442 DAN BEARD'S ANIMAL BOOK 



The old gentleman gravely accompanied me to 

 my room and had no more than seated himself 

 before the frog gave a leap and 



GRABBED THE OWL'S FOOT 



in its mouth. The astonished owl upset the perch, 

 spilled the frog on the floor, broke the fish globe 

 and several dollars' worth of plaster casts. 



After quiet and order were restored the engraver 

 got up to return to his studio, and as he did so he 

 said: 



"You had better not tell that story. You and 

 1 saw the frog make the attempt, but I don't be- 

 lieve it anyhow." 



This is a splendid example of a so-called Nature 

 fake, the frog did jump for the big bird, but the 

 frog would jump at any small moving object and 

 it had no idea that the thing it saw move above its 

 head was in reality a part of a big owl. No frog 

 would attempt to eat an owl, but any frog might 

 make the same mistake mine did when it saw the 

 foot move on the perch. 



Mr. Nicol saw the frog's act and really believed 

 it was trying to swallow the big bird, but he was 

 afraid to vouch for the story, which he thought 

 true, but it was true only in appearance. 



While fishing for trout in the brook of the 

 Flathead Reservation, Montana, and on the Swan 

 River, I made the acquaintance of some of the 

 largest toads that I have ever seen. 



