The Frog.
The frog, again, is invested with mystical powers. The monstrous toad of Berkeley Castle is said to be really a seal.161
In English folk-lore it is associated with witches, and wears a precious jewel in its head. Hindus believe that the female frog is the spirit of Mandodarî, the wife of Râvana. It is a common belief that the fat of the frog forms a magic ointment which enables witches to fly through the air.162 According to a Scotch Saga, the middle piece of a white snake roasted by the fire gives a knowledge of supernatural things to anyone who shall put his finger in the fat which drops from it. According to one of the Indian legends, Agni, the fire god, took refuge in the water to escape the gods, but the frogs, suffering from the heat, informed the gods, and the angry deity cursed them that their speech should henceforth be inarticulate. The frog by his voice announces the coming of rain; hence when rain holds off it is a common charm to pour water over a frog, another instance of sympathetic magic.