INSECTIVOROUS ANIMALS 287 



well worth while to contend.^ Children are rarely, if ever, 

 troubled by such notions, unless they have been implanted 

 by their elders ; and while no compulsion is called for, 

 their objections are often easily overcome. The toad is 

 not a handsome animal, yet its eye, the fabled ''jewel" 

 in its head, is one of the most beautiful in nature. 



Ask the children why they think the toad was made so 

 ugly, all but the eye. There are important lessons in the 

 answer to this question. Keen-eyed birds of prey and 

 snakes are continually seeking it for food. With no 

 means of defense or escape from these swift pursuers, its 

 only hope of life lies in being as inconspicuous as possible. 

 This story is thousands of years old, and all this time the 

 more brightly colored toads have been snapped up first 

 and those that most resembled clods of earth have escaped. 

 On the other hand, insects must come close enough for 

 the toad to capture. They must practically walk into 

 its mouth, and thus it depends for its food upon looking 

 like the harmless earth over which they crawl. These 

 are lessons applicable to every living thing we study, and 

 when their significance is appreciated, they may do much 

 toward reconciling the fastidious to the homeliness of the 

 toad. Its life and its work in the world depend upon it. 



1 Farewell, farewell ! but this I tell 

 To thee, thou Wedding-Guest, — 

 He prayeth well, who loveth well 

 Both man and bird and beast. 



He prayeth best, who loveth best 

 All things both great and small ; 

 For the dear God who loveth us, 

 He made and loveth all. 



Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. 



