The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1877-09-28
NV Toad.

Children, did you ever see anything
interesting in toad? Surely he is not
a handsome creature to look upon, and
vet, if you study his habits and wstch
him from day to day, you will find him
both interesting and amusing.
am going to tell you about one which
lives in my garden. L do not know the
common length of a toads life, but l
think the one of which write has lived
with us for at least three years.
Every spring, then the frost is out of
the ground, and the planting and prun-
ing is commenced i'll my garden, this
little brown faced, gray-coated fellow
appears, and follows me whenever L step
out among the flowers or vegetables,
looking up at me, and winking in the
most serious manner, watching every
movement, to see if 1 have anything for
him to eat. throw him bugs and worms
and bits of meat, and he picks them up
on the end of his tongue so quick that L
must watch closely if / would see what
becomes of them. We call him the
tame toad" because he seems so fond
of us. and follows us about like any pet
Indeed / think he deserves all the pet
ting he receives, for he is very useful to
us in destroying rose-bugs and the many
different worms that do so much mis-
chief in our garden; he lives among the
rose bushes during the season OF their
bloom, and as fast as clumsy bug falls
to the ground he hops toward him, and
darts his little needle of a tongue upon
him before poor bug can spread his
wings to fly.
Boys sometimes take pleasure in kill
ing OF tormenting these harmless and
useful little creatures, simply because
they are such ugly-looking things.
hope none of my little friends are so
cruel. If God, who made the toad, had
intended all the ugly-looking creatures
that live to be killed or ill-treated, / am
afraid many who despise the toad would
have a hard time. 1 never allow anyone
to harm toad on my premises, for L
could not afford to lose one of them.
If my pet sees me coming toward the
rose hedge, he follows me with his eyes
to see if / will throw him something to
eat. 1 have seen him swallow the bugs
which / have thrown him until he looked
so swelled you would think he must
burst and then, when new supply
came, he would scratch his stomach a
little, give jerk and a stretch of his
neck, as if to make more room in his
throat, and down would go the bugs
again as heartily as when he first began
the meal.
But toads, like boys and girls, IRE
made very uncomfortable by allowing
themselves to be gluttonous.
One day, when our toad had Toasted
upon grub-worms until 1 thought he
could hold no more, discovered an army
of rose-bugs laying siege to my best
grapevine. 1 began picking off the
bugs and throwing them to Toady, who
hoped up close under the vine and
snapped them down as fast as l threw
them, until his sides were so stretched
that his breadth seemed greater thar
his length, and, after a few spasmodit
Jerks of his head and feet, he rolled ovel
in the dirt, scratching at his sides as i
in the greatest distress and L have nc
doubt he was. 1 left him to die, as
thought; but, to my surprise, in less
than an hour, when opened the door
there he sat, watching the vine for more
bugs, although, when l threw hin
another, he could not eat it.
The next day missed him, and said
"Toady must have died, L think, from
his gluttony of yesterday poor fellow =
But seeing a singular commotion in the
leaves under the rose bushes, i observed
closely, and there 1 found him in the
most comical sort of dilemma for toat
to be in. He looked exactly as if ht
were turning his shirt off over his head
His hind legs and about half his body
were free, and with his fore paws ane
his mouth he was trying to pull the gar
ments off the remainder of his body
yer his head.
watched him until, after great perse
verence and apparent painful struggling
he came out entirely free from the old
dusty-brown skin, much cleaner anC
more comfortable-looking toad, anC
hoped away. with an air of great salts
faction. in his new suit.
Perhaps it was size larger, and there
fore more comfortable than the ola one
over his full stomach; surely it had neet
to be, for what had become OF the ole
one2 He had sUattotOed 1t! AS fas