r. It seemed as if he had reasoned about it, and said to
himself, It is hard work to drag a boy out of the water, but it is much
easier to keep him from going in.

13. Guido was not a very large dog. He was of the breed, or kind, named
Spaniel; so called because that kind of dog originally came from
Hispaniola. He had long ears, curling hair, a long bushy tail, and
webbed feet, like all dogs that are fond of the water.

14. Webbed feet are those in which the toes are not separated, but seem
to be joined together by a thin substance, like thick skin, which
enables them to swim more easily.

15. Don was a very large dog, of the Newfoundland species, a kind which
is remarkable for its beauty and intelligence.

LESSON XXII.

_Frogs and Toads._--BIGLAND.

1. Frogs and toads resemble one another in figure, but custom and
prejudice have taught us to make a very different estimate of their
properties: the first is considered as perfectly harmless, while the
latter is supposed to be poisonous.

2. In this respect, the toad has been treated with great injustice: it
is a torpid, harmless animal, that passes the greatest part of the
winter in sleep.

3. Astonishing stories have been told of toads found in the center of
solid blocks of stone, and other similar situations, without the least
trace of the way by which they entered, and without any possibility of
their finding any kind of nutriment.

4. Toads, as well as frogs, are of a variety of species; and in the
tropical climates they grow to an enormous size. It is very probable
that they contribute to clear both the land and the water of many
noxious reptiles of a diminutive size, which might prove exceedingly
hurtful to man.

5. The toad, however, is one of the most inoffensive of all animals. We
have even heard that it has sometimes been successfully applied for the
cure of the cancer, the most dreadful, and one of the most fatal, of
human evils.

6. Mr. Pennant has related some interesting particulars respecting a
toad which was perfectly domesticated, and continued in the same spot
for upwards of thirty-six years.

7. It frequented the steps before the hall-door of a gentleman's house
in Devonshire; and, from receiving a regular supply of food, it became
so tame as always to crawl out of its hole in an evening, when a candle
was brought, and look up, as if expecting to be carried into the house.

8. A reptile so generally detested being taken into fav