Soon night drew near, and darkness began to fall over the countryside. Finally, when the last light of day disappeared, the earth began to tremble, and the snake came out of its hole. Its scales were green; its red tongue was like a flame. When the girl saw the terrible appearance of the snake, she fainted and fell to the ground.
Just then a single streak of white poison flashed toward the snake. It came from the toad which the girl had cared for with such kindness. And though the toad was small compared to the snake, it was squirting poison with all its might to protect the girl.
But the snake was not to be beaten easily. It began squirting poison right back at the toad. Neither would give in. This continued for one hour, two hours. It was a deadly fight in silence.
Gradually, the snake’s poison began to weaken. On the other hand, the toad’s poison became stronger and stronger. Still, the fight continued. Suddenly, the snake let out a great gasp and fell down on the rocky hillside. Its great body twitched once, twice, and fell down. The fight was finally at an end.
A lone villager found the unconscious girl the next morning. He knew her, took her to her home and nursed her back to health. n the meantime, a light rain woke the toad and it hopped back to the girl’s home, too. The girl warmly greeted the toad from her bed, and the toad took back its warm spot upon her kitchen hearth. The villager checked in on the girl from time to time to see how she doing, and as one thing leads to another and got married. The toad was pleased to stay in the warm corner of the girl’s kitchen for many years.