She replied to her friend: "My children are hungry, and I have no food;
therefore, am I come to thee; teach me a device!"
Her friend said to her: "Arise in the morning, go to the brook, and see
whether there are Toads in it; then come back, and on the following
morning go again, and lie down by the side of the brook; stretch out
thy legs and thy wings, shut thine eyes, keep quite silent, and lie in
one place until the Toads come out in the morning, and, after seeing
thee, go home and call all their people to come, to take thee by the
wing and to drag thee away. But do not thou speak to them--be
perfectly quiet."
She listened to what her friend said, and at night-quiet she arose, and
went to the brook, when all the Toads were singing; but as soon as they
saw her, they went and hid themselves at the bottom of the water. So
the Stork went home and slept, and having slept she arose up early and
went back again to the brook, without being observed by the Toads; she
went softly, and lay down by the side of the water, pretending to be
dead, stretched out her legs, her wings, and her mouth, and shut her
eyes. Thus she lay, until at break of day when one Toad arose, and,
finding that it was day, came forth and saw the Stork lying. He went
back, and called all the Toads:
"Come, behold, I have seen something dead, lying at the door of our
house, and when I had seen it I came back to call you."
So all the Toads arose and followed him, and having come out, they all
saw a Stork lying at the door of their house; but they did not know
that the Stork was more cunning than themselves. They returned home,
called a council together and said: "What shall we do? Some one who
came, we do not know whence, has died before the gate of our town."
All their great men answered, and said, "Arise all of you, go out, drag
this dead body far away, and leave it there."
So they all arose, went, and, taking the Stork by its wings and legs,
dragged it away.
The Stork was cunning; she saw them without their knowing it. They
sang, as they dragged her away:
"Drag her and leave her! Drag her and leave her!"
The Stork did not speak to them, as they all dragged her away, although
she saw them. Now when they had carried her far away, the Stork opened
her eyes, which when they saw they all began to run away. As soon as
the Stork saw that the Toads had begun to run away, she arose, and
pursued them; having overtaken one, she took and swallowed it, and went
on taking and swallowing them. The Toads kept running, but by the time
they would have got home the Stork had swallowed them all, one by one.
She had filled her bag, and then started on her way home. As soon as
her children saw her, they all ran to their mother, saying, "Our mother
has brought us food." When they came their mother threw all the Toads
in her bag down to her children, and her children ate them, so that
their hunger was appeased.
The Stork arose, went to her friend, and said:
"My friend, what thou toldest me yesterday is excellent: I went and lay
down by the side of the brook, and when the Toads saw me in the
morning, they thought I was dead; they came, dragged me along, and when
they had carried me far away, not knowing that I was wiser than they
and thinking that I was dead, I opened mine eyes to look at them; but
on seeing me open mine eyes, they all began to run away. Then I arose,
pursued them, and when I had overtaken one, I took and swallowed it;
and when I had overtaken a second I took and swallowed it; so by the
time they would have reached home I had swallowed them all, and filled
my bag with them. I brought them to my children, and when my children
were around me, I threw the Toads before them out of the bag and they
ate them, that their hunger was appeased."
She also thanked her friend, saying: "God bless thee; thou hast taught
me an excellent device."
Thus the Stork and her friend devised a plan, and thus they were able
to maintain their children while the Toads were sitting in their house.
So now, when the Toads are croaking in a brook, and they see any one
come, they are all quite silent, supposing that a Stork is coming.
This fable of the Stork and Toads, which I heard, is now finished.