The Rat agreed to the Toad’s proposal, and went to see the Toad.

The Toad prepared himself, and when the sun reached about the middle, between the horizon and the zenith, the great men felt its heat, and went to sit down in the shade of a tree.  The Toad on seeing this, arose, went to where the men were sitting, and passed through the midst of them.  When the men observed him they said:  “If you touch him, your hand will become bitter.”  So no one touched him, and the Toad passed through and went home.

Then the Toad said to the Rat, “Didst thou see me?  Now if thou canst do what I do, arise, and begin to do it.  I will see!”

The Rat, attending to what the toad said, got ready and the following morning, when the sun had gained strength and the great men had stood up and got under the shade of a tree, the Rat saw them sitting there, and went to do what the Toad had done; but when he came to where the men were sitting, and just went to pass through the midst of them, they saw him, and they all took sticks, and sought to kill him:  one man attempting to kill him with a stick, struck at him, but did not hit him well, the stick touching him only a little on the back; so he ran away to the Toad.

On his arrival the Rat said to the Toad: 

“Brother Toad, as thou wentest to where the people were sitting no one said a word to thee, and thou camest home again with a sound skin; but when I went, and they saw me, just as I went to pass through them they all took sticks, and sought to kill me; and one man taking a stick and striking at me to kill me, our Lord helped me, that the stick hit me only a little on the back; so I ran away, and came to thee.  I disputed with thee, thinking that I could do what thou doest:  now to-day I have experienced something; to-morrow let us begin again and when I have the experience of to-morrow, I shall be able to give thee an answer.”

The Toad said to the Rat:  “The things of today are passed; to-morrow, when the great men have gone and sat down under the tree, I will get ready and when thou hast seen that, on observing me come to them and pass through the midst of them, they will not say a word to me, thou also shalt do what I did.”  So the Rat then went to see the Toad.

As soon as the Toad saw the great men sitting under the tree, he again began, saying to the Rat, “Look at me, as I go to the place where the great men are sitting, with a sound skin:  but if, on my return from them, if thou seest the wale of a stick on any part of my body, thou hast spoken the truth, and canst do more than I.”

The Toad got ready, and on coming to where the men were sitting no one said anything to him; so he passed through the midst of them, and went again to the Rat, saying:  “Look at me!  Look at my whole body!  Canst thou see the wale of a stick?  If thou seest one, then tell me of it!”

When the Rat had looked at the Toad’s whole body and not seen any wale of a stick he said to the Toad: