BIRD PARADISE 149 



into the dried grass apparently quite well satis- 

 fied with all the experience the day had put into 

 his keeping. 



Dry weather is not conducive to what the 

 toad regards as his best welfare. I am not sure 

 that protracted wet weather suits him much 

 better. Enough dampness, however, to remove 

 all danger of drought is quite to his liking. How 

 far he journeys during the night hours I have no 

 means of knowing, but I conclude from what I 

 have seen of his habits that most of his move- 

 ments are made after dark. Occasionally the 

 gruff voice of one of the veteran fellows comes to 

 me from the thick grass of the orchard and I can 

 hardly divest myself of the idea that Mr. Toad is 

 more surprised at the sound than anybody else. 

 Some six or seven of the venerables are quartered 

 on my small domain and are not by any means 

 the least interesting of my many tenants. Just 

 here my neighbor's little girl comes in with a 

 box and removing the cover shows me a small 

 toad which she found this morning in their ash 

 barrel. The little fellow is lighter colored than 

 most toads are and the girl thought It might be 

 a different kind from those we usually see. I 



