LIZARDS, NEWTS AND SALAMANDERS 385 



I do not know the common name for this lizard, 

 but its long scientific name is Sceloporus undulaytus 

 and Billy was a male specimen of this lizard as 

 anyone could tell by the markings under his chin 

 and upon the sides of his belly. When Billy felt 

 good the spots under his chin turned blue; when 

 he felt fine and was in buoyant spirits they were 

 a brilliant sky blue; in other words, Billy just re- 

 versed the scheme of color we human beings have. 

 When we're feeling fine we say we have a red hot 

 time, and when we're feeling bad we say we're 

 having the blues. Billy was happiest when he had 

 the blues. I kept him for a year or more and he 

 used to rattle around my studio among the papers, 

 scamper over the wire screen in the windows, and 

 catch flies on the window-pane, but his principal 

 food consisted of meal worms which I bought for 

 him at the bird fanciers. My little girl was a tiny 

 baby when Billy arrived, and had just learned to 

 talk when Billy died. The consequence of this is 

 that now that she is five years old, every newt, sala- 

 mander and lizard is called by her a Billy, anr! 

 she distinguishes them only by the color. There 

 are little 



RED BILLIES AND BIG RED BILLIES, 



and spotted Billies and slimy Billies, and these are 

 the names commonly used by all the visitors to 

 Wild Lands. The little red Billy is the vermilion- 

 spotted newt or red eft; an exceedingly interest- 



