Sparkles 2 & 3

It started a few weeks ago when Ellie, my 6 year old, got a little frog habitat for her birthday. It was a great gift from good friends who really know her well. We set it up and bought a green tree frog from the pet store. She loved him (Sparkles, the given name for all her little friends) and spent hours watching the tank. About a week later, we found Sparkles in the "pond", eyes glazed over and mouth agape in a macabre permanent grin. Aw shit. I broke the news to her in the kitchen, she took it pretty well at first, less so a little later. To lessen the hurt, I promised that we would try again, this time with a toad. We could catch one around the house I told her. I had just seen one the day before at the park in our neighborhood. My thought was that a toad would be more tolerant of temperature and humidity, an overall more hardy creature that could handle all the handling it was sure to get. Most of all the promise would buy time and let her forget about Sparkles. As luck would have it, good or bad is yet uncertain, we found two toads the very next night. The toads were locked in carnal passion at the time so I hesitated to disturb them. "But you promised!" And I had. Something told me I shouldn't, but I did. I prepared the tank while she followed them around the yard. She caught them, put them in the tank, Sparkles 2 and Sparkles 3. For the next two weeks she played with them every day. She took them out and let them hop around her room. They never tried and get away from her. There was something almost stoic about them. They seemed to accept their new life, for better or worse. It soon became apparent to my wife and I that this could not be a permanent arrangement. Eventually they would suffer the same fate as their predecessor, only this time there would be two instead of one, this time they would be wild instead of store bought and bred. We dropped hints that the day would come that they would have to be released. She stonewalled us completely. Any of you reading this that know Ellie also know that she is not easily swayed. Today, for the sake of the Sparkles couple, we took a stand. We knew it would not be easy but we were resolute. We hoped to teach a lesson, to appeal to her love of animals. We bribed her, begged her, lectured her. Eventually I took her and them out in the front yard under some oaks and sat in the leaf litter. I wanted her to take them out and set them free. She would not. I made her leave the door to the tank open and tried to get her to come inside. She would not. We spent almost an hour out there under the trees. A thunderstorm was approaching and it started to rain. I psyched myself up to do it. Rip off the bandaid, jump in the cold pool. She would get over it, I would get over her hating me. Then at the 11th hour, Pam suggested I set up one of the larger tanks taking up space in the garage. It would be 4 times the size. It may even keep the little guys alive. So I did. It has leaves and gravel, sticks, a big seashell, a pond and a live fern. Ellie doesn't hate me. She has her toads. Don't know where I'm going to put the tank. Don't know if I've only postponed the inevitable. Don't know if I've taught a poor lesson or set a bad example. I don't know if I've failed Sparkles 2 and 3. Time will tell. I'll keep you posted.