A young raccoon by the name of Herman Cooney was walking home one evening from a long day at Detective School. His head was swimming with questions from the day.
What was the “Last Test” his detective trainer Mr. Turtoise kept talking about? A dragonfly buzzed past Herman’s pointed ear disturbing his thoughts, and he shooed it off.

Herman lived in a green boggy marsh, a home he knew and loved. All kinds of plants, such as cypress and black spruce grew there. Some areas around Herman’s home were covered partially by freshwater with floating water lilies, and around the water’s edges grew cattails where dragonflies busily buzzed about.
Herman lived in what is called a wetland, a place with lots of water. Herman had many friends and neighbors around Green Boggy Marshes.

Herman decided to go out on his nightly stroll, like any normal raccoon would. But this time, Herman heard a strange noise he’d never heard before.

Plop! Splash! Splish! Plop! Splash! Splish!  It was coming from the water. Herman put his detective skills to action, and stayed alert like a deer, quiet as a fox, and searched with his keen black eyes like an owl.

But he saw nothing, and he heard nothing. So Herman started to walk once again when - plop! Droplets of water rained down onto Herman’s head! The young raccoon watched and waited, but when nothing happened, he hurried back home.

"How very strange indeed. What were those splashing noises in the marsh?" he thought.

The very next morning as Herman was heading to where he heard the splashes, Mr. Stork came running up to him with his long stick-like legs.
“Herman, I heard the strangest kind of noise last night! It sounded like a lot of banjos playing together. But when I went out to see, there was a plop, and a splash, and whatever was there disappeared!”
Herman took notes as Mr. Stork spoke, then hurried off to investigate.

But he was stopped for a second time by Sally the salamander. She was huffing and puffing from running. “Oh, Herman! There are some wet footprints in the mud near my home. Please come and see.”

So Herman followed Sally to her house. Once there, Herman immediately took out his spyglass and studied the wet footprints and in the mud. There were four, the two front feet were small, but the back legs were much longer.

But he just couldn’t decipher what it meant. Herman thanked Sally for showing him the footprints, then hurried home for another night watch.

That night, Herman retraced his steps to where he last heard the noises, and the usual silence of his wetland home was broken with the strange banjo-like noise Mr. Stork said he’d heard.

This sound was followed by the plops and splashes Herman heard the night before. Herman crept slowly forward. But once his little black feet touched the waters edge, there was a great splash and all was quiet again!

Herman searched the ground for footprints.The ones he found were exactly the same as what he’d found at Sally the salamander’s house!  

Herman cast his flashlight over the water and the lilies, among the cattails, and discovered another piece of folded white paper. The suspect must be leaving the riddle notes on purpose.

Was it a message? Herman carefully unfolded the paper and read: It is spongy and holds the flow for a long time! What did that mean? Herman had a feeling that the two riddles were connected.

Hermon looked at the paper through his sharp spyglass, and noted that the words were big and blotchy, as though the ink had gotten droplets of water on it. He’d do some more thinking in the morning.  After all, he collected plenty of information in one night!

Early the next morning, Herman set off to ask the other animals of Green Boggy Marshes if they’d been noticing anything suspicious.

Herman asked his neighbors and friends about the mystery, and they all said that they too were hearing strange noises at night. Tonight, he was going to find out what all this was about!

That night, Herman listened for the strange noises. He had a plan, and he was going to use it to catch the sneaker! When the banjo noises came low and deep from the darkness, and the splashing was loud, Herman leaped toward the sound!

And the mystery was solved! The footprint maker, riddler, and night disturber was a frog! Herman figured it out! What other creature would make banjo sounds, splash around in the water, leave wet footprints, and say “ribbit!”?

All the inhabitants of Green Boggy Marshes learned how important their wetland home really was, and how they should take care of it. Mr. Turtoise told Herman that he had passed his “Last Test” and had become an official detective for Green Boggy Marshes.

Now, if ever you go and visit a marsh at night, you’ll hear banjo sounding frogs singing and splashing about. Wetlands are filled with life!