COMMON FROG. 105 
he regularly (and, contrary to the cold-blooded tendency of 
his nature) came out of his hole in the evening, and directly 
made for the hearth in front of a good kitchen-fire, where 
he would continue to bask, and enjoy himself until the 
family retired to rest. 
There happened to be at the same time a favourite old 
domestic cat, and a sort of intimacy or attachment existed 
between these two incongruous inmates; the Frog frequent- 
ly nestling under the warm fur of the cat, whilst the cat 
appeared extremely jealous of interrupting the comforts 
and convenience of the Frog. This curious scene was often 
witnessed by many besides the family. 
In its general form it is more slender than the Toad, 
though less so than many species of true Frog. The head 
forming half an oval, or nearly so; the snout rounded; the 
mouth horizontal, linear ; the gape very wide, extending as 
far as the posterior margin of the orbit; teeth placed ina 
single row in the upper jaw and on the palate, very minute ; 
none in the lower; tongue soft, fleshy, spatula-shaped and 
notched, the anterior portion folded back upon the posterior 
when not in use; eyes elevated above the forehead. The 
back is generally flat, excepting at the setting on of the 
pelvis, where it is sometimes a little raised. The fore-feet 
are of moderate size and length, with four toes, of which 
the third is slightly the longest, the second notably the 
shortest, as is probably the case in all the true Frogs; 
hinder legs very iong, and very muscular, extending to more 
than half as long again as the body; hinder toes five in 
number, long, slender, palmated, the fourth toe being by 
much the longest. Skin naked, smooth. The male is 
smaller and more slender than the female. 
The changes which the colour of the Frog undergoes 
both in intensity and in hue, from the variation of tempe- 
