Once upon a time there was a frog whose name was Brian – Brian Webster. Brian had six brothers and sisters – Neil, Edna, Nellie, Cedric, Malcolm, and little Snotty Nose. As is the way with most frogs, all of them were rather keen on jumping; all of them that is apart from Brian. Brian, you see, didn’t know how to jump, and that simple, perhaps silly, fact made him very very sad.

One morning Brian was sitting on his Lily Pad and he could feel a little ball of hurt in his stomach growing bigger and bigger. All of a sudden the hurt became so big that he realised there was only one solution – he had to learn how to jump. What he didn’t know at the time was that this tiny little positive decision was going to change his life.

Having made up his mind, he slipped off his Lily Pad, swam to the shore, and started to make his way through the forest not too sure of what he was looking for. In the distance, he could hear strange music – it was kind of bouncy, and it also seemed a little bit boingy, so he decided to get closer. The nearer he got the more he felt that he wanted to jump for joy, but as you know he couldn’t jump, so instead he just walked towards the music.

All of a sudden, when the music was really loud, he looked up and saw a sign which said “Otis Jumpsteady’s Hip Hop Studio”. He felt a little nervous but pushed open the door. When he got inside, he saw a big black toad practising somersaults to the sound of the music. He’d always been told to be wary of toads, but this one smiled a big toothy grin and said, “Hey, man! I’m Otis Jumpsteady – jumpsteady’s my name, jumpsteady’s my game. Give me five!”

“I hope I’ve come to the right place,” said Brian “but I wanted to learn how to jump.”
“This sure is the right place, man!” said Otis. “Let’s see how you do it.”
“The problem is” answered Brian. “I don’t know how to. As a matter of fact, I can’t even hop.”

“I want to see you try it anyhow” said Otis.

So Brian summoned up all his energy and jumped. Most frogs, however, would have described the result as a shuffle.

“That’s not so good,” said Otis “but I think I have a Training Program that’ll work for you. The first problem is your legs – I want you to do a Standing Knee Flex one hundred times a day for a week. Like this!”

Otis stood up straight, bent his legs so that his bottom almost touched the ground and then stood up again.”

“One hundred times a day, right?” said Otis. “See you next week.”
“OK” replied Brian, a little worried. “See you next week.”

So Brian made his way home through the forest with his head full of ideas, and although he couldn’t be completely sure, he felt a slight spring in his step as he went.

When he got back home to the Lily Pond, Neil, Edna, Nellie, Cedric and Malcolm were all hopping, skipping and jumping, and little Snotty Nose was crawling around in a very bouncy sort of way. Brian, however, with his typical shy smile just said “Hello” and crept away. He’d already seen a little glade where he could practise the Standing Knee Flex all alone, far away from the critical looks of his brothers and sisters, far away from all the frogs that laughed behind his back simply because he didn’t know how to jump.

The very next morning, Brian slipped off his Lily Pad and swam to the shore. He went to his little glade in the forest to practise Otis Jumpsteady’s Standing Knee Flex – And did he practise? Yes, he did. One hundred times a day every day, and as he made his way home back to the Lily Pond every evening, he could feel the pain in his legs taking pain away from that little ball of lack of self-confidence that he kept secret in his stomach.

After a week it was time to pay another visit to Otis Jumpsteady. This time he knew where he was going and now the sound of the approaching music filled him with a mixture of fear and expectation.

“Give me five,” said Otis as Brian walked through the door. “Let me see you jump.”
So Brian jumped and, although it wasn’t the most fantastic of jumps, it was a jump and, for a frog who doesn’t know how to jump, let’s face it, a jump is a jump.

“Much better,” said Otis, “but now it’s definitely time to start on the second phase of the No Frog Fails Training Program. Last week the Standing Knee Flex developed strength in your legs, so now you need to involve your arms. This week you’ll do the Standing Knee Flex followed by the Elongated Arm Push – a hundred times a day. Like this!”

Otis stood straight, he bent his legs so that his bottom almost touched the ground, and as he came out of the flex he pushed his arms out as far as they would go. For a moment, Brian felt that Otis’s arms had become wings – he’d understood.
“OK?” asked Otis.
“OK” said Brian.

This time as Brian made his way home through the forest, he didn’t just feel a spring in his step but he also felt the desire to fly. When he got back to the Lily Pond, his brothers and sisters were hop, skip and jumping about as usual, and Brian slipped away to practise on his own. He practised the Standing Knee Flex together with the Elongated Arm Push a hundred times a day every for a week until his legs were sore and his arms ached, and little by little he could feel the ball of hurt in his stomach getting smaller and smaller.

At the end of the week Brian went back to see Otis and perhaps for the first time in his life he felt confident.

“Hi. How’s the jumping going?” said Otis.
“Not too bad, I think,” said Brian. “Do you want to see?”
“Go ahead, man!” smiled Otis.
So Brian jumped, and how he jumped. He jumped a jump that any frog would have been proud of.

“Wow!” laughed Otis. “That was some jump!”
Brian smiled sheepishly and Otis continued “but, hey man, I think you can jump even further. You’ve worked on your arms and legs, so now you’re gonna use your head to get that extra distance. This week I want you to practise the Standing Knee Flex followed by the Elongated Arm Push followed by the Elastic Neck Stretch – a hundred times a day.

Otis stood straight, he bent his legs so that his bottom almost touched the ground, as he came out of the flex he pushed his arms out and then, to provide extra propulsion, he thrust his head as far forward as he could. Brian knew what he had to do.

“OK” he said and made his way home. Until he was out of sight of Otis. Once inside the forest his heart felt so light that he couldn’t help jumping over a couple of trees just to celebrate. When he got back to the Lily Pond though, he was the same old Brian again and slipped away into the forest to practise and practise the Standing Knee Flex, the Elongated Arm Push and the Elastic Neck Stretch.

As I’m sure you’ve guessed, Brian practised a lot that week, and when he went to see Otis, he didn’t just jump a big jump, he jumped an amazingly big jump. And it doesn’t stop there because Brian felt so happy with his new life that he continued practising and, to the other frogs’ amazement, he was soon hop, skip and jumping everywhere. He tried not to show off his new-found jumping ability too much because he just wanted to be loved really. Although occasionally, when was feeling particularly boingy, he might accidentally jump from one side of the Lily Pond to the other.