But the young man contrived to evade his
questions, and the matter was at rest for a while.
Then the king sent another messenger, with orders to press the young
man more closely; and because the young man disdained to tell a lie,
he said, "I get the flowers from yon china jar."
Then the messenger returned, and said to the king, "The young man says
that he gets the flowers from a certain china jar which stands in his
room."
Then said the king, "Bring the contents of the jar hither to me." And
the messenger returned and brought the toad.
But when the king laid hold upon the toad, it spat in his face; and he
was poisoned and died.
Then the toad sat upon the king's mouth, and would not be enticed
away. And every one feared to touch it because it spat poison. And
they called the wise men of the council; and they performed certain
rites to charm away the toad, and yet it would not go.
But after three days, the master of the toad came to the palace, and
without saying who he was, he desired to be permitted to try and get
the toad from the corpse of the king.
And when he was taken into the king's chamber, he stood and beckoned
to the toad, saying, "The person of the king and the bodies of the
dead are sacred, wherefore come away."
And the toad crawled from the king's face and came to him, and did not
spit at him; and he put it back into the jar.
Then said the wise men, "There is no one so fit to succeed to the
kingdom as this man is; both for wisdom of speech and for the power of
command.
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