158 MARY'S GARDEN AND HOW IT GREW 



"TOADS 



"A toad is a very useful animal to have in a garden. 

 A toad is a quadruped, because it has four legs, but 

 it sits chiefly on its hind ones. 



"A toad is a familiar object, although many times 

 you do not see him when he is there. This is because 

 he looks so much like the mud or the ground ^^ 

 that you do not notice him. Toads are very ^* 

 useful in gardens, because they catch and eat insects 

 which are difficult for us to catch. They also do not 

 have anything else to do, so they can spend all their 

 time in this useful occupation. 



"Toads are better than anything else for catching 

 slugs. A slug is like a snail when its shell has been 

 smashed off. Slugs leave a trail 

 of wet behind them, and they 

 eat up sweet peas and every- 

 thing else in the garden ; but the 

 'toads eat them up. 



"It is very interesting to see a 

 toad catch flies. He sits perfectly 

 still, as if he were a stone ; then, 

 when he sees a fly or an insect, 

 his chest puffs in and out, as if he were fanning him- 

 self inside. Then he keeps perfectly still, so that the 



