as they come along.
But now it’s time to hop off to bed and get a good night’s sleep. We’ve got some flies to catch tomorrow.
“Ribbit!”
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Nippers is at it again.
