56 
FINDING NATURE’S TREASURES 
that grows on the rocks and stems of plants under the 
water,” explained Uncle Jack. “Tadpoles cannot catch 
and eat insects like frogs do.” 
“Now I have one, too!” cried Buddy. “But mine has 
two little hind legs.” 
“Yes, the hind legs are beginning to grow on yours,” 
said Uncle Jack. “The front legs will start to grow as 
soon as the hind legs get a little larger. His tail will get 
smaller as the front legs get larger. All the time he will 
be growing more and more like a real frog. Soon he will 
have a head and legs, and be a real frog. Then he will 
come out on the bank, and croak his song.” 
“Oh, I have one that has legs and a tail, too,” said 
Marylee. 
“Yes, yours is not a tadpole, and it is not a frog,” said 
Uncle Jack. “It is just about to lose its long tail and be 
a frog. I like to call it a tad-frog. The poor little fellow 
cannot eat the green moss now, because his mouth has 
changed so that he cannot nibble it off. And his mouth is 
not yet large enough, so that he can catch insects.” 
“If he cannot eat moss like a tadpole nor insects like 
a frog, then what does he eat, Uncle Jack?” Fred wanted 
to know. 
“He does not eat anything while his legs and head 
are forming. He gets his strength from his large tail 
which grows smaller and smaller, or it is absorbed, so 
we say, into the rest of his body.” 
“I understand now,” cried Marylee. “He simply takes 
his tail into his body and makes a head and some legs 
out of it.” 
