Bolero the Bull Frog Riding Squirrel

There once was a little squirrel named Bolero. Bolero was not the biggest or strongest squirrel. If anything he was on the scrawny side, but he had a lot of heart.  Ever since Bolero was a little squirrel he wanted to be a bull frog rider. Every weekend he would go down to the swampodeo and watch the bull frog riders. He would sit and stare in awe for hours imagining what it would be like to be down there riding one of those marvelous creatures. Now, riding a bull frog is hard enough for the
strongest of squirrels. The bull frog will buck and jump and hip and hop and even kick to get the squirrel of its back, and their webbed feet are dangerous to be caught under. But, for a squirrel as small as he was, riding a bull frog was all but
impossible. Bolero's family and friends told him that it was way too dangerous to get involved in and, besides that, bull frog riding was no way to earn a living
As Bolero grew up, he decided he would go into the counseling field. He liked walnuts, and they looked like little brains, so it was the natural choice. After attending Peanut High, he went to Chestnut Community College where he got his A.A. While attending Tri-C, he took a class on bull frog riding. It was his favorite class he took in college. After Tri-C he went on to Acorn U, where he studied counseling and psychology. Finally, after 6 years of schooling, Bolero had his degree. He was now a "grown up", living in the "real world". But, he didn't have a job. It was difficult to find work in his field. He decided to just get some temporary work while he figured out what he wanted to do with his life. There was a mill right down the branch from where he lived where they produced toothpicks. It seemed like a good opportunity, so he got a job there, working the rotogrinder. It was good a paying job and Bolero could afford to eat exquisite dishes such as acorn jello and bark upside down cake.

It was 3 years later and Bolero was still working at the mill, but every so often he would think back and wonder what his life would have been like if he had become a famous bull frog rider. One day after work, Bolero was sitting back in his recliner thinking on just that subject when he got a call from an old friend from high school, Aric, the amazing amuser of anyone allowing him to articulate his ambiguous anecdotes for attention. Aric, always enthusiastic, exclaimed, "You aren't still 'grinding' away at that mill are you? I'm going to 'go out on a limb' here and say that you aren't satisfied at your job. There must be a 'million' other jobs you could be doing. Get it... 'million'?"

"I do enjoy my job", Bolero replied. "It keeps me busy and it pays the bills. Plus, I have a good boss. Although, I was just thinking how great it would be to be a professional bull frog rider".
"Being a professional bull frog rider would be difficult, but I believe you could do it. You are not too old to go back to school, and you can major in bull frog riding. Although, to be a professional, you also need to get your Master’s Degree. You will be fine as long as you don't 'croak'. Well, it's been nice talking to you, but now I have to 'leave'."

Up to this point, Bolero had never actually considered following through on his dream. He knew that was what he always wanted, and it was the one thing he was truly passionate about, but he didn't believe he could actually do it. Because of all the things his family and friends had said to him over the years, he actually started believing that he was not capable of being a bull frog rider. But, Aric's words were like a spark that ignited something in his spirit.
As Bolero went to work each day, he found his mind drifting. He couldn't stay focused and was constantly day dreaming. There was something stirring inside of him. He talked to his parents about his desire to be a professional bull-frog rider,  but they just couldn't understand.

"Why don't you give up on that stupid dream?"

"That's too dangerous."

"You can't do that. You're just not built for that type of thing."

"When are you going to grow up and stop acting like a child?"

"You might as well not even try. You are just going to fail anyway."

Bolero couldn't take it anymore and as he stormed out the door he shouted, "You're wrong! I can do it and I will! You'll see."

The next day Bolero stayed after work to talk to his boss.

"Mr. Balboa, Thank you for allowing me to work here these past few years. I am grateful for all you've done for me, but unfortunately it is time for me to move on. I'd like to quit working here."

"Hey, yo. You know its gonna be sad seein' you go and all, you know. You're like the best thing that has ever happened to this company. Why do you have to go and leave us like this you know?"

"I'm thinking about going back to school to become a professional bull frog rider. It is what I have always wanted to do."

"Hey, that's great you know. Our own little squirrely bull frog rider. That's great, that's really great. Hey, howsabout my secretarys you know like writin' yous some kinda recommendational letter, you know. Somethin' to helps you for your next job?"

"Ok, that's sounds great."

"Yo Alyson, would you, or could you consider maybe you know, like writing a recommendational letter for Bolero. Put in like, he's great, you know, and he's a good worker..."

"Cool, thanks Mr. Balboa, I'll talk to you later."

Bolero's last day of work was filled with ridicule. His fellow coworkers, who were supposedly his friends, heard that he was trying to become a bull frog rider and couldn't stop laughing. Nonetheless, Bolero was determined to follow through on his dream.

Bolero went home and made a list of what he needed to do in order to accomplish his dream.
1. Find a trainer     
2. Enter a bull frog riding competition 
3. Make it to the BRF (Bull-Frog Riding Finals) and win the swampodeo trophy.
"Looks easy enough", he said to himself.

He called around a few places, looking for a trainer, but none of them were willing to take such a small rodent. They all said he was lacking in size, strength, and stamina. Bolero started to go to the swampodeos again and even got to meet a few of the other bull frog riders, including Ahnold the current bull frog riding champion, and the biggest buffest bull frog riding squirrel around.

One day after the swampodeo had finished, Bolero was scurrying around the forest floor on his way home when he saw a wild bull frog. It was the scariest thing he had ever seen. His huge eyes were staring straight through Bolero. Bolero froze in fear. His mind was racing. There were trees around, and he was wondering if he should make a break for one of them. He turned toward the closest tree and was ready to run towards it, when he heard a rustling in the brush behind the bull frog. Just as the bull frog pounced to smash little Bolero a lasso came flying out of the brush and caught the legs of the frog, tripping him and making him fall to the ground just inches in front of Bolero.

Bolero was in awe that there was any creature alive that could take down a bull frog, and he was even more surprised when he saw what emerged from the brush. Out of the brush came a squirrel no bigger than Bolero was. As Bolero stood there shaking and stunned, the other squirrel came over and started talking to him.

"Hi there. Are you alright? That was a pretty close call."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for saving me"

"No problem. My name's Vern; I'm from Texas, but you can call me Vertex."

"Ok...Vertex, what brings you all the way out here from Texas?"

"Well, back in Texas, I was a bull frog riding trainer. I was pretty good. Some of the people I trained even won a few competitions. But, my dream is to have one of my students win the BRF, and get the trophy. I looked all over Texas and yet I couldn't find a squirrel that had what it takes to make it in the BRF. So, I've been traveling around the country going to different swampodeos looking for a squirrel to train."

"You are a bull frog riding trainer? Aren't you a little small to be riding bulls, not to mention training others to ride them?"

"Oh, you think size is what is important in riding bull frogs? It's not. I've discovered the secret to successfully riding bull frogs, and it all has to do with math. No matter how small you are, you can ride a bull with these secrets."

"Do you think I could learn how to ride a bull frog?"

"Maybe, but first you have to change your attitude. Riding a bull frog is either all or nothing. If you believe you can do it you most likely will, but if you don't believe you can do it, then you have already failed.”

"I can do it! I've wanted to be a bull frog rider my whole life. I just need someone like you to train me."

"I like that enthusiasm. You seem like you really want this. I tell you what, if you can make it through this little obstacle course, I will train you. Oh, and you have to do it blindfolded."

Bolero went through the course. He got hit by flying acorns. He tripped over branches, and fell many times into the mud hole. He got bit by many ants while making it through the ant pit. He was beat, he was bruised, and he bled. Every step brought a new danger and a new pain. Each move felt like it was going to be his last. Every muscle in him hurt and yet he kept going. Finally, he reached the end and collapsed unable to go any farther.

“Wow. That was amazing. No one has ever completed that course before, even without a blindfold. The pain is just too great for them. Even I have only made it half way. I believe you have what it takes to be a great bull frog rider. I'll give you a few days to recover and then we will begin training.”

Bolero was really excited. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was doing what he was made to do. He felt like his life had purpose. He started working with Vertex everyday and also started attending classes to become a professional bull frog rider. The classes were challenging, but Bolero excelled in them. He spent long hours doing homework and papers and studying for tests. He wanted to absorb as much as possible. But, as much as he enjoyed his classes he enjoyed his training with Vertex even more.

The first day of training with Vertex, Bolero woke up early and headed down to the local gym, ready to learn. Vertex was there ready to meet him and their training began.

“Welcome, Bolero! Are you ready to be transformed from Rodent to “Pro”dent? Ok, then, let’s get started. I’ve been training squirrels like you for years, and I’ve discovered the secret to bull frog riding. It is all about staying on the frog. The bull frog will do everything it can to get throw you off and trample you. All you have to do is stay on it. The bull frog will kick its back legs up and try and throw you forward, but if you lean backward can stay on him. It will throw its head up to toss you off the back, but if you lean forward, you will stay put. Whatever way the frog tries to throw you, just go the opposite direction to stay on it. It is just like solving an algebra equation; you always want to keep the equation balanced. If something is added to one side, you can get rid of it by using subtraction. In this way the equation stays equal. It’s all about inverse operations. So, as long as you keep your center of gravity equalized you will stay on the frog, but if you go too far in any direction you will fall off.

To accomplish this we will focus on four areas. We will use what I like to call the MATH method. We need to train your Muscles, Agility, Toughness, and Heart. With strong Muscles you can hold on to the frog longer. With more Agility you can move and lean better and faster. With more Toughness you will be able to handle the physical demands of being tossed around by the bull frog. And finally, with more Heart you will be able to keep holding on when you start getting tired.”

That first day, Bolero went home exhausted. Muscles were hurting that he didn’t even know he had. He realized it was going to take a lot of hard work to succeed as a bull frog rider and decided that he was up for the challenge.

Over the course of the next two years Bolero did many exercises and trained hard. He scurried up huge trees. He carried buckets of pebbles. He did squats and lunges while holding a giant pine cone, and he was constantly jump roping. One exercise Vertex used to have him increase his reflexes was the “cheese snatch”. He would find a mouse trap and try to take the cheese without getting caught. He did was sit-ups, while hanging upside down from a branch, and plenty of one arm push-ups. Sometimes, in order to work on his concentration and to increase his spatial awareness, Vertex would have him shot out of a catapult, and have him do a math problem in his head while he was in the air. As he got better, the math problems got harder and harder. Eventually, Bolero got to the point where he could find the prime factorization of a four digit number in the time it took to fly a hundred yards.

Vertex was very encouraging. He saw the potential inside of Bolero and wasn’t going to let him give up. “Alright, Bolero. You are doing good. See those cosine curls weren’t too bad. Now let’s do a few diameter dips. Give me the cube root of 1/3 of 12.5% of 192. That is how many sets I want you to do. Now square that and double it and that is how many reps of each set I want you to do.”

“Good form on that dip. Six more. Breathe in. Now exhale. Good, five left. Keep your knees bent. Don’t let that tail down. Nice form. Four. Keep it up. Three. Breathe. Breathe! Good, good. Just two more, make them count. Yes. Last one. Push it…and…done. Awesome.”

It was finally time for Bolero to graduate. He had worked hard and learned a lot about the art of bull frog riding. And, after all the training he had with Vertex, Bolero decided to enter himself into an amateur bull frog riding competition.

This was the big day. Bolero was about to ride his first bull frog. Bolero wanted everyone he knew to be there. He invited his parents, but they told him they were too busy to come. He invited everyone from the mill where he used to work, and also his friend Aric.

Bolero had only a few seconds to sit on the bull frog before they let it loose. He thought to himself, “This is my big chance to prove to everyone that I can do this.” He saw a picture in his mind of everyone crowding around him showering him with praise as he held up his trophy.

With a smile on his face Bolero confidently waved to the crowd.

The bell rang and the next thing Bolero knew he was laying face down in the mud. He lifted his head and all he could hear was raucous laughter coming from the stands. He slowly got up and sulked out of the arena, ashamed and depressed. As he was leaving he heard some of the people that he used to work with laughing at him and taunting him.

“You call that bull frog riding?”

“Hey, Bolero. You might want to hold on next time.”

“How’s that mud taste?”

“You suck, Bolero!”

Bolero was too hurt to reply. He simply made his way home. Not long after he got home his parents stopped by.

“Bolero, we heard what happened today, and it just goes to show that you are not cut out for this type of thing. Are you finally done with this silly dream of yours? It is time for you to wake up from this fantasy world you are living in. You need to go out and get a real job and find a nice female squirrel to settle down with and start a family. You aren’t getting any younger you know.”

After his parents left, Bolero screamed out, “I can’t take this! I don’t want to be a professional bull frog rider! I’ll never be able to do it!”

Bolero was too upset to go anywhere or do anything. He just sat at home and sulked the time away. After a few days of sitting around his house Bolero began to get restless. He decided to go visit Vertex. The forest air felt crisp as he jumped from branch to branch across the treetops. He stopped for a minute in order to rest and to soak in the atmosphere. As he was sitting there, he glanced down and thought he saw a squirrel motionless on the forest floor. He jumped down a few branches and the scene below him began to unfold before his eyes.

There was indeed a squirrel standing paralyzed in fear. A giant bull frog was lurking in the bushes, with his big bulging eyes staring down the helpless squirrel. Without giving it a second thought, Bolero immediately jumped down and landed on the back of the massive bull frog. The bull frog began angrily jumping and kicking, trying to toss Bolero to the ground. But, as hard as the bull frog tried, he couldn’t throw little Bolero off his back.  Bolero and the bull frog bounded off into the forest, and although Bolero was scared, he continued to hold on to the angry frog. Bolero didn’t know what else to do so he wrapped his tail around the bull frog’s face covering both of its eyes. And yet, although the bull frog couldn’t see, it jumped even harder to get the squirrel off its back.

As they neared a stream, Bolero had an idea. Just as the bull frog was landing on the bank of the stream, Bolero kicked the frog in its side and the frog gasped. Then, Bolero forced the frog’s head down to the bank, forcing the frog to ingest a giant mouthful of pebbles and sand. With all the rocks and sand in the bull frog’s stomach it was unable to jump and eventually gave up.

No sooner had Bolero dismounted the bull frog then he saw the squirrel he had just saved running towards him. Before he could react, the other squirrel ran over and hugged him so tightly that he almost couldn’t breathe.

“Thank you so much for saving me from that bull frog.”

“You’re…choking…me.” Bolero gasped.

“What? Oh, sorry. Thanks for saving me. I thought I was going to get squished.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help.”

Bolero stuck out his hand and stated, “My name’s Bolero. What’s yours?”

“I’m Wendy”, she replied, as she shook Bolero’s hand.

Bolero smiled and nodded, even though it felt like his arm would be ripped from his shoulder, from the force of the handshake.

“So, Wendy…what do you do?

“I’m a pro wrestler”, she said as she let out a high pitched yell. “My stage name is the Disciplinarian. I have this move called the wrap around, where I wrap my tail around my opponent and tackle them.”

Wendy told Bolero how she always wanted to be a pro wrestler and how it was hard for her to get into since she was a girl. She told him how her parents were against it and that she had to overcome many obstacles, and even failed a few times before she finally made it. She told him that even though it was hard she never gave up and she feels like she is finally living her dreams.

Bolero shared his story of how he wanted to be a professional bull frog rider and how he failed miserably and was giving up on it.

“Following your dreams isn’t always easy”, she asserted. “There will be hard times and times when you feel like giving up. But, you have to press through the difficult times. If you fall get back up and keep going. You can’t focus on your failures. Put them behind you and press forward. Learn from your mistakes and grow from them. If you want to be a professional bull frog rider, do it. And don’t let people tell you that you aren’t good enough.”

“You know…you’re right! I can be a professional bull frog rider. If I can take down a bull frog out here, I can surely hang on to one for a few seconds in the arena. Actually, I am probably better than all the other bull frog riders out there. Who else would have been able to hang on to that bull frog as long as I did. I should be the world champion.

“Ok, now you are just being prideful. That’s your first strike, two more and you are no longer my friend.”

“Umm…”

“Just kidding! Well, I need to go. It’s getting late and I have to wake up at six tomorrow. Talk to you later.” This last statement was accented by a sharp punch in Bolero’s arm. At that Wendy bounded off into the forest.

Bolero waved good-bye and then rubbed his arm as he continued on to Vertex’s house.

Bolero was excited as he arrived at Vertex’s house. After his battle with the bull frog he was eager to continue his training and compete again. Vertex was glad to see Bolero back and so, they continued their training.

“I think it’s time for your last lesson.” Vertex said. “The process of elimination. All the other riders out there are just extra variables and constants that need to be eliminated from the equation, so that you can solve it. Eliminate them and you will win. You need to clear your mind and not think about all those extra “variables”. Keep your focus on what’s important, and anything else that enters your mind needs to go. It is just there as a distraction. The crowd, the competition, the judges, they are all graphics, superficial ideas that will invade your thoughts and steal your focus. You are a good bull frog rider. You already know what you have to do to win. Any other thoughts that say you are not good enough or how others will think of you need to go. Free your mind of the thoughts that clutter it, by following the process of elimination.”

After training for a few weeks Bolero was ready for another competition. He stayed focused and eliminated all the negative thoughts from his mind, staying focused on each round. In so doing he began winning competitions. He continued winning competition after competition until he was finally ready for the BRF (Bull-Frog Riding Finals). The winner of the BRF would receive the swampodeo trophy and would have the honor of becoming the greatest bull frog rider.

For the past five years that honor had belonged to Ahnold. He was big, strong and undefeated. For Ahnold, bull frog riding came naturally. There was no one who even came close to beating him.

When the day of the finals came, the stands were packed. There was a feeling of excitement in the air, as the competitors entered the arena, each one knowing that he was going to emerge victorious.

Bolero scanned the audience and saw a few familiar faces. His former boss Mr. Balboa was there cheering him on, along with Alyson. Next to them were six coworkers from the mill. They each had a letter painted on their chest, and even though they were far away Bolero made was able to read B-O-L-E-R-O.

Without warning the audience erupted into applause and cheering and even though he couldn’t see him, Bolero knew that Ahnold had arrived. As Ahnold made his way to his seat he passed by Bolero.

“Good luck, kid” He said as they shook hands.

The competition was fierce and yet Bolero managed to stay in it. Vertex was right there by his side and kept repeating, “Process of elimination, process of elimination”. At the end of the day only two competitors remained: Bolero and Ahnold.

Out of all the bull frogs, there was one who was feared more than all the rest. Its name was Tornado Jumper. His name comes from the rumor that he was sucked up by a tornado and survived. This bull frog is twice the size of a normal bull frog and is so tough that it could eat a porcupine. It was this bull frog that was selected for the final match.

For the finals, the two riders would each get three rides and the three rides would be added together to determine a winner. Each ride had a maximum of 100 points, although most riders only achieved around 50-60 points.

Ahnold was the first up and right before he mounted the huge frog he turned to Bolero and said, “You will lose. You are too puny to defeat me.”

Ahnold’s first ride was great. Even though the bull frog was strong, Ahnold held on and the judges gave him a score of 80.

Bolero’s first ride was not as good. In fact after 3 seconds he was thrown to the ground and would have been trampled if it wasn’t for the safety team that rushed in to save him.

“Is that the best you can do?” Ahnold said smugly.

For his second ride Ahnold scored 81. As he dismounted he taunted Bolero again, “You are defeated. Give up now and avoid the embarrassment.”

Bolero pulled himself together for his second ride and managed to stay on the full time. The judges were impressed and gave him a 68.

Ahnold was upset that Bolero managed to stay on. There was a fire in his eyes as he mounted the bull frog for his last ride. And although he tried with everything in him to stay on, the massive bull frog was too much for him and Ahnold found himself lying on the ground.

With this fall Ahnold finished with a combined score of 161. And yet, even with his fall Ahnold was still way ahead of Bolero’s current score of 68. It would take a miracle for Bolero to pull out a victory.

A hush fell over the crowd as Bolero took his position on top of Tornado Jumper for his last ride. Right before the bell rang Bolero heard someone shout, “You can do it, Bolero. We believe in you!” He looked over to see who it was and saw his parents smiling and waving their arms, cheering him on. With a new found sense of determination, Bolero tightened his grip. His face was like flint. Every muscle in his body was poised and Bolero had his mind focused on staying on the bull frog.

The bell rang and the bull frog set out in a rage. It was jumping and kicking violently trying to hurl this squirrel from its back. Bolero felt the force of each movement. His muscles ached. He barely had the strength to hold on. But, somewhere deep inside he found the strength to stay on the frog’s back. He made it to the end of his ride and when he finished he collapsed from exhaustion.

As he faded back to consciousness he saw a crowd of people standing over him, and he faintly made out the sound of the judge’s voice giving out his score. “94”.

“Wha…what? I got a 94. That means altogether my score is 162. I won. I actually won.”

Before he could react, he was hoisted into the air and taken to the winner’s circle. There he received his trophy. He looked over to see Mr. Balboa standing with his hands in the air shouting “Yo, Alyson, He did it!”

Off in the distance he saw Ahnold walking out of the arena. Just then, Ahnold turned around and stated, “I’ll be back.”

Just then, Bolero heard his name being called. He looked up and saw his parents shouting and waving their arms. They ran toward each other and embraced. Bolero’s mother began sobbing and said to him, “We are so proud of you!”
After a few more minutes talking with his parents, Bolero went over to talk to Aric.

Aric, knowing Bolero would win, had baked a cake to congratulate him. On the cake it read “U R Toadily Cool Congratulations”.

As he was talking with Aric, someone came over and tackled him to the ground.
“Congratulations!” Wendy said with a yell, “I knew you could do it!”

Bolero spent some time talking with some of his new fans and just enjoying the feeling that he actually accomplished his dream. He arrived at his house feeling like it had been the greatest day of his life. When he got there, there was a note on his door: Stop by my house I have a surprise for you. Vertex.

Bolero was getting tired, but he decided to go over anyway and see what Vertex had in store for him. All the lights were off at Vertex’s house and the door was open a crack. After saying, “Hello” a few times, he gently pushed the door open.

Immediately the lights came on and all Bolero’s friends and family jumped out and shouted, “Surprise!” They had a big party and people were spinning, whirling and twirling wildly. Bolero was so excited he even threw a few plates on the ground, shouting “Opa!”