The Legend of The Tree Toad

Once there was a little girl who never did anything she was told by her mother. Being the only child both of her parents loved her very much. Many times the girl wanted to be good but found it impossible.

One night she decided to put on her best outfit and moccasins. Against her mothers protests, she went outside and played with clay. It was not long after a rain and she walked in and out of the lodge leaving a trail of mud. As her mother began to cry, the little girl continued to run in and out of the lodge.

Hearing a tapping noise on the side of the lodge, she went outside to find out what it could be. There stood a toad nodding his head.

"Let me in, you bad girl. I would like very much to talk to you", said the toad.

"Who are you?" asked the girl as the toad hopped into the lodge.

"I am a tree toad, and I have the power to change my color to suit myself", said the toad, and he jumped on the white rabbit skin mat, and at once became white. He then hopped onto the brown bearskin bedding and became brown.

"I want to be like you, I want to be like you!" exclaimed the little girl excitedly.

The toad replied, "I will grant you your wish, but don't get angry with me. You always want and have your way, so enjoy yourself."

The little girl thanked him with an ugly sneer on her face. Then the tree toad gave her a looking glass and told her to look into it. She looked at herself and saw the ugly sneer on her face. She then smiled but only ugly fangs protruded from her mouth. Wanting to get rid of her ugliness, she tried very hard to think of nice things but she had been bad so long that she could not think of anything nice. At that moment, her mother called her to come and eat. She obeyed immediately which was unusual and her fangs disappeared.

A little while later, her mother asked her to clear away the food and the girl went into an angry state. All at once, she remembered the looking glass. She picked it up and looked into it. She was horrified to see snakes crawling in her hair. She ran to clear away the food s her mother had asked.

Once again, she began to feel good and when she looked again into the looking glass, she was her old self. She danced with joy.

However, it was very hard for her to break the habit of being disobedient. When her mother called her to change her clothing, the little girl became so angry that she splashed mud all over her dress. Her mother became quite upset and began to cry. As the little girl looked stubbornly at her mother, her mothers tears were getting bigger and bigger until they made a puddle which reached the top f her moccasins. Looking down at this puddle, she realized she had caused so much misery to her mother.

She ran to her mother and flung her arms around her. In a shaking voice, she said, "Forgive me, Mother, I shall try never to be disobedient again."

The very next day, the looking glass disappeared from her quarters, and from that day on, the little girl kept her word to her mother.

Courtesy of the Native North American Indian Travelling College