How the Toad Got His Bruises

Once upon a time, the toad had smooth, shiny skin. Back then, the toad loved going out all the time. He was always at parties and social events and was almost never at home. Whenever there was a party, no matter how far, the toad always found a way to attend.

One day, the toad got an invitation to a party in the sky. His friend, the armadillo, laughed and said, "You can’t go to that party. You know you can’t fly, and you move very slowly."

The toad didn’t like being told what he couldn’t do. "Just wait and see if I go or not," the toad said confidently.

Not far from the toad’s house, a big black buzzard lived. The buzzard wasn’t very friendly and often stayed alone, so no one liked him much. The toad hopped over to the buzzard's house, where the buzzard was playing his violin.

"Good morning, Buzzard," said the toad. "Are you going to the party in the sky?"

The buzzard nodded and said he was planning to go.

"Great!" said the toad. "Can I go with you?"

The buzzard was surprised but happy that someone wanted to go with him. "Of course! I’d like to travel with you," replied the buzzard. "When should we leave?"

"We’ll leave at four o’clock," said the toad. "Come to my house, and we’ll go together. Oh, and don’t forget to bring your violin."

At four o’clock, the buzzard arrived at the toad’s house with his violin. The toad called out from inside, "I’m not ready yet. Please leave your violin by the door and come in. I just need to finish getting ready."

The buzzard put his violin by the door and went inside the toad’s house. But instead of getting ready, the toad sneaked out through the window and hid inside the violin!

The buzzard waited and waited, but the toad never came out. Finally, the buzzard decided to leave without him. He picked up his violin and flew to the party.

When the buzzard arrived at the party, he was late, so he said, "I was waiting for the toad, but he didn’t come."

The other animals laughed. "Why would you wait for the toad? He can’t fly! We only invited him as a joke because he loves parties."

The buzzard put his violin down and joined the feast. When no one was looking, the toad jumped out of the violin, laughing to himself. "They thought I couldn’t come! They’ll be surprised to see me here!"

The toad had a great time at the party. He ate, danced, and had more fun than anyone else. When the buzzard asked how the toad had arrived, the toad smiled and said, "I’ll tell you another time," and then went back to eating and dancing.

The buzzard didn’t enjoy the party much and left early without saying goodbye. He even forgot to take his violin with him.

At the end of the party, the toad got back into the violin and waited for the buzzard to return. But the buzzard never came back, and the toad started to worry. He realized he had made a mistake.

Later, a falcon saw the violin and said, "This must belong to the buzzard. I’ll take it to him."

The falcon picked up the violin and flew toward the ground. But the toad was heavy inside, and the falcon got tired. The toad started to feel very uncomfortable.

"I can’t carry this violin anymore!" the falcon complained. "I was silly to pick it up. The buzzard isn’t even my friend." Then, the falcon let the violin fall.

Down, down, down the violin fell, with the toad inside. "Oh no! Little stones, little stones, please move out of my way!" the toad cried. But the stones didn’t move, and the violin crashed to the ground.

The toad crawled out, hurt and sore. His smooth, shiny skin was now covered in bumps and bruises.

The buzzard never found out what happened to his violin, and the toad’s skin was never the same again.