182 Tli- Mwrral. Chapt. xiv. 



fishy out, when froggy straightway went at him, and half swallowed 

 him again. You see what an incorrigible brute he is, so put him 

 into your can, and be off with him to the haunts of the Murral 

 without any compunction. 



A frog swallows a frog head foremost, a snake swallows a frog 

 legs foremost, the little frog in both positions calling out lustily 

 the while, and the operation in both cases being a protracted one, 

 the placid impurteibability of the swallower contrasting markedly 

 with the gesticulating vehement oratory of the swallowed. While 

 the big frog, Rana tigrina, was swallowing tin- little frog, llmm ri/n- 

 nopMyetis, head foremost, the little brown fellow kicked all he knew, 

 very little more than his hind legs being out, and from cavernous 

 depths shouted in sepulchral tones Police ! Police ! ! Police ! ! ! 

 Being a J. P., I stopped to know what the row was about. Rama 

 tigrina had not a word to say for himself, and moved not a muscle 

 of his impassive countenance, much less stirred hand or foot. As 

 in duty bound 1 eventually interposed and freed the little one. Ee 

 was not injured in the least, only a little frightened! Considering 

 his character, I think I should have done better had 1 let the 

 urchin alone, 



The Murral lives a long time without water, and can therefore 

 be taken home alive, and consequently fresh. 



The reason for this is that, unlike most fish which breathe only 

 the oxygen contained in solution in the water, the Ophioccphalidcc 

 inhale the atmospheric air direct. They may be seen coming up 

 to the surface continually, exhaling a bubble and taking in a 

 mouthful of fresh air, and they have an air cavity for the stoi 

 of the fresh air. If confined in a globe or other vessel with a net 

 stretched across a little below the surface of the water, so as to 

 prevent them from breathing the atmospheric air direct, tiny will 

 die from not being able to oxygenate their blood, however fully 

 supplied with oxygen the watei may be. Being thus able to 

 breathe our air, and being commonly dependent on it, they do not 

 suiter like other fish on being transferred to it. indeed, they 

 travel on land of their own accord, and any one allowed to jump 

 out of your can or tuli of water will soon be seen to wriggle a 

 considerable distance on land, and to keep it up long alter any 

 of the carps would be dead. They are among the fish that have 

 been known to bury themselves in the mud at the bottom of 



