214 ANIMAL SKETCHES. CHAP. 



rate so far as to watch his life-habits with sympathetic 

 interest? Of course if whenever you meet a frog you 

 call him a nasty slimy reptile, and poke at him with your 

 umbrella, you cannot expect him to tell you any of his 

 secrets. But if you will get over your prejudice against 

 his race, and try not to frighten him ; if you call him a 

 nice old frog, or perhaps mention him politely as an 

 Anurous Batrachian, or Mr. Rana Temporaria you will 

 find that he is not at all a bad sort of fellow ; that he is 

 at least quite harmless and good-tempered ; and that, 

 though he is not exactly what you can call clever, he can 

 do a thing or two exceedingly well. He can, for example, 

 leap or swim with the best of you. 



The Rev. Dr. Bingley, an old writer on animal biography, 

 tells a story, which, he says, is well authenticated, of a 

 race between an Indian and a bull frog. Some Swedes 

 bet the Indian that, with two leaps' start, the bull frog 

 would beat him. I am sorry to say they burnt poor 

 Froggie's tail to make him go the quicker. And what 

 with his burnt tail and the sound of the Indian's rapid 

 strides behind him, he jumped on, three yards at a leap, 

 so speedily that he outstripped the Indian and was the 

 first to reach the pond, fixed as goal. How glad he must 

 have been to cool his poor tail in the clear cold water ! 

 I hope that if ever you want to go in for frog-racing, you 

 won't burn the poor frog's tail, even if you can find that 

 appendage. In the first place it's a cruel thing to do, and 

 in the second place it spoils the race. How can we tell 

 that the Indian would not have won if they had only 

 burnt his tail too ? 



I cannot profess to have any intimate acquaintance with 

 bull frogs, and know nothing of their leaping powers 

 except by hearsay. But we all know what an admirable 

 jumper our common English frog is. Think what leaps 



