Toad Sues Heaven

In ancient times, the Jade Emperor ruled over all things in heaven and earth. The Jade Emperor assigned the Rain God the responsibility of making rain so that all things, plants, and animals could have water to drink.

But there was a time when there had been no rain for three years. Everywhere the land was cracked, trees were dry and withered, and animals were slowly dying of thirst. All creatures cried out in grief, but God did not hear.

One day, the animals met and decided to send Toad to the Jade Emperor to ask why it was not raining. But after much discussion, no one wanted to go, because everyone was afraid that if they got close to the sun, they would burn up. At this time, only Toad was determined to go to the Jade Emperor to ask about the drought.

At first, he was alone, but the toad was not discouraged. Passing a dry swamp, the purple toad met the crab. The crab asked him where he was going. The toad then told him everything, and invited the crab to go to Heaven with him. At first, the crab wanted to discuss it, fearing that the heat would be unbearable. He begged the crab that if he stayed any longer, he would dry up and die. After a while of begging, the crab volunteered to go with the toad.

After walking a little further, Toad met Tiger lying on his stomach, breathing heavily. Bear was so thirsty that he fainted. Toad invited Bear and Tiger to go to the sky to ask about the drought of the past few years. While Tiger was still hesitant, Bear was about to dismiss it, but after Toad explained, Bear said:

• Mr. Toad is right, should we just lie here and wait to die of thirst? Let’s follow the Toad. If even Mr. Crab can follow Mr. Toad, why can’t we?

The group regrouped. After walking a distance, they met Bee hiding under a rock because of the heat and Fox lying with his tongue out because of the heat. After listening to Toad’s invitation to join the group, Tiger, Bear, and Crab also analyzed the situation. The group also enthusiastically joined the group of animals going to Heaven led by Toad.

The group led by Toad kept going, going, from one mountain to another, everywhere was barren. Although it was difficult, seeing the desolate scene on earth made them even more determined to go. After a week of walking, they reached the gates of heaven. Toad saw a very large drum and a jar of water. After observing for a while, Toad thought that if they went like this, they might alarm the Jade Emperor. Toad said:

• If we go together and disturb the Jade Emperor, you guys hide first. When everything is safe, I will call you out. Mr. Crab, go into the water jar, Ms. Bee and Fox, hide behind the door, and Mr. Bear and Mr. Tiger, stand behind the drum. When you all hear my command, come out.

After everything was arranged, the Toad jumped onto the surface of the heavenly drum and beat it three times, making a loud sound like thunder. The Jade Emperor was taking a nap when the thunderous sound of the drum woke him up. He was angry and ordered the Thunder God to come out and see what was going on.

The Thunder God, with a murderous look on his face, carried his thunder hammer and ran out. The Thunder God was surprised because there was no one outside the gates of heaven, only an ugly purple toad sitting on the drum of Heaven. Seeing this, the Thunder God went in and told the Jade Emperor that there was an ugly toad outside beating the drum. The Jade Emperor was very angry when he heard this and ordered the heavenly chicken to fly out and peck the insolent toad to death.

As soon as the wild chicken flew out, the Toad gritted his teeth and signaled to the Fox. The Fox immediately jumped out and bit the chicken’s neck and carried it away. The Toad beat the thunder drum again, and the Jade Emperor became even angrier and ordered the Thunder God to go out and see what was going on. The Thunder God came in and reported that it was still the same little Toad. The Jade Emperor immediately sent the Heavenly Dog out to bite the Fox. As soon as the Dog rushed out, the Toad gritted his teeth and signaled to the Bear. Immediately, the Bear rushed out and gave the Dog a devastating slap. The Dog lay still in one place, unconscious.

The toad beat the thunder drum again to wake up the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor still sent the Thunder God to see what was going on. Still seeing the toad standing there alone, the Jade Emperor sent the Thunder God to punish the toad. The Thunder God was a god of heaven whose thunder axe, every time he swung it, created lightning that struck across the sky, creating thunder that shook the four realms. The Thunder God’s power was unmatched. The Jade Emperor was confident that this time by sending the Thunder God, he would definitely be able to punish the toad.

As soon as the Thunder God was fiercely carrying his lightning hammer to the gate of heaven, the Toad gritted his teeth and signaled to the Bee. Immediately, the Bee hid on the door and flew out and kept stinging the Thunder God’s nose. The Thunder God was surprised and made lightning strike randomly, shaking the entire Heaven. The Heavenly Court shook, causing the Jade Emperor to worry for the Thunder God’s safety. The bee stung his nose and hand, causing the Thunder God to throw away his tongue and the thunder, and the lightning stopped. The bee sting was painful, the Thunder God felt like he was being burned, the bee kept chasing him, causing the Thunder God to be stung everywhere. He remembered that there was a jar of water at the gate of heaven. The Thunder God quickly jumped into the jar of water to escape the Bee. Unexpectedly, as soon as he jumped into the jar of water, the Crab was hiding there, waiting to raise his pincers like a pair of pliers and clamp onto the Thunder God’s butt. The Thunder God was in so much pain that he screamed and struggled, breaking the Heavenly water jar. The Thunder God’s scream made the Jade Emperor even more worried. The Thunder God tried to find a way to escape, but the Purple Toad gritted his teeth and signaled to the Tiger. Immediately, the Tiger, hiding behind the Drum, jumped out, roared loudly, and slapped the Thunder God, causing him to fall down in front of the Heavenly Gate.

The Toad continued to beat the drum. The Jade Emperor sent his soldiers to see what was going on. They saw the Thunder God lying across the door. Seeing this, the Jade Emperor finally gave in and let the Toad come in. At this point, the whole group went in to see the Jade Emperor. When he saw them all, the Jade Emperor asked:

• Hey Toad, what’s the matter that you and your friends are here to make a ruckus in heaven? Tell me.

Toad said:

• Your Majesty, for three years now, there has been a prolonged drought on earth, without a single drop of rain. All the trees have withered, all living things have died of thirst… We would like to come here to ask what sins we have committed that have caused the drought on earth to last for three years. We do not dare to disturb the heavens, but the urgent matter on earth begs the Your Majesty to consider sending rain.

Seeing the Toad reporting the story, he called the rain god and learned that he was drunk at the Heavenly Court’s meeting and had not yet woken up. The Jade Emperor quickly performed a spell to wake the rain god up. Knowing what had happened, the rain god apologized to the Jade Emperor. Following the Jade Emperor’s order, the rain god quickly sent rain to quench the thirst of all people on earth.

The human world received precious rain, all animals and plants were revived. The toad and his friends in heaven saw it and were extremely happy to thank the Jade Emperor.

Seeing that Toad was brave, courageous and had good intentions, the Jade Emperor said:

• Heaven was late in making rain, causing danger to the world. To avoid this from happening, animals do not have to go to heaven anymore… When there is a drought, Toad wants me to make rain, Toad just needs to sit on the ground and grind his teeth, and I will hear and make it rain.

So we all thanked the Jade Emperor and said goodbye to him. The Jade Emperor used magic to bring us all back to our old place.

In the lower world, all the animals, when they heard the story, said:

“The Toad Is God’s Uncle”

“If Anyone Hits a Toad, God Will Strike Him”.