THE TOAD AS TRAVELLER 87 



them, and in a few seconds all was peace and quiet 

 again. 



And when I looked at the road once more, the 

 toad was still there, still travelling, painfully 

 crawling a few inches, then sitting up and gazing 

 with his yellow eyes over the forty yards of that 

 weary via dolorosa which still had to be got over 

 before he could bathe and make himself young for 

 ever in that river of life. Then all at once the 

 feared and terrific thing came upon him : a farmer's 

 trap, drawn by a fast trotting horse, suddenly 

 appeared at the bend of the road and came flying 

 down the slope. That's the end of you, old toad, 

 said I, as the horse and trap came over him ; but 

 when I had seen them cross the ford and vanish 

 from sight at the next bend, my eyes went back, 

 and to my amazement there sat my toad, his 

 throat still pulsing, his prominent eyes still gazing 

 forward. The four dread hoofs and two shining 

 wheels had all missed him ; then at long last I 

 took pity on him, although vexed at having to 

 play providence to a toad, and getting off the rail 

 I went and picked him up, which made him very 

 angry. But when I put him in the water he ex- 

 panded and floated for a few moments with legs 

 spread out, then slowly sank his body and remained 

 with just the top of his head and the open eyes 

 above the surface for a little while, and finally 

 settled down into the cooler depths below. 



It is strange to think that when water would 

 appear to be so much to these water-born and 



