394 HOME LIFE IN FLORIDA. 



But the slender little chameleon lizard can not do even so 

 much as this. The nearest approach to it that it is capable 

 of we saw once when two of them fell to fighting right 

 under our very eyes ; they twitched their long tails about, 

 ironed each other's coats with their toes for smoothing- 

 irons, played "leap-frog or die" over one another, and 

 finally locked their jaws together Avith so fierce a grip that 

 a light touch from a twig made them fall apart. 



So you see what very formidable adversaries they are 

 for the human family to encounter. 



They often venture inside the houses, seeking, like the 

 tree-frogs, for flies, and it is curious to note how expert 

 they are. They usually stay near the windows and remain 

 perfectly quiet for five or ten minutes at a time, or until 

 an unwary fly appears close by, then, with a dart like a 

 flash, the chameleon proves that he can not only "change 

 his skin," but "his spots" as well. 



Some people, many people, we fear, will try to catch a 

 poor little frog or chameleon, and kill it. Now" that is a 

 thing we can not understand. 



" It is more blessed to give than to receive : " what then 

 is it to take violently that which it is out of our power to 

 give back again? What good does it do, what pleasure 

 does it give to any one, to destroy an innocent, harmless 

 life, even if it does belong to "only a frog or a lizard"? 

 It is theirs, not ours, and the same Hand created them that 

 created us ; they come near us to help us in destroying the 

 insects that really do annoy us, and we (some, not all of 

 us) show our gratitude by robbing them of all they have, 

 their innocent little lives. 



There was a chameleon, a graceful, pretty creature who 

 wore sometimes a green coat, sometimes a yellow, some- 

 times a brown, and at other times a spotted coat, w^ho used 

 for one whole summer and fall to come regularly every day 



