THE VAIN TOAD.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume V, Issue 45, 8 November 1890, Page 23

THE VAIN TOAD.

In a large garden, among the stone* of a lieautiful rockery, lived a mother toad and her son. They belonged to an ancient race of toads, and were not a little promi of their ruby eyes and speckled skins. The son, also, had the reputation of being able to swell himself to twice the size of any other toad of his age in the garden. Now, this young toad's name was Eyebright, and he wa* so vain that even his own dear mother grew tired of listening to his conceited tale* about himself. < »ne day he came into the family hole, and after sitting still for a short time he begar to roll his eyes about and swell his sides with importance. • Well !’ he exclaimed : ‘ I am appreciated at last.’ ‘ Indeed," said his mother ‘ May I a*k by whom ?’ ‘ Why,’ replied Eyebright, ‘ this morning, a* I was showing our neighbour Blackfoot how much higher than he I could jump, who should come by but the master of thi* warden, and one of his sons —a very nice looking boy. The father took no notice of me, but the boy stopped, anil looking attentively at me, said : “ What a beauty ! That toad would just do for my happy family.” ’ ‘ What is that ?' asked Eyebriglit’s mother. ‘ Oh,' said he, ‘ I am not quite sure : but no doubt it is something very giand, or he would not want me in it.’ ‘ Nonsense,’ said his mother ; ‘ I have heard your grandfather *ay that boys are verv cruel, mischievous creatures, who take a delight in torturing toads and frogs.' Eyebright did not answer, but muttered something to himself about old people being bigoted, and behind the times ; and he resolved to go to the garden ]>ath where he hail seen the boy, and wait there until he should discover what was this wonderful ‘ happy family ’ for which he was so fitted. The mother toad was very busy the next evening, for she expected some relations from the adjoining shrubbery to see her, so Eyebright soon managed to get away without her noticing him : and hopped as fast as he could to the path before spoken of. He had not been there long when two boys came running past him. ‘ I saw such a tine toad last night, just aliout here,' said one : ‘ I wish I could find him again.’ ‘ Well,' said the other, ‘ there is one.' • I believe that is the very same one.' answered the first boy, and stooping down he picked up Eyebright by the one leg and carried him off with them. The toad felt very uncomfortable. and tried to struggle out of the boy’s hand, but he wa* only held the tighter. Presently he was thrown into a box with a bump that made his head throb. He had scarcely recovered from this when the boys set a candle close to his eyes, and began to tie a piece of string to his legs. This thread they fastened to a nail in the box, and then went off whistling. The toad was in great pain, owing to the threat! l»eing tied so tightly ; but he could not get free, and the more he struggled the greater wa* the pain. The box was hot and dry, and poor Eyebright began to long for the cool rockery. All night long he cried to himself, and wished he had taken his dear mother’s advice, and kept away from the boys. Suddenly the box was opened, and the tioys stared in at him, ‘ Fetch him out,' said one, ‘and we will tame him.' So they diagged him out by the string, and put him on the grass. The poor toad was so glad to be on the cool grass that he almost forgot the pain of hi* leg. But his pleasure was not to last long. ‘ Now,’ said one of the boys, ‘ you hold a stick, and I will make him jump over it. Go on !’ he shouted, and the toad received a poke in the side from a stick. At this he grew- very angry, and struggled to get free, but, finding that useless, began to swell with rage. ‘ Oh, here’s a lark !’ halloaed the boys ; ‘ if you push him with a stick, he swells out ever so big.’ They began then to push him one way and another until he was sore all over. At last they grew tired of playing with him, and put him track into the box. There he laypanting and trembling all over, dreading what would come next. After a while he heard a soft voice say, ‘I wonder what is in this box ?’ ‘ Oh, only some rubbish of the troys,’ said another sweet voice. ‘ Come and sit down here.’ Just then Eyebright gave another struggle to get free, and the first voice said, ‘ Emily, 1 am sure there is something alive in here. lam afraid those boys are very cruel.’ The box was opened, and Eyebright saw two pretty girls looking at him. ‘Poor thing'.’ cried Emily. ‘ Get your scissors, Annie, and let us set it free. See how his |sx>r leg is cut by the thread : it must be in pain.’ The next minute Eyebright felt the hateful thread give way, and he was lifted out gently and put in the middle of a large fern : and, oh ! joy, surely it was his own rockery, and there was the old plum-pudding stone in front of his dear mother’s hole. How shall we describe the meeting lietween Eyebright and his mother? Suffice it to say how careful was the young toad hereafter to stay in the rockery, ami keep out of sight whenever he heard tootsteps ; and never from that day did he hear himself called a tine toad without a shudder, which showed how thoroughly he was cured of his vanity.