An Ode to a Toad

Here's an ode, O little toad,
Hops intermittent, slow, obese.
Dry, bumpy as a gravel road,
You nestle in the shade of trees.

You seem to stay aloof from streams
Yet, scrambling in the meadow plants,
From shallows where your egg mass gleams,
Tiny creatures nearly small as ants.

A dainty creature in spring's sun,
With bug or aphid eat the while,
And long before the summer is done,
Your plumpness incites me to smile.

Though insignificant you seem,
Your place in life earns high esteem,
Devouring insect that would eat,
My fragrant rose, erode my beet.