_THE FROG AND ITS HOME._
[Illustration]
1. Here is a strange-looking creature--the frog. At first sight we
would say that it is entirely unlike all the animals we have studied;
but let us look a little closer.
2. We see that, like all the others, this little friend of ours has a
body with a head, four limbs, two eyes, two ears, a nose, and a mouth.
3. But how curious it is in form! Its body is short and round; its
head is set on to its body without any neck; and its limbs are placed
on its sides, so that it can not stand, but only squat.
4. It has large staring eyes, that can look about on all sides; and
when it opens its mouth its whole head seems to split apart.
5. It has webbed feet, and can swim well in the water. It has no
teeth, but lives upon grubs and flies and other insects.
[Illustration: Frog's Head, showing Tongue]
6. When a fly comes within reach, the frog does not jump at it, but
just darts out its long tongue, covered with slime, so quickly that
the fly is caught before it has time to stir.
7. It lives both upon land and in the water. When in the water, it can
open and shut its webbed feet like a fan, and so can swim rapidly.
8. When upon the land, it can not walk or run, but it gets along by
hops. It sits on its hind feet, and suddenly straightens out its hind
legs, and away it goes in a great leap.
9. When the cold weather comes, the frog crawls into some hole, or
under the bank near the water, and goes to sleep for the winter.
10. The cold does not kill him, and, when the warm spring days come,
he wakes up and comes out ready for the work which he is to do.