Pond Life 
especially in the spring, when the male 
newts wear a scalloped crest all down 
their backs, and are gorgeous with 
bright orange stomachs. Though they 
live in the water a great part of their 
lives, they are air-breathing creatures, 
and can come out of the water, and in 
fact do so during the winter months. 
When in the water they are obliged to 
come up to the surface every few minutes 
for a fresh supply of air. Their eggs 
are laid among the leaves of the water- 
plants, and at first they go through a 
tadpole stage, like the frogs. In a globe 
they will eat worms and small pieces of 
meat. If kept with sticklebacks, these 
last have a habit of nibbling off the 
newts’ tails, and a newt without its tail is 
but a lop-sided sort of creature, unable 
to balance itself properly in the water. 
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