« 
AN ARTFUL LITTLE DIVER 
“I met another one of the pond’s distinguished 
citizens to-day/’ Tommy observed, as the family 
gathered for their usual half-hour in the twilight. 
“ But I was at a loss what to name him: he was 
extremely energetic, swimming and diving in 
every direction, and sometimes leaping clear 
above the water to snatch his prey. He had 
prominent eyes, a stout beak, long feelers, an ab¬ 
domen tapering to a tip, and his body was moder¬ 
ately stout. His suit was dark brown, and he 
was probably half an inch in length, all told. At 
first I thought him a spider, but he didn’t 
classify, as his six legs proved him to be an 
insect.” 
“ Good! ” applauded Uncle John, softly. “ I 
have high hopes of you, my lad. Nine out of ten 
people unquestioningly name these little pond 
creatures water spiders. The naturalists, how¬ 
ever, have dubbed them the water striders, be¬ 
cause of their seeming ability to stride here and 
there across the surface of the water on their re¬ 
markably agile long, slender legs. Their eggs 
are fastened to the under water stems of plants, 
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