Fergus sat on his rock watching the young males as they set about their training. Leaping high and far, others wrestled in the muddy shallows, diving to see who could stay under the longest. Females were off out of sight doing their own training. What Fergus did not know was males were forbidden there.
Joining in he enjoyed the tussling and swimming, and the hormones starting to rise. He returned to his rock, spent and aching. The full moon was in two days, then the marathon would begin, the highlight of the year.
Darkness descended, the full moon rose majestic in its splendour, a signal for the females to appear. What followed was an orgy of sounds, croaking squelching splashing hormones in full flood, lasting the whole night. Some limped off injured, others in exhaustion. Finally, it was over as the sun began to peek above the horizon.
Afterwards Fergus returned to his rock, flicking his tongue to catch the early morning flies. Satisfaction filled him as he looked over the pond filled with spawn, the next generation in the making. Crawling under the rock, he fell into a contented sleep.
