"No, I will not," said David with emphasis. "I don't go fishing for fun, and I have here all that I need."
"May I go swimming with you then?" persisted Sammy.
"Of course you may," said David cordially. "We'll see if we can swim any better than the frogs. I haven't much hope of it, but we can try."
"All right," said Sammy as he rose to go. He had gone not more than thirty feet before he stopped. "I won't stone them any more, David," he called back over his shoulder. Then he went on into the woods.
I would not enter on my list of friends,
Though graced with polished manners and fine sense
Yet wanting sensibility, the man
Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.
COWPER.
SOME READY HELPERS.
We often fail to understand some of our best friends in the animal world. We know so little about them that we think they are useless and uninteresting. Frogs, and especially toads, are often the objects of unjust dislike, yet their lives are very useful and full of interest.
The toad and frog are somewhat alike. Both come from eggs laid in the water, and both begin life as little swimming tadpoles.
The young toad, when he is a tadpole, is sprinkled all over with very fine spots, which look like gold-dust, while the frog tadpole is dark.
The first few weeks of a toad's life are spent in a ditch or a pond. Here he lives on water-weeds and dead leaves. After a while he eats water-insects and small grubs.