Toads

The toad beneath the sage bush provides the explanation for the deaths of Pasquino and Simona: its pestilential breath was believed to have made the leaves poisonous. Discovered during the judge’s investigation, the creature turns an apparent botanical mystery into a concrete, if horrifying, cause of death.

Appearance and Discovery

After Pasquino dies following contact with a sage leaf, Simona repeats the gesture while explaining what happened to the judge and also falls dead. The judge orders the bush cut down, and the cause of the deaths becomes visible beneath it: a toad of extraordinary size. No one dares approach the creature.

The Inquest’s Explanation

Those present conclude that the toad’s pestiferous breath had made the sage venomous. The explanation accounts for why both lovers died after rubbing the leaves against their teeth, while the judge’s decision to destroy the bush reflects the immediate danger attributed to the plant and the animal beneath it. The evidence presents this as the conclusion reached at the scene, rather than as a separate investigation of the poison.

Destruction and Narrative Role

Unable to approach the toad, the people build a large barrier of brushwood around it and burn it together with the sage. The creature’s discovery ends the inquest into the lovers’ deaths: the toad is not simply a hidden danger but the final revelation that resolves the mystery surrounding their near-identical deaths.