The Toad

								
The well was deep, and therefore the rope had to be a long one; it
was heavy work turning the handle when any one had to raise a
bucketful of water over the edge of the well. Though the water was
clear, the sun never looked down far enough into the well to mirror
itself in the waters; but as far as its beams could reach, green
things grew forth between the stones in the sides of the well.

Down below dwelt a family of the Toad race. They had, in fact,
come head-over-heels down the well, in the person of the old
Mother-Toad, who was still alive. The green Frogs, who had been
established there a long time, and swam about in the water, called
them "well-guests." But the new-comers seemed determined to stay where
they were, for they found it very agreeable living "in a dry place,"
as they called the wet stones.

The Mother-Frog had once been a traveller. She happened to be in
the water-bucket when it was drawn up, but the light became too strong
for her, and she got a pain in her eyes. Fortunately she scrambled out
of the bucket; but she fell into the water with a terrible flop, and
had to lie sick for three days with pains in her back. She certainly
had not much to tell of the things up above, but she knew this, and
all the Frogs knew it, that the well was not all the world. The
Mother-Toad might have told this and that, if she had chosen, but
she never answered when they asked her anything, and so they left
off asking.

"She's thick, and fat and ugly," said the young green Frogs;
"and her children will be just as ugly as she is."

"That may be," retorted the mother-Toad, "but one of them has a
jewel in his head, or else I have the jewel."

The young frogs listened and stared; and as these words did not
please them, they made grimaces and dived down under the water. But
the little Toads kicked up their hind legs from mere pride, for each
of them thought that he must have the jewel; and then they sat and
held their heads quite still. But at length they asked what it was
that made them so proud, and what kind of a thing a jewel might be.

"Oh, it is such a splendid and precious thing, that I cannot
describe it," said the Mother-Toad. "It's something which one
carries about for one's own pleasure, and that makes other people
angry. But don't ask me any questions, for I shan't answer you."

"Well, I haven't got the jewel," said the smallest of the Toads;
she was as ugly as a toad can be. "Why should I have such a precious
thing? And if it makes others angry, it can't give me any pleasure.
No, I only wish I could get to the edge of the well, and look out;
it must be beautiful up there."

"You'd better stay where you are," said the old Mother-Toad,
"for you know everything here, and you can tell what you have. Take
care of the bucket, for it will crush you to death; and even if you
get into it safely, you may fall out. And it's not every one who falls
so cleverly as I did, and gets away with whole legs and whole bones.

"Quack!" said the little Toad; and that's just as if one of us
were to say, "Aha!"

She had an immense desire to get to the edge of the well, and to
look over; she felt such a longing for the green, up there; and the
next morning, when it chanced that the bucket was being drawn up,
filled with water, and stopped for a moment just in front of the stone
on which the Toad sat, the little creature's heart moved within it,
and our Toad jumped into the filled bucket, which presently was
drawn to the top, and emptied out.

"Ugh, you beast!" said the farm laborer who emptied the bucket,
when he saw the toad. "You're the ugliest thing I've seen for one
while." And he made a kick with his wooden shoe at the toad, which
just escaped being crushed by managing to scramble into the nettles
which grew high by the well's brink. Here she saw stem by stem, but
she looked up also; the sun shone through the leaves, which were quite
transparent; and she felt as a person would feel who steps suddenly
into a great forest, where the sun looks in between the branches and
leaves.

"It's much nicer here than down in the well! I should like to stay
here my whole life long!" said the little Toad. So she lay there for
an hour, yes, for two hours. "I wonder what is to be found up here? As
I have come so far, I must try to go still farther." And so she
crawled on as fast as she could crawl, and got out upon the highway,
where the sun shone upon her, and the dust powdered her all over as
she marched across the way.

"I've got to a dry place now, and no mistake," said the Toad.
"It's almost too much of a good thing here; it tickles one so."

She came to the ditch; and forget-me-nots were growing there,
and meadow-sweet; and a very little way off was a hedge of whitethorn,
and elder bushes grew there, too, and bindweed with white flowers. Gay
colors were to be seen here, and a butterfly, too, was flitting by.
The Toad thought it was a flower which had broken loose that it
might look about better in the world, which was quite a natural
thing to do.

"If one could only make such a journey as that!" said the Toad.
"Croak! how capital that would be."

Eight days and eight nights she stayed by the well, and
experienced no want of provisions. On the ninth day she thought,
"Forward! onward!" But what could she find more charming and
beautiful? Perhaps a little toad or a few green frogs. During the last
night there had been a sound borne on the breeze, as if there were
cousins in the neighborhood.

"It's a glorious thing to live! glorious to get out of the well,
and to lie among the stinging-nettles, and to crawl along the dusty
road. But onward, onward! that we may find frogs or a little toad.
We can't do without that; nature alone is not enough for one." And
so she went forward on her journey.

She came out into the open field, to a great pond, round about
which grew reeds; and she walked into it.

"It will be too damp for you here," said the Frogs; "but you are
very welcome! Are you a he or a she? But it doesn't matter; you are

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