On hearing Errol’s knock, Herring Gull Harry hopped quickly to his front door, flinging on his woolly hat and scarf as he went.

“Morning, Errol,” he said as he opened the door. Surprised to see a very wet and bedraggled Errol, he added, “what happened to you, you look as though you swam here!”

“I might as well have,” mumbled Errol. “I slipped on some ice and ended up in a very large snowdrift.”

“Poor you,” Herring Gull Harry said sympathetically. “Fancy going down to the lake? I hear there are some winter sports going on there”.

So the two friends hopped their way down to the lake which glistened and sparkled in the winter sunshine. In the middle of the lake two arenas had been set up; one where some frogs were busy ice-skating and on the other one two teams were playing a furious game ice hockey.

The two friends watched the ice hockey for a few minutes and then Herring Gull Harry turned to Errol saying, “I don’t think that that is for me.”

“Nor me,” agreed Errol. “Come on.”

They hopped over to watch the ice skating and then saw that someone had painted on the ice an announcement that on New Year’s Eve there would be an ice skating competition taking place on the lake – all competitors welcome.

The two frogs read this and then looked at one another and saw that they were thinking the same thought.

“Shall we?” said Errol.

“Why not,” said Herring Gull Harry. “It will be frogtastic and I quite like the idea of winning a year’s supply of fly and mosquito cookies.”

So, the two friends made their way home to find their ice skates.