Toad Hunting

I could feel the mud squish between my toes and it felt cold and soft. I enjoyed the smell of the black soil and fresh green grass growing. It was now spring and the rains brought abundance this year. To my benefit, the ditches were full to the brim of brown, muddy water. It was the closest thing to a swimming pool we would ever see and the temptation was just too much for me. I couldn’t wait any longer; this could be a day’s worth of fun if I planned it right. My goal was to search for toads that liked to swim the fresh rainy ditches. I’d seen them before but was never able to catch them, they jumped up to five feet at a time and my little body wasn’t fast enough for a critter so quick. I decided to get down on my hands and knees in the ditch and see if I could feel my way through the mud to find one. I was up to my neck now if muddy water and it smelled and felt so good. All of a sudden I felt something brush against my ankle so I reached down with my hand just in time to grab a tiny webbed leg. I pulled it up to the surface quickly and held on tight so I didn’t lose it in the big pool of water. I looked down and squealed with excitement to see my catch, a tiny toad that was now full of fear. He’d been swimming along so freely and was now in the grasp of an 8-year old muddy smelly farm girl. My toad was a pretty one and I knew immediately I needed to name him. Every pet had a name and this guy was no exception. It needed to be a toad name, not something you’d name the dog or cat. It needed to be critter-appropriate. This was going to take some thought and possibly the consultation of a few adults. For now, I was satisfied with my catch. I stood admiring him as I heard a car coming down the gravel road. I looked up just in time to see my Aunt Iola pulling into the driveway in her big, shiny car. I held up my toad proudly so she could see it but the look on her face told me she wasn’t as excited as I was. In fact, she looked as if she’d seen a ghost. I jumped out of the ditch and ran to her car that she was now parking at the end of our driveway. She was getting out of the car slowly, not talking her eye of my toad the entire time. She looked like she’d never seen a toad before. What was she so freaked out about anyway?

“Hi Aunt Iola, do you see my toad?” I could feel my voice jump with excitement.

“Is that really a toad? Isn’t that nice? Have you been playing in the ditch for very long? Does your mother know you were playing in there?” She still had that same look on her face but now it was frozen. Her face wasn’t moving when she talked, I’d never seen that before. How strange.

“Of course my mother knows I was playing in the ditch. What does she care?” I said somewhat sharply. What was she trying to say, that I wasn’t allowed to play in the ditch? Doesn’t she know anything about living on a farm? What does she think we do all day, sit on our porches and sip lemonade?

Aunt Iola was now walking toward the house but had not turned her body away from me. She was sliding along the car like she didn’t have room to walk. I stood still as I could see she was afraid of my toad and must have thought it was going to jump on her or something. So, I decided to stand still and not make any fast movements. I didn’t want to frighten her any more than she was. As she got far enough away from me she finally turned and started walking to our front door. I stayed there, still staring. I was still confused about the conversation we just had and found myself a little irritated at her. It was like she was saying there was something wrong with playing in a muddy ditch and catching toads. She must have a boring life.

I shrugged my shoulders and walked toward the shed. I needed to find a bucket for my toad. He was starting to get dry and I knew that wasn’t good for toads. Besides, someone else might stop by and I wanted to be ready to show off my toad. I worked hard to catch him and I knew I had accomplished something quite amazing. Surely I would hear people say, “Wow, how did you catch that thing?” “How did you know how to catch it?” “You must have a knack for catching toads!”

A regular celebrity, I would be. If I could just find a bucket to put him in. Yes, the shed had lots of buckets. I pulled out a white five-gallon bucket that was just inside the tool shed and I filled it with just an inch or two of water because I knew where he came from was wet and he liked that better than the sunshine anyway. I carefully shifted the toad from one hand to the other as I filled the bucket, set it down and gently placed the toad inside. I looked over the edge of the bucket and he seemed as happy as any toad I’d ever seen.

I leaned back and sat down in the grass, just looking around to see if anyone was driving by. I couldn’t hear anyone and by now my Aunt Iola had gone inside to visit my mother. I was hoping I could call her over for a second look now that my toad had a happy home. I took a deep breath, and knew I might be waiting for awhile so I thought I would rest my eyes. Just as my eyelids closed, I hurt a thump against the side of the bucket. As I opened my eyes, I saw my toad jumping wildly across the yard. He was getting away! He was heading back towards the ditch. I jumped up and began running across the lawn, yelling and screeching that my prize might be getting away. As I reached out my hands to catch the toad on his way through the air I let my arms fall back at my side. I stopped running, screeching, and I looked at the ditch. It was black and muddy but it was a lot better than a big empty bucket. My toad’s escape to freedom was much deserved. I knew he would be happier there, and his happiness was more important than my celebrity status as an expert toad catcher. I knew I would only have the story to tell and no toad to prove it. My Aunt Iola would have to vouch for me. I knew I would have to hurry inside and tell my story while she was there so she could add her, “yea, that’s right. I saw the toad myself”. I didn’t mind letting her have some of the spotlight in my toad story. After all, she looked like it was the first time she ever saw a toad and I was sure it was a day she would never forget.