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It is said by some that the reasons toads play so vital a role in folklore throughout all nationalities is due to their resemblance to miniature human beings. I--of course--beg to differ. In the course of my years I can safely say I have crossed the paths of many humans and not once have I ever met one and thought to myself ... by Jove ... that person looks just like a toad. Of course, there is the possibility that I have much traveling yet to do ... and my education is not yet complete.
Generally speaking they have always been regarded as venomous as some are known to exude poison from the glands on their skin. Not to let such knowledge go to waste ... tradition tells us the during the Middle Ages bandits were known to force toads into the throats of their victims. There clearly weren't that many spare bullets floating around ... but toads were clearly in abundance. I dare say it is from this practice that stemmed that old expression: I can't talk right now ... I have a frog in my throat. Lest there are some of you who want to state that a toad is a toad and a frog is a frog ... I am here to tell you that all toads are frogs ... generically speaking. Look it up.
Toad are also believed to be witches' familiars. Mix a little toad spittle with the sap of the sow thistle and cross yourself with this lotion and poof ... you're invisible. In much of Europe toads were killed for this very reason. Clearly it must have worked ... else why all the toadnapping. The exception to the rule was Romania where it was thought that if one were capable of killing a toad ... then one would have no compunction about murdering one's mother. In those days--I would assume--toads lived in relative safety ... or mothers in grave danger.
Wait. There's more. It is also believed that toads have hidden in their heads precious jewels. Now this little fact alone would endear me to the critter. Get your hands on this jewel ... set it in a ring ... wear it ... and you will be forewarned against poisonings of any kind. This--as you surely know--can be quite useful.
And of course ... the best of them all ... the winner of this week's folklore prize for the ridiculous ... is this: Place a toad's heart in the left sleeve of a sleeping woman ... and when she awakes she will confess all her secrets. Ye gads. Is there a soul alive so strong in spirit that when finding a toad's heart in one's sleeve upon awakening who wouldn't confess to all their peccadilloes?
As a quick addendum ... I have proof of one bit of lore being completely false. They who say these things say that if one eats an egg on Good Friday or on Easter Eve one is certain to find a toad in it. This is of course a lot of frog manure ... for I have eaten eggs off and on at one time or another during every day of the year ... and not once have I found a toad in it. Flies in the soup are another matter entirely and I will leave that for another day.
Which brings us up to the bejeweled Toad-du-Jour. Made by one David Webb. Of course he calls it a Frog ... but since all toads are frogs and all that ....
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