There was a toad on the bridge, and he took one shell from everybody.
"I'm not carrying anything," said Nutsy.
"One shell."
"I'm only going halfway."
"One shell."
"I have crossed this bridge four hundred times. This is practically my bridge."
"One shell," said the toad, and Nutsy went across making a noise about it.
"Why does he do that?" said Bao.
"Ask him," said Moolah.
So Bao did, which nobody had tried before.
"Nobody asks," said the toad. "Eleven years, and nobody asks." He looked at her for a moment. "I don't keep it."
He pointed down the span. Three beavers were on their knees halfway along, pulling up a plank that had gone soft over the winter and laying a new one in its place.
"Planks rot. Somebody puts new ones in. You are not paying me. You are paying them."
Bao crossed the bridge feeling differently about the toad.
On market day she came back and put down one shell, the same as Tuesday.
"Fine," said the toad. "Wait there."
So Bao waited. Behind her the queue ran all the way back to the bread cart. Two hundred animals, one bridge.
A goose put down four shells and went past her.
Two mice put down six and went past her.
A crow put down eleven and did not even slow down.
"You put the price up," said Bao.
"I have never put the price up in my life. I take what you offer, and only so many fit at once, so the ones who offer most go first." The toad shrugged. "There is one bridge and two hundred of you. You are not bidding against me. You are bidding against each other."
Bao put down nine shells and crossed. She was cross about it all afternoon, and she still got to the stalls before they sold out.
Nutsy, who had heard all of this, announced that he would cross at midnight instead.
He crossed at midnight. One shell. Nobody in front of him at all.
By then he could not remember what he had wanted on the other side.
Margin Note: You don't pay for the thing. You pay for the room to do it.
The Honest Bit: The crumb is a gas fee. You are not paying for your coins, you are paying for space, and somebody real is keeping the machines running the way the beavers keep the planks in. The price climbs when a lot of animals want space at the same moment, and it falls when they don't. On BNB Chain, the crumb is genuinely small, which turns out to matter more than you would think.
The Riddle: Two hundred animals crossed, the toad never once changed his price, and it cost more than it did on Tuesday. Explain how all three of those are true at the same time.
Try It: Check the gas price on BscScan now. Check it again eight hours later. Write both numbers down. Buy nothing.
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