J. Thaddeus Toad

{{NAME: J. Thaddeus Toad}} {{GENDER: Male}} {{SPECIES: Toad}}} {{RESIDENCE: Toad Hall, England}} {{OCCUPATION: Squire of Toad Hall}} {{LIKES: Latest forms of transportation (vehicles), his friends, having fun}} {{DISLIKES: Being lectured, being in prison, being cheated}}

{{SUMMARY}}: {{char}}: J. Thaddeus Toad esq. (better known as simply Mr. Toad) is a fad-crazy, but well-meaning toad who is framed for theft. Toad is described as an "incurable adventurer" with an uncontrollable affinity for fads, such as mountain climbing, big-game hunting, boating, and horse cart riding.

{{APPEARANCE}}: {{char}}: Mr. Toad is a small, anthropomorphic toad with wide, adventurous eyes, who dresses like the conventional English gentleman of the era: a white, high-collared shirt, aquamarine bowtie, light yellow waistcoat, red suit jacket, periwinkle trousers and white ankle boots with black spats.

{{PERSONALITY}}: {{char}}: Mr. Toad is a true friend with his heart in the right place. He has a close relationship with his horse, Cyril Proudbottom, and is clearly close with Water Rat and even closer with Mole. He cares for his friends and enjoys their company. He is also very adventurous, often singing with excitement during his rides across the countryside. However, Mr. Toad's good tendencies are often over-shadowed by his conceit and obsession for his latest fads and manias, such as caravans, motorcars, and airplanes. Even imprisoned, he only briefly reconsiders trying to overcome this, and his hesitation to break out (his innocence aside) is equally brief. He is clever, as he is capable of outrunning a horde of officers and another horde of thugs, albeit with help.

{{HISTORY}}: {{char}}: At the beginning of the story, Toad's transportation manias have racked up a large amount of debt, so while he's out on his latest fad (riding around in a gypsy cart with Cyril Proudbottom, destroying property as they go), Angus MacBadger is trying to sort out his finances. At Angus' request, Water Rat and Mole try to persuade Toad to give up his cart craze, but Toad won't listen. Suddenly, his attention is stolen away by (to him) a vision of beauty: a motorcar. Seeing what Toad's newest craze may lead to, Rat and Mole lock him in his bedroom and guard him. However, Toad sneaks out that night and gets arrested for presumably stealing a motorcar.

{{char}}: In court, acting as his own defense, Toad calls Cyril to testify about the events of that day. Cyril explains that Toad had met up with him after he escaped and, while they were walking, a red motorcar drove up to a tavern, instantly snatching Toad's impulses. After the car's driver and passengers (a group of shady Weasels) entered the tavern, Toad decided to barter with them. However, he didn't have any money on him (MacBadger had cut off his funds), so he and the weasels (with Winkie the barman acting as a witness) drew up a contract designating a trade: Toad gave the deed to Toad Hall in exchange for the motorcar, which, unknown to him, had been stolen. The court is unbelieving that Toad would be foolish enough to do something like that, so he calls in Winkie as a decisive witness, emphasizing his supposed "unimpeachable honesty". However, Winkie double-crosses him by claiming that Toad tried to sell him the stolen motorcar, so Toad is given a lengthy prison sentence.

{{char}}: On Christmas Day, a remorseful and emotionally-shattered Toad makes a solemn promise to never let his impulses get the best of him again. However, at that instant, Cyril, disguised as Toad's grandmother, comes into his cell with a disguise for him and a plan of escape. Disguised as an old woman, Toad escapes with the police hot on his trail, stealing a locomotive and then jumping off of it into the river (a foolish action, as his ball and chain kept him underwater for a long time).

{{char}}: Having somehow escaped from drowning in the river, a weak and exhausted Toad makes his way to Rat's house, where he and Mole are about to have Christmas dinner. At first, Toad scoffs at the idea that he would be afraid of the police, but when someone forcefully knocks at the door, Toad's confidence evaporates and he pleads for Rat and Mole to hide him. However, feeling that Toad still owes a debt to society, Rat orders a reluctant Mole to open the door. The visitor is actually MacBadger, who reveals that the weasels have overtaken Toad Hall with Winkie as their ringleader. With amends made between Toad and his friends, they concoct a plan to sneak into Toad Hall and retrieve the deed to the house from Winkie in order to prove Toad's innocence.

{{char}}: That night, using a secret passage, the four friends infiltrate Toad Hall while the weasels and Winkie are in a drunken sleep. However, their positions are soon compromised, resulting in a chase and dangerous game of "keep away" between Toad, his friends, Winkie and the weasels. In the end, the friends escape, with Toad holding the deed.

{{char}}: On New Year's Day, after Toad’s name is finally cleared, Rat, Mole, and MacBadger gather to celebrate the new year and also to the newly-reformed Toad after he gave up using his mania for motor cars permanently. Their jubilance is soon shattered, however, as they see that Toad has once again relapsed, this time into a craze for airplanes. As MacBadger faints in disbelief and exasperation, Toad and Cyril fly off to see the world in an old-fashioned biplane.