Even as Mousey reached the edge of the Trembling Bog, he felt terrible for leaving Bufo behind.

The Toad King’s soldiers had escorted Mousey, Lexi, and Sir Ranae to the border, and even given them food supplies for the road. Several times during that journey Lexi had asked Mousey why he looked so troubled, but he’d always responded, “I’ll tell you later.”

Once the toads were long out of sight, his mother said, “Now, you’re going to tell me what’s bothering you, right?”

“I admit, I’m curious too,” croaked Sir Ranae. “Did that vile Toad King force you to swear some terrible oath? Did he threaten you?”

“No,” said Mousey. He glanced back, making sure that the toads were nowhere near close enough to overhear him. “It was the way he treated Bufo.”

“Who’s Bufo?” Sir Ranae asked.

In unison, Mouse and Lexi responded, “His tadpole.”

“More specifically, his heir,” said Mousey with a sigh.

Lexi patted him on the shoulder. “You can tell me anything, pup. How did he treat Bufo?”

“Well… I actually didn’t see him do much…” Mousey paused, then continued. “When I finished brewing the cure, Bufo refused to drink it, so the Toad King got angry and forced him to open his mouth. Later, I talked to Bufo alone, and he confessed to me that his father’s cruel to him. So cruel that Bufo didn’t want to be cured…”

“Figures!” Sir Ranae croaked. “That blasted monster! He’s cruel to everyone, it’s no surprise he has no mercy upon his own tadpoles either! Why, I have half a mind to go back there and—”

“Half a mind indeed,” Lexi interrupted. She placed a paw on Sir Ranae’s hand to silence him. “Mousey, do you remember when you caught falling tongue?”

“Yes,” said Mousey, nodding his head. “It took me weeks to recover, and you took care of me the whole time.”

Lexi nodded in turn. “Do you remember why it took so long?”

Mousey scratched behind one of his ears. “Because… it’s a hard sickness to cure?”

“Well, yes, it is,” said Lexi. “But, more importantly, you stopped taking the medicine. The fever got to your head, and you were convinced that what I was giving you was just making it worse.”

“Really?” Mousey didn’t remember that detail at all. Now that he thought about it, he barely remembered anything from the second week until he’d been cured.

“Sometimes when we’re sick,” Lexi continued, “we stop wanting to get better.”

“But falling tongue isn’t a life-threatening sickness like swamp plague!” Mousey protested.

Lexi stared at him a moment, as if he’d just claimed to come from the moon. “What are you talking about? Of course it is!”

“It is?” Mousey squeaked. “You never told me that!”

“You were a pup, and you were sick,” said Lexi. “I didn’t want you to be scared. But… you learned enough medicine to cure swamp plague, I thought for sure you would have learned how dangerous falling tongue is by now! Mousey… you very nearly died just as your fur was coming in.”

“Oh…” Mousey felt a chill wash over him. He’d had no idea that he’d had such a close brush with death so early on. But, then again, he felt a little warmth return as he realized it was his mother who’d saved his life back then.

Sir Ranae chimed in, “So, you believe Bufo’s confession came from fever rather than suffering under his father’s cruelty?”

“I can’t say for sure,” said Lexi. “I just think it’s best not to jump to conclusions. Certainly, we shouldn’t assume the Toad King is so bad to his own tadpoles to make them want to… well, die of plague.”

“And why not?” Sir Ranae croaked, indignantly. “He’s a monster! He’s proven that time and again! The Toad King is vicious, and mean, and greedy—”

“All parents care for their children,” Lexi snapped. “Some may have a funny way of showing it, and some may be horribly misguided, but they love their children.”

“Not all,” Sir Ranae mumbled under his breath.

Lexi ignored him and turned back to Mousey. “You did the right thing, telling us. Though, I’m not sure what we can really do about it. I just wish there was a way we could find out more about what goes on in that palace.”

“Actually, I have a way,” said Mousey. He reached his paw into his pocket and produced his half of the mixing bowl. “This is Link. It allows me to talk to Bufo. Also, he can talk to me with his half.”

“Oh!” Lexi squeaked. “Good good. You can check in on him now and then, see how he’s doing.”

“And if the Toad King is truly a demon even to his own kin,” croaked Sir Ranae, “then I shall swoop into the Trembling Bog with many frog knights beside me! We will storm the palace and defeat the Toad King once and for all!”

Lexi rolled her eyes. “Yes, there’s always the warrior’s approach.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, ma’am,” began Sir Ranae, “why have you such an aversion to a knight’s way of fighting wrong?”

“A knight’s way of fighting wrong?” Lexi repeated, one eyebrow raised. “I have no problem with right-hearted knights fighting true wrong, but oftentimes calling someone, or a group, ‘wrong’ is only done to justify your own dislike for them.”

“Pardon?”

“You’ve made it no secret that you think toads are wrong,” said Lexi, folding her arms.

“Well… I know not all toads are wrong…” Sir Ranae said.

“But you see those who aren’t as the exception to the rule, am I right?” Lexi said, pointing at him.

“Well… yes… generally toads are terrible creatures…”

Lexi sighed. “An opinion you’ve come to, I’m sure, because of how many you’ve fought on the battlefield.” She held out her paws to both Sir Ranae and Mousey to stop them for a moment. “Now, listen to me, and listen well, both of you. There is wrong in this world. Wrong-hearted beasts do exist, but they can be any beast. What’s more, the truly wrong are the rare ones, and if you start to think of toads, bats, salamanders, or even cats… yes, Mousey, even cats, as wrong then you start down a dangerous path. That way of thinking often leads one to become a wrong-hearted beast themselves. Understand?”

Both Mousey and Sir Ranae nodded their heads.

Lexi’s eyes met Mousey’s. “Right-hearted cats are not the exception to the rule. Quite the contrary, wrong cats are the rarer ones.”

Sir Ranae licked one of his own eyeballs, and said, “Then, how is it that an wrong-hearted cat rose to become their queen? Or a wrong toad?”

“Because the wrong know how to create fear,” said Lexi. “And fear is the most common way to make people obey you. Respect and love are far better, but fear is easier.”

“How do you know so much about this?” Mousey asked.

Lexi smiled and folded her arms. “I raised twenty-seven pups. I learned a thing or two about leadership.”

Sir Ranae chuckled. “I have no pollywogs myself, so I must defer to your wisdom, ma’am.”

“Thank you,” said Lexi. “Speaking of the pups, we really need to hurry. Lapin’s family must have their hands full caring for them. Even to a big family like his they can be troublesome.”

Mousey nodded his head. “Yes. Let’s hurry to his hutch.” He had almost forgotten about the rabbit who had been looking after his brothers and sisters. As they continued on their way, now moving faster than they had been before, Mousey could almost picture the disapproving face Button was sure to give him.