There were once a deer, a hare and a toad. One day they decided that they would hold a party, and they arranged that there should be a table for each of them. According to custom, the first table was allotted to the eldest, and so they told each other how old they were.

The deer spoke first. ‘When the world was first created,’ he said, ‘I helped to nail the stars to the sky with a hammer. So I am the eldest.’

Next the hare spoke. ‘I planted the tree from which was made the ladder you used when you nailed the stars to the sky,’ he said. ‘So I am the eldest.’

At their last words the toad burst into tears. They asked him why he was so sad and he explained, ‘Once I had three sons. They each planted a tree. The eldest made the handle of the hammer you used to nail the stars to the sky. The second made the handle of the plough that drove the furrow of the Milky Way. And the youngest made a pack-carrier to carry the sun and the moon. But they all died before the work was finished. When I hear you talking about it, it makes me very sad, for it reminds me of my dead sons.’

The others recognized the toad as the eldest among them and conceded him the seat of honor.