Stink and the Freaky Frog Freakout (Book #8) Read Free

for counting frogs.”
    “Really?” Stink asked.
    “Sure! We’re concerned that the number of frogs in our area is down, so a bunch of us are meeting up at Frog Neck Lake to count frogs at night.”
    “A frog stakeout!” said Stink. “Do you stay up late and drink coffee and stuff?”
    “Sure. Hot chocolate, too.”
    “But how do you see the frogs at night?” Webster asked.
    “You don’t see them. You
hear
them. You learn to identify each frog by its call. Then you count which ones you hear.”
    “Sounds interesting,” said Dad.
    “Can we come, too?” asked Webster.
    “The more the merrier. We need all the help we can get. But one of you will have to learn some frog calls. I can show you a website that has all the frog sounds. Also, you have to pass a quiz before I can sign you up.”
    “Quiz? I love tests,” said Stink.
    “It’s true. He really does,” Dad said, nodding.
    “What do frogs do with math a test?” Stink asked.
    “I don’t know. What?” said Jasper.
    “They Rip-it! Rip-it!” said Stink. Stink cracked himself up.



Pree-eep! Craw-awk! Sque-enk!
    Stink listened to frog calls on the computer. He listened to frog sounds that he taped with his own tape recorder (by sticking it out the window at night!). Stink listened to frog calls on the way to school Monday morning and in the car on the way to swim lessons.
    Pre-eep! Craw-awk! Sque-enk!
At swim practice, he tried some out on his friends.
    “You sound like a duck,” said Webster.
    “You sound like a squeak toy,” said Sophie.
    “You sound like a sick banjo,” said Riley.
    “Thanks!” said Stink. “See, spring peepers sound like squeak toys. And wood frogs sound like ducks quacking.”
    “You’re quacked,” said Webster. Sophie and Riley cracked up.
    “You guys sound like Southern leopard frogs. A leopard frog sounds like a person laughing. No lie.”
    “Yeah, but nothing sounds like a sick banjo,” said Riley.
    “Nothing except for the Northern green frog. It sounds like a loose banjo string. You know, like a rubber-band twang.”
    “You sure are freaky for frogs,” said Riley.
    “Thanks!” said Stink.
    “You should marry a frog, you like them so much.”
    “Hardee-har-har,” said Stink.
    *   *   *
    Stink could not wait till swimming was over. He had a freaking great idea for how to learn frog sounds. He would need a comb, a balloon, two rocks, a can of spray paint, a rubber band, a rubber duck, some jingle bells, and that’s all.
    Stink blew up the balloon and rubbed it with his hand. He clicked rocks together. He twanged a rubber band.
    Judy poked her head into Stink’s room. Mouse squeezed past her. “Stink, I’m trying to study my times tables and I can’t hear myself —” She stopped when she saw the pile of junk on Stink’s floor.

    “What? I’m using this stuff to make frog sounds. Here. I’ll show you.” Stink rubbed his finger along the teeth of a comb. “This sounds like a chorus frog.” Stink shook the can of spray paint. “And this sounds like a Northern cricket frog.”
    Mouse darted under the bed.
    “And this —
AARGH!
— sounds like Mom when she sees the mess in your room,” said Judy.
    “Hardee-har-har,” chuckled Stink. “You’re
croaking
me up!”
    “Can you please shut your door so I don’t have to hear Froggle Rock all day?”
    *   *   *
    Stink squeaked his rubber duck down the stairs. He snored up a storm while he made a snack. He shook the can of paint, clicked the stones, and jingled the bells. “Wood frog, pickerel frog, cricket frog,” he recited.
    “Stink, keep it down, please,” said Dad, poking his head around the corner. “I’m on the phone.”
    “No spray-painting in the house,” said Mom. “Take that outside.”
    “I’m not painting,” said Stink. “Doesn’t anybody around here know a Northern cricket frog when they hear one?”
    Mom crinkled her forehead.
    “It’s homework,” said Stink. “I have to take a