Vinhais - 1

My wife (Fatima), my son (Jorge Miguel) (eighteen years old), my niece (Ana) and me (Jorge Eduardo), we decided to do a trip on the fifth of May, the Mother’s Day. We booked a bungalow in the Biologic Park of the small town of Vinhais. The journey, in our car, was a long one, three hours by motorway and, at last, twenty miles in a winding road to Vinhais. It was an agreement between my wife and my niece to do a big surprise to my sister-in-law (Isabel). My sister-in-law thought the trip was only to be done with her daughter to celebrate the Mother’s Day and when both arrived to Vinhais, in my niece’s car, my sister-in-law was astounded to behold, there, in the walkway, my wife, my son, me and our little she-dog (Daisy) waiting for them. With the surprise a flow of tears, kisses, hugs and babbling came after! How we were hungry we had lunch in Silva’s Restaurant and something was left to Daisy the hungriest of us. Soon, afterwards we returned to our cars and headed to the Biologic Park. We did the check-in and went to the bungalow. The bungalow was very neat, modern, with three bedrooms, the kitchen, two bathrooms and plenty of radiators. But very agreeable was the weather, warm and sunny. In the front veranda, near the bungalow, we descried the biologic swimming-pool with flowing water, nenuphars, frogs, tritons and so on. We were very happy and delighted with the bungalow, the surroundings, the swimming-pool, the outcry of the peacock and with the many croaking frogs near at hand! But more important than all, was the clean air and the ubiquitous calmness! In the veranda we could also behold the horse-riding club. When we were settled we decided to visit the Biologic Park. We observed wild boars, deer and many other animals endemic of Portugal. Worn out, mainly because the journey was heavy, we got back to the bungalow and my wife cooked for us five and Daisy. In the issuing chat between us, my wife said the frogs would do a lot of noise in our sleeping night. Isabel my sister-in-law and her daughter Ana agreed and seemed, both, troubled. My son looked at us and said nothing. I was not only uneasy but also convinced that the frogs would be very riotous for the reason that I recalled the African frogs, at night, they were terribly noisy. With the sunset, the turbulent frogs became quiet! My clan, very surprised in the kitchen table, looked at me hopeful with the increasing silence. I smiled happy with the calmness and at once thought the frogs had enemies. The big enemies of the frogs are snakes but here that was impossible. So, who were the enemies or, who was the enemy? Confused, at eleven o’clock p.m., we were all at bed very tired. At one o’clock a.m. I awoke with a tiny noise that recalled to me to be a kettle in the kitchen. I got out of bed, went to the window and summoned my wife in a low voice. «Fátima» I said: «what is this noise?» she said: «It is the wind, it is the wind in the trees! The breeze is rising!». In our watch of the swimming-pool and the bending trees in the light of only one street-lamp we discerned, unexpectedly, one owl, coming of the right of the swimming-pool, graze the water and perch on the metallic supporter or handle of the stairs of the swimming-pool. In the weak light the owl perched one minute in the handle. Abruptly, the owl, once again, grazed the water touched lightly a frog, took hold of it and, always silently, disappeared. My wife and I we were struck with wonder! The enemy! The real enemy of the frogs of this swimming-pool!