THE DRAGON OF THE POOL 47 



without the trouble of hunting his prey. 

 Tucked away underneath his chin the Dragon 

 has a most extraordinary lip, called a mask, 

 which is a perfect trap for catching unwary 

 insects. It is something like an enormous 

 hand, with a pair of pincers instead of fingers, 

 on the end of a long jointed arm. The arm 

 is hinged, and when the dragon is at rest 

 or prowling about the pond, the mask is 

 folded back beneath him and cannot be seen ; 

 but the moment a heedless little creature 

 passes within reach, out it shoots like a great 

 paw, and the poor little thing finds itself 

 seized by the pincers and carried to the jaws 

 of the hungry monster ! 



Few creatures are sharp enough to see this 

 terrible dragon as he lurks, motionless, 

 amongst the weeds ; for his dull-brown 

 colouring blends so well with the mud and 

 the plants at the bottom of the pond that 

 while he is still he is almost invisible. So the 

 poor little water folk come gaily swimming 

 by, and do not discover the lurking monster 

 until it is too late. 



This strange larva never becomes a resting 

 pupa, or chrysalis, as most insects do, but all 

 the while it lives beneath the water it is 



