Joshua’s mother paused. Slowly she lowered her fork and stared across the table at her older son.

“You’re— what?”

“A toad,” Joshua replied calmly, continuing to eat.

His brother, Brian, hooted with laughter as his mother gaped in disbelief.

“What,” she began ominously, “does a toad have to do with Christmas?”

“Oh, the play’s something to do with Bermuda this year,” Joshua replied vaguely.

“Lindsey’s a cahow—and Adam’s a skink but no-one wanted to be the toad — so I volunteered!”

His mother choked.

“You volunteered?!” she squeaked, her voice rising several notches as she stared with bulging eyes at her oblivious son.

“Why?” she asked in despairing tones. “What’s wrong with being a shepherd? A sheep, even?”

“I think a toad is pretty cool, honey,” Joshua’s dad interposed, struggling not to laugh at the look on his wife’s face.

“The costume,” Joshua’s mom wailed dismally. “How am I going to make the costume?”

“Yes, Lydia, yes—I said a toad—stop laughing...oh, wonderful—bye.”

Joshua’s mom hung up the telephone and turned to Joshua.

“Aunt Lydia says she has something that might help - she’s sending it over with your cousin Greg.”

“Oooh—is he coming on his new bike?” Joshua demanded excitedly.

Before his exasperated mother could reply he raced outside to wait for Greg.

Joshua was hopping with excitement when Greg finally roared up on his bike.

“Hey, buddy,” his tall cousin said, grinning at Joshua as he took his helmet off.

“Hi Greg,” Joshua’s mom carolled as she came out of the house.

“What did Lydia—?”

Her voice trailed away as she stared at what her nephew was holding.

“Oh no,” she whispered. “She didn’t! She couldn’t!”

Greg’s shoulders shook as he tried not to laugh.

“Mom said that Joshua should borrow Terence for a while so that if his costume isn’t very good at least he’ll know how to act like a toad!”

He doubled over in laughter at the expression on his aunt’s face.

Joshua looked at his mother’s horrified face in surprise.

“I think it’s a great idea, Mom!” he enthused. “Look at Terence! Isn’t he wonderful?”

He shoved the terrarium towards her.

His mother recoiled, her bulging eyes looking very like those of the little toad who stared at her from behind the glass.

Terence squashed his nose up against the glass wall of his home and sighed. He looked in an assessing way around his terrarium. It was alright, he supposed. A bit small but Joshua seemed like a nice Human - and certainly he was getting a lot more to eat than he usually did without that greedy Albert Toad hogging all the roly-polies!

Tearing his thoughts away from the nefarious Albert, Terence returned his attention to the problem at hand. Just that evening he had heard Joshua Human say something about “cockroaches for Christmas!”

Terence shuddered with greed and excitement. Cockroaches! Delicious, delicious cockroaches! He just had to get some! How envious Albert would be! Terence frowned. Who, he wondered, was Christmas? He must be a toad like Terence himself because after all, who else would eat cockroaches, but— where was Christmas? How could Terence find him? And more importantly how could he, Terence Toad, manage to get a share of those lovely cockroaches that Joshua Human was going to give Christmas? The little toad’s eyes glazed over as he gave himself up to scheming.

“Stand still, Joshua!” snapped his mother, her mouth full of pins.

She made a few more adjustments and then spun Joshua around.

“Well?” she demanded of her sister, Lydia, “what do you think?”

“Mmm—not bad,” Lydia responded, her blue eyes twinkling at Joshua’s resigned expression. “But you’ve left off that beautiful gold rim around the eyes. Look at Terence - see that lovely gold?”

“Lydia! Put that toad back in its cage!”

Joshua giggled as his aunt rolled her eyes and then carefully deposited Terence back among the plants of his terrarium.

“Give me the head,” Aunt Lydia said, gently lifting the papier-mache toad head from Joshua’s shoulders. “I’ll add the gold bits and then—well then, I think its pretty good!”

She grinned at Joshua.

“Go do some hopping practice, buddy. Get yourself ready for Christmas.”

Terence came to attention. Aha! They were talking about Christmas Toad again. He leant closer to the glass staring at the two large Humans outside. Lydia Human was his Human - the one who usually fed him. She still needed a bit of training in the matter of cockroach hunting but really, thought Terence proudly, she was quite good for a Human. The other one though! He shuddered. Hopeless! Absolutely hopeless! Why, just the other day Terence had seen her with his own eyes squash<$> a cockroach. He had hopped up and down in agitation, distressed beyond belief to see such an abysmal waste of food!

“—Christmas play—in the car—school stage—”

Fragments of conversation drifted toward the listening toad. He strained to hear more.

“—tomorrow night—”

As the two Humans left the room with the giant Toad head Terence sat back on his haunches and thought furiously.

Tomorrow night! They would be taking Christmas Toad his cockroaches tomorrow night. Somehow, Terence had to go with them!

All night the little toad pondered, blinking through the glass at the coloured lights on the tree across the room. By morning he had a plan.

It was the evening of the school Christmas play. Joshua was dressed; his giant toad head was safely in the car; his mother was arguing with his brother Brian about what Brian should wear; his dad was sitting in the car honking the horn—Joshua grinned to himself. It was the same every year!

He wandered over to the toad terrarium and glanced inside - and looked again in sudden panic! Where was Terence? Quickly he raised the screen lid and peered around, poking at all the plants.

Aaah! He lurched backwards as a small brown shape rocketed upwards from underneath the soil. Terence scrabbled frantically, trying to keep his balance—

“Joshua! Come on!”

His mother called from the door.

Joshua looked around, panicked. Where was that toad?

“JOSHUA!”

In the car Joshua’s dad glanced back at his son in the rear view mirror.

“What’s the matter?” he asked. “Nervous?”

“W—what? Oh—no, not really—” Joshua replied.

He sank down on the seat. What was his mother going to do when she found out that Terence had escaped?!!

Unseen and unnoticed a small brown head poked out of the pocket in Joshua’s shirt. Terence’s black eyes gleamed in excitement.

In the hustle and bustle backstage Terence managed to wiggle out of Joshua’s pocket. Quickly he hopped behind some weird looking plants and watched with wide eyes. Strange looking Humans milled about wearing long robes; a large lizard slithered by—Terence froze in horror—a HUGE HERON! Help! He dove for cover, hopping frantically across a wide open space, leaping up into a little wooden box and cowering beneath the grass inside.

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There was a swell of noise and lights blazed down on him. He shrunk further into the grass. Gradually, as nothing happened, he plucked up his courage and peered out cautiously. An astonishing scene met his eyes. The robed Humans and a variety of giant animals surrounded the wooden box. Oh! There was the Giant Toad - and a Cahow - and a Kiskadee and a whole pile of funny white woolly animals - oh, and some Humans with wings. How amazing! Terence leaned out further, eyes popping in excitement. A shadow overhead made him look up. Oh my goodness! He dove for cover again as a cloth-wrapped bundle was gently laid in the box. The Humans and giant animals began to sing.

“Love came down at Christmas,

Love all lovely, love divine;

Love was born at Christmas,

Stars and angels gave the sign—”

Terence peered at the bundle. Christmas? This was Christmas? It wasn’t a toad after all! It was a Human baby! And its name was Love! He’d got it all wrong but— strangely— Terence didn’t mind. He looked at the Baby in the manger; at the white-robed angels; at Mary and Joseph and all the Bermuda birds and animals and his little toad heart was filled with sudden inexplicable joy.

As the curtains swung shut on the Nativity scene a hand swooped down and grabbed Terence around the tummy.

“There you are!” Joshua hissed in relief. “How on earth did you get in the manger?”

The small toad blinked at him.

Later that week, safely restored to his terrarium, Terence leaned against the glass and sighed. Christmas was wonderful but—.

A commotion in the next room made him sit up alertly. What was Joshua Human doing now?

“JOSHUA!”

Terence flinched - and then his eyes popped in excitement and he plastered himself against the glass as a stream of —cockroaches raced into the room!

“Its alright, Mom! I’ll catch them!” Joshua shouted as he chased after— Terence’s escaping Christmas dinner!