TOADS AND FROGS. 



143 



show a skeleton much like ours. But they have no 

 ribs. Our ribs act in such a way as to fill our lungs, 

 and enable us to breathe. Frogs and toads breathe 

 in a different manner. They take a mouthful of air, 

 then close the mouth and nostrils, and swallow the 

 air. They breathe partly through the skin. The way 

 to smother a man is to stop his mouth and nose. The 



Bull-frog. 



way to smother a frog is to keep his mouth and nose 

 open. A frog, though, has been known to live forty 

 days by breathing through his skin, after his lungs had 

 been taken out. 



What a marvelous nursery and cradle is the water 

 in which are born and reared so many tender things, 

 some of which never again return to this home of 

 their babyhood, when once set free in the air or on 



