"I won't stone them any more, David,"
he called back over his shoulder. Then he went on into the woods.
I would not enter on my list of friends,
Though graced with polished manners and fine sense
Yet wanting sensibility, the man
Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.
COWPER.
SOME READY HELPERS.
We often fail to understand some of our best friends in the animal
world. We know so little about them that we think they are useless and
uninteresting. Frogs, and especially toads, are often the objects of
unjust dislike, yet their lives are very useful and full of interest.
The toad and frog are somewhat alike. Both come from eggs laid in the
water, and both begin life as little swimming tadpoles.
The young toad, when he is a tadpole, is sprinkled all over with very
fine spots, which look like gold-dust, while the frog tadpole is dark.
The first few weeks of a toad's life are spent in a ditch or a pond.
Here he lives on water-weeds and dead leaves. After a while he eats
water-insects and small grubs.
While living in the water the little toad looks very much like a fish.
He has a large head and a long tail. He breathes through two branches,
like feathers, which are called gills.
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