Page 106 - November 2020

106
Litterateur
November 2020

An Army of Frogs

“I get all the info I need about organs and organ systems by sneaking on to my
father’s Spice Channel website,”

Hector whispered to Greg. Both giggled.

“Hector, is there something you’d like to share with the rest of the class?” asked
Mrs. Worton.

Hector shook his head.

“Very well, then. As you cut away the layers of the frog’s anatomy, you will record

your findings on your frog map. Everyone draw an outline of a frog using the
markers I placed on your desks before you arrived this morning.”

What followed was the greatest shock in a day already filled with much tension and
apprehension. The frogs that Mrs. Worton handed out to each student weren’t dead
and pickled, but alive.

“Oh my God,” said Habib.

“Gross,” said Sophia.

“This is gonna be cool,” said Badra.

“Your frogs have all been anesthetized so they won’t feel any pain,” Mrs. Worton

smiled.

“I bet,” muttered Greg.

Mrs. Worton heard Greg’s remark but chose to ignore it. “The school paid extra so
that we could observe the organ systems of a living frog,” she said rather proudly.
“Before we begin the actual cutting, please weigh your frog and measure its length
from snout to vent and record this data in the lower right hand corner of your frog
map.”

Greg waved his arm. “What’s a vent?”

“Had you been studying like the rest of the class, you’d know that the vent is the
cloaca.”