The Road, the Load, and the Tree Toad

by Marcus Malone

creature. To his surprise it opened its mouth... then spoke.

  "To your brother you lied. You never ferried his burden, nor did you ferry him."

  Arian drew his head back abruptly. He took an uncertain breath, then spoke in a somewhat shaken voice.

  "Are you he, the Mystic?"

  "I am not. I am but a tree toad."

  Arian cautiously stepped back, then briefly glanced about the forest which had suddenly taken on a less-inviting appearance.

  "What days and times are these that tree toads should choose to speak?"

  "To your brother you lied."

  Arian stepped closer to the stream; his voice was clearly shaken, "I will not stand here to be queried by a tree toad."

  Arian turned, then bolted for the road. He paused at the road just long enough to look back at the tree toad, which was far too small to see from his vantage point, then started down the road at a dead run.

  Arian ran for the better part of a mile before finally reducing his pace somewhat. He continued to run at a slower stride for another quarter-mile before deciding that he had gained a safe distance between him and the strange, speaking tree toad. He slowed to a halt, then bent over as he tried to catch his breath. His side ached, his heart pounded, and sweat poured from his body.

  He was convinced that the tree toad was not natural and, therefore, must be wicked or sinister in nature. He thought that it might be the old mystic or, at the very least, part of the mystic's handiwork. He look down the road behind him and wondered if he might happen across the tree toad again on successive journeys to market. He certainly hoped not.

  After a sigh of relief, he turned, then started down the road to Avant. He was indeed anxious to see the end of his journey and thought that, after regaining some strength, he would heighten his pace to a trot. However, he had hardly walked more twenty yards when, suddenly, he heard that disturbing voice again.

  "To your brother you lied."

  Arian stopped dead in his tracks. Uneasiness crept into him as he turned toward the sound.

  "You cheated your brother—you swayed him to believe a debt he owes."

  After some searching, he spotted a tiny tree toad perched on the paper-white bark of Birch tree. He cautiously approached the tree toad.

  "You speak like the tree toad at the stream." Arian's voice was shaken. "Do all toads in this forest speak?"

  "There is but one tree toad in this forest, and I am he."

  "How is it then that a tree toad should out-stride a man? I took leave of you at the stream. I ran my fastest, and I saw no toad overtake me."

  "How is it that a brother should cheat a brother?", the tree toad replied.

  Arian pointed an uneasy finger at the tiny creature, "You know nothing of these matters, tree toad. This affair is between my brother and I."

  Arian took several cautious steps backwards, "Again I shall take leave of you. Be warned tree toad, haunt me no more, or I shall squash you as if a bug. I grow weary of your meddling."

  The tree toad shifted its position to get a better look at Arian, then blinked in a slow, arrogant fashion as if to stress a point, "It is not wise to provoke a tree toad."

  The tree toad's words sent chills down Arian's spine. His cautious steps led to a frantic hobble, just before he broke out in a heart-hammering sprint down the road toward Avant.

  His sprint hardly lasted 50 yards when a stray root lying across the road suddenly bowed up by several inches. The root fouled his footing and sent him crashing to the jagged rocks and mud of the road. He slid for some distance across the road before coming to rest in a painful heap among the rocks and roots. He cringed in anguish for a moment or two, then lifted his head to see the tree toad sitting quietly on the road just inches from his face.

  "Curse you tree toad!!!" Arian shouted.

  Arian raised a fist in anger, which he brought down in full fury upon the tiny tree toad. The tree toad, however, simply moved several inches to avoid the blow. Arian made several more violent attempts to squash the tree toad, and each time the tree toad would simply move several inches to safety.

  Realizing that the effort was futile, Arian clamored to his feet, then made an attempt to stomp on the tree toad. Mud flew everywhere and Arian could not determine whether or not he had hit his mark. He began stomping into the mud wildly—hoping against hope that he could rid himself of the tree toad. He spent several minutes stamping and churning the mud at his feet until he felt assured that the tree toad's tiny body must laid in a crumpled heap beneath the quagmire.

  When he was finished, he paused to take several deep breaths, then turned his attention to the wounds on his chest, arms, and legs, that had resulted from the fall. He was in deep pain, and the reason became clear once he scraped the mud from his wounds. He had three long gashes across his chest which, although not life-threatening, were certainly cause for concern. There were also several sizable abrasions on his forearm, and a bruised knee that promised to stiffen his leg somewhat.

  Arian let out a disgruntled sigh, then started down the road at a limp. He had traveled the road many times and knew of another stream that neared the road about a quarter-mile away. He planned to clean the mud from his wounds once he reached the stream. After that, the wounds would begin to heal and the pain would begin to subside.

  "To your brother you lied."

  The sound of the tree toad's voice invoked a panic in Arian. He whirled around wildly as best as his injured leg would allow in search of the tree toad.

  "I have seen you and your brother on many journeys past," the voice continued, "and never have you ferried his load, or ferried him. You played his trust and cheated him."

  Every time Arian turned to see where the voice was coming from it seemed to move, as if the tree toad sought to elude him. His motions became more erratic and panicked in his struggle to locate the tree toad.

  "It is now you who owes the debt!"

  "Show yourself tree toad!!" Arian shouted.

  "Fool! I am at your shoulder."

  Arian looked in horror at the diabolical creature perched on his shoulder. He screamed, then swatted at it. The tree toad jumped to his neck just before Arian's hand struck his shoulder. Each time Arian struck at the tree toad, the tiny creature jumped to another part of his body; his head, his other shoulder, back to his neck then, finally, the tree toad found a perch—just out of reach— in the middle of Arian's back.

  Arian tried in vain to dislodge the tree toad; first by swatting at it, then by scraping his back against a nearby tree, which only added to his wounds. The tree toad was swift and simply moved to avoid harm, then quickly returned to the precarious position at the middle of Arian's back.

  Arian realized that he could not rid himself of the tree toad in this fashion and that another strategy would have to be sought.

  Arian bent over for a moment to catch his breath, "You are the Mystic's doing..." He took several labored breaths, then continued, "I know this for tree toads do not speak, nor do they haunt people unjustly."

  "It is you who are unjust. To your brother you lied."

  Arian stood, then started down the road at the best pace his injured leg would allow.

  "You are a pest, tree toad, like a fly buzzing in my ear. I shall be rid of you at my journey's end. For you are the Mystic's doing, as such you cannot leave Mystic's Forest. At last, I shall be rid of you!"

  Arian hurried down the road despite his limp—determined to rid himself of the tree toad. The tree toad simply clung to his back and refused to leave.

  "You cheated your brother!", the tree toad insisted. "Go back to him now to right this wrong, least I squash you as if a bug."

  "You are but a simple pest, tree toad. You can bring me no more harm."

  "Fool you are!", the tree toad replied, "I can be a burden, and more!"

  Arian decided to ignore the tree toad completely; his eyes were fixed on the road ahead as he concentrated on getting to the edge of the forest so many miles away.

  The tr
ee toad continued its efforts.

  "You shall not leave here without bearing the load of your brother. At journey's start, you carried four sacks of grain, such as this...."

  Arian's eyes widened as he felt the weight of the tree toad increase to match the weight of the four sacks of grain he had left with his brother. He staggered backward for several steps until he finally balanced the heavy, unexpected load of the tree toad.

  "But you gave your brother five sacks, such as this..."

  Again, Arian felt the tree toad's weight increase. He looked down the road, then, again, started for the sanctuary beyond the edge of Mystic's Forest.

  "Then, you gave your brother your sacks as well as his—nine sacks in total—such as this..."

  Abruptly, the tree toad's weight increased to match the entire load that Talimus had been carrying all morning. He staggered and hobbled awkwardly as the heavy load sent searing pain through his injured leg. He almost lost his balance at one point, then finally managed to stand without staggering by keeping most of the weight on his good leg.

  The tree toad continued.

  "One moon past, you gave your brother two sacks more than you, such as this..."

  The weight of the tree toad increased to eleven sacks of grain; Arian's legs began to tremble. He took several precarious steps; the pain in his injured leg festered and stung.

  "Two moons past..."

  The tree toad continued citing journey after journey where Arian had unfairly given Talimus part of his share of the load, and each time the weight of the tiny tree toad increased to match it. Finally, Arian