名稱：am i a frog yet.mp3
內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)介：
By Arlene Mark
Art by Craig Stapley

Read AlongPlayPause
Stop.INTRO

On the first day of swim camp, Rory woke up early. Today was the day he would learn to swim.

His mom dropped him off at the area of the pool where the other Pollywogs were.

“I’m Tim, your instructor,” said a teenager. “Welcome to Pollywogs.”

All the kids said hi. Then it was pool time. Rory was the first Pollywog in the water, the shallow end.

Rory heard a loudsplash!at the other end of the pool. In a few seconds, a boy popped out of the water and swam toward the edge of the pool.

“Cool! Can I do that?” Rory asked, watching the boy in the deep end.

“Oh, he’s a Frog,” Tim said. “Those kids were Pollywogs last summer. You’ll be a Frog someday, but today you’ll learn the Pollywog float.”

Rory could see the Frogs bending their knees to dive in on the other side of the pool. He wished he could do that. Maybe he’d be a Frog by the end of the day.

Tim helped Rory float by holding him up. When Tim let go, Rory lay flat for a few seconds. Then his legs started sinking. He got back up, blew the water out of his nose, and tried again. He practiced all morning. By lunchtime, Rory could almost float.

“Am I a Frog yet?” he asked Tim. “Keep floating,” Tim said. Rory kept practicing, and he watched the Frogs.

The next day, Tim showed the Pollywogs how to take side breaths. The day after that, Tim showed the class how to paddle kick. Rory held on to the side of the pool, and water splashed as his feet flew up and down.

By the end of the week, Rory could float, and he could take side breaths. And he could paddle kick to the other side of the pool using a kickboard.

He was probably a Frog now, he figured. But when he asked, Tim said, “Keep paddle kicking.”

Rory sighed. He wondered how long it took to become a Frog.

The next week, Tim showed the Pollywogs how to do the windmill stroke. Rory spun his arms and pulled the water back. He paddle kicked and took side breaths, all at the same time. He practiced for days.

The first time Rory did the windmill stroke all the way to Tim, he said, “Am I a Frog yet?”

“Almost,” Tim said.

Rory liked “almost.” He ducked underwater. He could see squiggly arms and legs as Frogs passed him.

For the next two weeks, Rory practiced everything he’d learned.

On the last day of swim camp, Tim announced, “Free swim today for Pollywogs and Frogs.”

Everyone jumped into the pool. Pollywogs and Frogs splashed and got all mixed up. They floated, paddle kicked, spun windmills, and played capture the flag.

At the end of the day, Rory swam up to Tim and scrunched his face. He croaked, “Ribbet, ribbet!”

Tim croaked back, “You did it, you did it!”