The toad beneath the harrow knows
Exactly where each tooth point goes;
The butterfly upon the road
Preaches contentment to that toad.

Kipling contrasts two radically different standpoints: the toad, suffering immediate, specific pain (“beneath the harrow”), and the butterfly, light and unburdened, offering moral advice from a position of safety. The point is not that contentment is worthless, but that exhortations to “be content” can become cruel when delivered by those insulated from hardship. The toad’s knowledge is concrete and embodied—each “tooth point” is felt—whereas the butterfly’s “preaching” is abstract and complacent. The stanza thus satirizes easy optimism and highlights the moral gap between lived suffering and detached counsel.