Which giant frog in Aboriginal Dreamtime drank all the water?

Which giant frog in Aboriginal Dreamtime drank all the water? Tiddalik is the giant frog in the well-known story who swallows the world’s fresh water.

In the tale, Tiddalik wakes with an enormous thirst and drinks from rivers, lakes and waterholes until drought spreads across the land. The animals devise a plan to make him laugh. In many modern versions, Nabunum the eel twists himself into comic shapes; when Tiddalik laughs, the water pours back out and restores the landscape.

The story is often associated with the Gunaikurnai people of South Gippsland, Victoria, although versions occur in several Aboriginal traditions. The frog is also linked in modern retellings to the water-holding frog, whose ability to store water helps it survive dry conditions.

A common mix-up is treating Tiddalik as a generic “Dreamtime god.” He is specifically a frog character, and the story’s details—including which animal makes him laugh—vary between versions.