Chapter 66: A Hole in the Sky

The last little frog hops into the last little bay. “Wow,” says Cassie, “you really are good at that! Even these little rich frogs listen to you!” You start thinking about the nature of amphibian economies, but then remember you have bigger problems to solve. “Cassie, can we go see the wise old frog now?”

“Oh!” she says. “Sure! We’re all done here! Follow me!” and she scampers off into the swamp. You have to hustle to keep up with her as she hops up swampy mounds down to marshy pools and back up the mounds again. You are heading away from the city, and things are starting to get sandier. She hops up a sandy ridge, and as you reach the top, you see that it overlooks the ocean. “Over here!” she calls, hopping over to what looks like a large sandcastle at the top of the ridge. It has a little opening that faces the sea.

“Old frog!” Cassie calls into the opening, “Are you there?”

You hear a slow hopping from within. The head of a withered gray frog with cloudy eyes emerges from the sandcastle. “Who is there?” says a faltering voice.

“It’s me, Cassie!” she replies brightly.

“Oh, Cassie,” says the old frog. “Did you help the young frogs find their bays?”

“I did, but not without help! An amazing frog that fell from the sky helped me, and all the little frogs got to their bays. But the sky frog has a strange story, and I thought you could help.”

“A sky frog?” says the old frog, with some alarm. His blank eyes look around. “Are you here, sky frog?”

“I am here,” you say.

“Tell me your story.”

You try to explain about Queen Stella, and the ghosts, and the strange eye in the sky. “If there is way you can help me turn human again, I would be very much in your debt.” The old frog nods as you tell the story, and then sits quietly, stroking his chin and thinking. Suddenly, he speaks. “There is only one way for a human turned into a frog by a curse to return to normal.”

“Is it a kiss from a princess?” asks Cassie, with deep interest.

“No, no, that’s just a fairy tale,” says the old frog. “No, only the witch who cursed you can change you back.”

“But…” you say, scanning the sky above the ocean. “How will I ever find her again? How can a frog get into the sky? And why would the witch change me back?”

“Frogs can do more than you might think,” says the old frog. “I know the witch that cursed you. Her name is Berthilda. She lives in a flying cloud high above the ocean. When my eyes were better, I would often watch her cloud fly above the sea, bedeviling airplanes and ships. The cloud is far away, but you can get there.”

You think it over. “Even if I do get there, why would she change me back? She seemed so cruel!”

The old frog smiles. “Berthilda has a weakness. She loves gems and precious stones. Bring her an offering of these, and you might be able to persuade her.”

You think back with regret about how you gave all your ice diamonds to that pirate. “But, I don’t have anything like that!”

The old frog smiles again. “You don’t, but the sea does. Pearls are hidden everywhere in the sea. Oysters like to curl up in frog bays. Find enough pearls, and you’ll have a nice offering for that evil witch.”

That almost makes sense. “But how will I find the cloud, and how will I get up there?”

The old frog looks into the sky with his blank eyes. “The birds will help you. Seek out mother duck, and tell her I sent you. She will carry you to the clouds. When you find a strange cloud you can jump on, it can bounce you up high, and birds will carry you to the witch’s cloud. But makes sure you get enough pearls before you get there, or the witch may have worse curses still for you in store.” The old frog closes his dull eyes. “Good luck, human. If you are clever, you will trick the witch. Thank you for helping young Cassie.” He withdraws back into his sandcastle.

Cassie looks down at the sand. “Are you really going to do all that? It sounds dangerous.”

You look out at the sea. “I… do a lot of dangerous things. I’ll be okay.”

“If you do all that, you really will be a Sky Frog.”

You squint up at the clouds. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Well, good luck, Super Frog! Watch out for fish and submarines. And eels. But sea turtles are okay! There’s one named Joe who gives me rides sometimes.”

“Thanks Cassie.”

“I’ve gotta go,” she says, hopping back over the ridge. “But good luck with the treasures! It’ll be great to remember everything again!”

“I’ll always remember you, Cassie!” you call, as she hops back down the sandy hill.

You look out at the ocean. It’s daunting, but you realize you don’t have much choice, and so you hop down the beach, into the surf.

Place your Frogger II: Threedeep cartridge into your Atari 2600. Set the left difficulty switch to b, and the right difficulty switch to a. Play until you get 3,000 points, and then hop into a cloud berth. Post a link to a video in the comments section of yourself completing the challenge.