The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1889-12-27
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A FOUR-lEGGEO ACROBAT,
Com'cal Antics and GymnastIc Perform.
ance of a Little Tree-Toad

| ance of a Little Tree-Toad.
While walking on country road one
cool morning iE June l noticed small
object on the edge of board fence
which excited my curiosity. The object
was about two inches long, and looked
like piece of putty which had been
| pinched on to the board, or, perhaps,
more like the light-gray fungus growth
seen on decayed trees.
approached cautiously, having a
strong feeling that it might be thing
of life, although there was nothing
about it to indicate that it was such.
When near enough tS touch it felt con-
fident that it was tree-toad, even
though | had never before seen one. Its
little head and rump were drawn down
and partially under, and its legs and
feet were drawn up and folded so closely
to the body as to make an almost sym
metrical figure, the lines where the
limbs touched the body being almost i'm
pcrceptible. With feeling Of joy
closed my hand over it and removed it
| from the fence.
To the sensitive palm of the hand its
touch was cool, but not moist or ''elam-
my" as in the case of its cousins >he
common toad and the frog Its skin ielt
smooth and silky.
For fear of smothering the little fell
low made pouch of nay handkerchief,
putting a stone in the bottom Of it to
make it roomy, and in that way brought
him home for closer acquaintaRcc.
When placed on the center of the
library table, he sat for moment as if
to collect his thoughts, and then sprang,
blindly, as it seemed, over the table 5
edge and caught with one toe on an OBJ
ject which he was passing and which he
could not have seen from where he
started. Although going with great
swiftness, the strength of that single
slender toe, rounded on the end with
its curious little sucker, has sufil-
cient to enable him to stop and
draw himself up in good form.
He then hoped on to the round
of a chair, and to give him good op-
portunity to display his wonderful agil-
ity, tipped the chair on one leg and
revolved it slowly, he hopping from
round to round, up, down and across,
seemingly enjoying it as much as his
audience did.
At first when touched he appeared
startled, and would jump. In one of
these jumps he landed on the surface of
the pier-glass, on which he moved up or
down with sort of half shuttle and
half hop. Soon he cvinced no fear on
being touched, and on being stroked
gently on the back would turn his head
with knowing wink in that direction.
Having given us such an interesting
entertainment, considered that he de-
served his freedom again. Taking him
in my hand | held him up about three
feet from an old apple tree at the side
of the house. He seemed in no hurry
to take his departure, but crawled leis-
ursly up on the tips of my fingers, his
little toes clasped firmly around them,
surveyed for a moment the group sur
rounding him, and the next instant
alighted on the bark of the tree.
We waited for some time, curious to
see his next movement but he made
none. watched closely for any change
of color in his coat, for had read that
tree-toads, like chameleons, change
their color and so render themselves al
most undistinguishable from their sur
roundings, but there was none, and he
was perfectly plain to the sight of any
of those who saw him gain the position;
but another person joining the group
could not discern him for some time,
although his location was pointed out
After awhile, oar attention for mo-
ment being drawn elsewhere, he had
disappeared completely, and the sharp
est pair of eyes could not trace him, nor
had he left the tree. This would tend
to prove whether or not he could adapt
his color to match his surroundings, he
certainly possessed the faculty of get
ting on to places most like his coat in
appearance.-Harper's Young People