But in spite of the labour necessary to master such detailed lessons, the study of the animal world is far from prosaic. The Story of Animal Life, indeed, bids fair to be the only element of romance left in the modern world for those who stay at home in their own land. The traveller of days of yore, when he ventured into the woods and fields, or upon the water, expected to meet with all sorts of strange things--fairies and elves and ugly gnomes; giants, ogres, and dragons; mermaids and water-witches. With the spread of education all these things have vanished now; it is quite certain that no Board-School-boy has ever met any of them: and one's walks abroad would be in these days as prosaic as they are safe, but for the world of animal life. If you have eyes for this, every field has its inhabitants, and every hedge its marvels. Instead of a fairy, you may be well contented to meet a dragon-fly with shining wings; instead of an ogre you will find the fierce spider, which not only makes away with every harmless fly that blunders into her net, but in many cases destroys her own kind also. Many a plant may be met with which has its own special caterpillar or other dependent insect, with ways of its own, which may amuse your idle hours. As for the change of a caterpillar or a tadpole into its adult form, it would be taken for a miracle if it were observed for the first time. The reader may have noticed that there are some unfortunate people who have no eyes for these things; from childhood upwards they have been so absorbed in money-making or in reading books--the one case is as bad as the other--that they have never learnt to observe the facts of nature. Some cannot even recognise the different kinds of plants that they see in the hedges, or in a country walk. Such natures are intellectually defective; they are much to be pitied, and require a special training to remedy their stupidity. I mention this, because the occurrence of this form of stupidity is one of the dangers resulting from town life and bookish education, which we have to guard against at the present time. But for all healthy people accustomed to the outdoor world, the study of animal life has always possessed an interest. Its interest has, however, been increased a hundred fold by the progress of modern discovery, which has taught us to see in the animal kingdom one large family, working its way upwards from humble beginnings, to more perfect structure of body, and more complete intelligence of mind. CHAPTER II HOW ANIMALS ADAPT THEMSELVES TO CIRCUMSTANCES