The evening was falling, and the heron was circling a swamp near a wetland. It hadn’t been a good week, but she was determined to change that streak, and tired and hungry, she decided to try her luck.
With calculated precision and the grace of a ballerina, she landed softly on a stone near the shore, avoiding the water. She meticulously observed the puddle, trying to anticipate any movement, but the water remained still, reflecting the orange sky of that evening.
Just as she was about to take flight again, the perfect mirror shattered into ripples, alerting the heron that something was moving. Lazy and chubby, a small frog appeared floating among the vegetation on the other side of the swamp, without any caution, belly-up, drifting carelessly with half of its body in the shade and the other half in the warm sunset.
With quick reflexes, the heron didn’t hesitate to attack her prey. In one swift movement with her long beak, she caught the small frog in a single bite.
Looking up at the sky painted with colors, the heron tried to enjoy the meal, but she quickly realized something was wrong. As she tried to swallow her bite, it wouldn’t go down, and the sky began to spin as if she were taking flight.
The frog was almost headfirst in the middle of her throat, its hind legs hanging from the beak, and its front legs strangling the elegant neck of the heron, obstructing its passage to her stomach.
Flushed and dizzy, the heron staggered, her long legs sinking halfway into the swamp, stirring the waters and vegetation around. Then, as if in an exhibition in the middle of the ocean, two enormous jaws closed around the bird. With a completely improvised acrobatic twist, the frog was freed and landed on the stone facing the shore. When he turned around, the crocodile and its prey were gone.
The frog took a deep breath and shrugged. With a few slow movements, he returned to the water to enjoy the last rays of the sun.
The turbulent waters began to transform back into a mirror.
Mixpov 