CHAPTER XVIII. 



Snake -lore Snakes swallowing frogs Swimming Fond of milk 

 Trapping snakes Frogs climbing Toads in trees The brook 

 The hatch Kingfishers' haunts. 



THERE are three kinds of snakes, according to the 

 cottage people namely, water snakes, grass 

 snakes, and black snakes. The first frequent the 

 brooks, ponds, and withy-beds ; the second live in the 

 mounds and hedges, and go out into the grass to find 

 their prey ; the third are so distinguished because of 

 a darker colour. The cottage people should know, 

 as they see so many during the summer ; but they 

 have simply given the same snake a different name 

 because they notice it in different places. The com- 

 mon snake is, in fact, partial to the water, and takes 

 to it readily. It does, however, seem to be correct 

 that some individuals are of a blacker hue than the 

 rest, and so have been supposed to constitute a dis- 

 tinct kind. 



These creatures, like every other, have their fav- 

 ourite localities ; and while you may search whole 

 fields in vain, along one single dry sandy bank you 

 may sometimes find half a dozen, and they haunt the 

 same spot year after year. So soon as the violets 



