zigagged around. Some frogs frustrate their "jockeys" by jumping back the launching pad after a first or second jump. Like any of nature's creations, frogs are unpredictable-that is, unless they have been to Bill Steed's famous Croaker Comege. Steed's students" are given a 240-hour frog training course to teach them the fundamentals of frog jumping under pressure. At Croaker College, the frogs work out in a pool, lift tiny weights, do chin-ups and dives eat centipede soup high the and ladybug salad, and generally prepare for big day. Do graduates of Croaker College really win frog-jumping contests more often? That's a question Jim Steed prefers not to answer. After the winners have been announced and the prizes given, the participants can take their frogs (or return their "renta and go home, or they can stay and enjoy the rest of the Calaveras County Fair. They can listen to country music, view craft displays, attend a horse race, watch a farm animal auction, and more. For those people who think nothing quite compares the excitement of the jumping frogs, however, there is the consolation of knowing there is always next year. Vocabulary