One of a series of rhyming picture book texts inspired by different locations in Bristol. Click below to hear the audio and scroll down to read the poem.

The Fishponds Toad as he came to be known
had arrived from a distant star

He was frightened and scared because everyone stared
when he fell on the roof of a car

The giant toad in the Fishponds Road
was blocking the way into town

He hopped on a bus, but they made such a fuss
that he leapt back onto the ground

He fell in a puddle which caused such a muddle
of people and buses and cars

that he fled to the park and when it got dark
he longingly stared at the stars

It was on the next day when they started to say,
‘Send him back to where he belongs.’

That he looked at the sky and started to cry
and his tears turned the puddles to ponds

Everyone was so wet, they began to forget
what it felt like to walk in the sun

They shivered and sneezed and no one was pleased
and nobody had any fun

except for a boy, who was so full of joy,
when he played in the ponds and the puddles

That the toad joined in with a huge mighty grin
and that was the end of the muddle

The flood dried up when the toad drank some cups
of water to quench his thirst

The ponds dried out, the sun came out,
and the Fishponds Toad was the first

to shout with joy, then he and the boy
danced all the way down the road

And everyone said,’ We were misled.
You are an incredible toad.’

The crowd danced along; they made up a song
They were joyful and happy and glad

They danced in the park until it was dark;
Not a single person was sad

Fishponds Toad croaked so loud in front of the crowd
that he started to float in the air

He went up in the sky and waved them goodbye
and all they could do was stare

Fishponds Toad was gone, the crowd moved along
and everyone drifted away

Just the boy was left, he felt quite bereft.
He’d wanted the toad to stay

When he looked at the stars, at Venus and Mars,
He decided that he wouldn’t moan

He stopped feeling sad because he was glad
that the toad had found his way back home.