Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: Charlemagne’s Giant Toad
Category: Frog
The Myth
A gigantic, hideous toad once lived among the reeds at the outflow of Lake Zurich, where the Limmat River begins. The creature had settled directly upon a snake’s eggs, threatening the offspring of a serpent that would eventually seek justice from Emperor Charlemagne. The toad was so enormous and dreadful that its presence astonished the emperor when the snake led him to its nest.
The strange events began when a snake repeatedly rang a small bell attached to a pillar in Zurich, where anyone seeking justice could summon Charlemagne while he held court. At first, the emperor’s soldiers could find nobody ringing the bell. Eventually, one soldier discovered a snake coiled around the rope, pulling it to attract the emperor’s attention. Charlemagne approached the serpent, which bowed before him and led him to its nest among the reeds. There, the emperor discovered the enormous toad crouching upon the snake’s eggs.
Recognizing the creature as a threat to the snake’s offspring, Charlemagne ordered the toad removed and condemned it to death by burning. The snake’s appeal had thus been answered, and justice was carried out against the creature that had threatened its young. Some time later, the grateful serpent visited the emperor in his residence, climbed onto his table, and dropped a sparkling gemstone into his golden goblet before disappearing forever. Believing the event to be a sign from Heaven, Charlemagne ordered a church built over the place where he had discovered the snake’s nest. The church became known as the Water Church, while the emperor gave the precious gemstone to his wife, who wore it in a golden capsule over her heart for the rest of her life.
Sources
“Kaiser Karl und die Schlange.” SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus der Schweiz. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/allgemein/kaiser_karl_schlange.html