Toad is a toad who makes the journey from Farthing Wood to White Deer Park in both the books and the TV series. Toad is group's guide on the journey, having previously travelled through White Deer Park on his way back to Farthing Wood after being captured by a human in a jam jar. Toad is friendly and high-spirited, but he often struggles during the journey due to tiredness or because of his instinct, which often draws him back towards Farthing Wood.
Toad is killed by Bully late in the book series, but he survives to the end of the TV series.
Books
The Animals of Farthing Wood
Toad is first seen when he arrives at Badger's set during the assembly of all the Farthing Wood animals. He tells his friends that he was captured in a jam jar and kept in a glass box until a cat knocked off the netting that was trapping him. He escaped from the garden and travelled through a nature reserve called White Deer Park, before returning home. Toad suggests that all the animals travel to White Deer Park together and live in the nature reserve. The other animals agree and they start travelling the following night.
Toad acts as the guide on the journey, but often struggles with travelling such long distances every day and gets tired very easily. He gets left behind when the animals cross the road to the army land and has to be rescued by Fox. He is rescued by Fox again on the army land itself when he gets caught in the fire that rages through it. Fox later decides it would be best if he carried Toad for the rest of the journey, with Hare taking over when Fox is separated from the group.
Later on in the journey, Toad's homing instinct causes him to head back towards Farthing Wood, until Tawny Owl and Kestrel start to scout ahead for him to help him remember which way to go. When the animals reach the quarry, Toad goes swimming in the water and is caught by a carp. Luckily, he is rescued by Whistler who then returns the fish to the water on Toad's request. Toad is later criticised when a motorway he tells the group is still under construction turns out to be finished and full of traffic. Toad is one of the animals to be carried across the road by Whistler. He is also one of the animals to be left behind when the animals flee from the church, but Whistler comes to collect him and the other animals, and takes them back to the main group.
When the animals finally arrive at White Deer Park, they are greeted by the residents of the reserve with Toad at the head of group, the first to be greeted by The Great Stag. Once in the park, the animals decide to have a meeting but Toad arrives late after becoming drunk from drinking a puddle of liquid near The Warden's house. He leads the other animals to the puddle and they all drink to celebrate arriving at their new home.
In the Grip of Winter
Toad spends most of this book in hibernation, saying goodbye to his friends as winter begins before settling down to sleep with Adder. Toad awakens in the spring, but his homing instinct begins to take him back towards Farthing Wood again. He is caught in another jam jar, but Whistler causes the boy who captured him to drop the jar and he carries Toad back into the park. Whistler then takes Toad to the Warden, who opens the jar and lets him out.
Toad then meets a female toad called Paddock who was also captured and dropped by Whistler when she was mistaken for Toad. Toad mates with Paddock and she deposits her spawn at the bottom of the pond.
Fox's Feud
Toad has a very minor role in this book, only appearing a few times. He encounters Adder after his attack by Scarface and expresses concern about his injured tail. He then tells Whistler about it when he encounters him and his mate nearby. He also reveals to Whistler that he has separated from Paddock now that the mating season is over, but says that he may rejoin her the following spring.
The Siege of White Deer Park
When Adder finds some footprints that may belong to The Beast, he shows Toad who confirms that they were made by a large mammal. Toad then informs the other animals of this discovery, remarking that the creature's size is consistent with the description Tawny Owl gives of a creature he has recently seen. When the White Deer Park inhabitants go to the stream to investigate the Beast's lair, Toad volunteers to check the hole for proof that the cat is living there. Toad enters the hole and finds the Beast sleeping, then he reports what he has discovered to Fox.
In the Path of the Storm
Toad only appears a few times during this book, usually near the pond when events are occuring there. He appears at the meeting of elders to discuss the problem with Trey and arrives at the disused set after the edible frogs tell him about the stag's confrontation with Badger. Toad is present at the pond when the other animals arrive to show Trey that he cannot stop them from drinking there and later goes into hibernation shortly after the hurricane occurs.
Battle for the Park
Toad spends most of his time by the pond, talking to Plucky there about Dash's desire to test her speed on the downland early in the spring. When the rats enter the park and arrive at the pond, causing havoc as they attack the edible frogs, Toad stands up to them and tells them to leave. He is attacked by one of the rats and Bully tells him that they are going to take over the entire park. The white deer arrive to drink and start to trample the rats, so Bully attacks Toad and fatally injures him with his teeth before retreating from the pond. Later Whistler arrives and locates Toad, who asks to be taken back to the Hollow. Whistler carries him there and lays him down, but Toad dies soon after. The other animals arrive and mourn Toad's death, and Vixen covers him up to hide him from view and vows to get revenge on the creature who killed him.
TV series
Series 1
Toad's role in the first series is virtually the same as in the first book, with only a few minor differences. Toad is first seen arriving at Farthing Wood after his journey, encountering the human machinery and being dug up by a digger. Toad survives this encounter and is next seen dropping into Badger's set through the ground to join the meeting. Another minor change is that Toad walks for the majority of the journey, only riding on Fox's back on a few brief occasions.
Series 2
Like in the books, Toad spends most of the first winter in hibernation, emerging in the spring. Toad meets Paddock just as he does in the books. Unlike in the books, Toad and Paddock spend most of their time in each other's company, and are often seen together with the rest of the Farthing Wood animals. They remain together for most of the series, before separating from each other in the final episode of the series.
In the series, Toad is the first Farthing Wood animal to be told by Adder that she has killed Scarface. On hearing this news, Toad jumps improbably high into the air, above Whistler and Speedy's nest, telling them the news as he does so. As the news spreads, Adder becomes annoyed that the other animals are stealing her thunder.
Series 3
Toad made friends with Spike and eventually managed convert from the wrong side of the other rats.
Appearances
Books
- The Animals of Farthing Wood
- In the Grip of Winter
- Fox's Feud
- The Siege of White Deer Park
- In the Path of the Storm
- Battle for the Park
TV series