That set Peter to watching sharper than ever, and presently he discovered that pollywogs have to keep their eyes open quite as much as do baby Rabbits, if they would live to grow up. There were several kinds of queer, ugly-looking bugs forever darting out at the wriggling pollywogs. Hungry-looking fish lay in wait for them, and Longlegs the Blue Heron seemed to have a special liking for them. But the pollywogs were spry, and seemed to have learned to watch out. They seemed to Peter to spend all their time swimming and eating and growing. They grew so fast that it seemed to him that he could almost _see_ them grow. And just imagine how surprised Peter was to discover one day that that very pollywog which he had seen lose his tail had grown a _new_ one. That puzzled Peter more than anything he had seen in a long time. "Why, I couldn't do that!" he exclaimed right out loud. "Do what?" demanded Jerry Muskrat, who happened along just then. "Why, grow a new tail like that pollywog," replied Peter, and told Jerry all that he had seen. Jerry laughed. "You'll see queerer things than that if you watch those pollywogs long enough," said he. "They are a queer lot of babies, and very interesting to watch if you've got the time for it. I haven't. This Smiling Pool is a great kindergarten, and there's something happening here every minute. There's no place like it." "Are those great big fat pollywogs Grandfather Frog's children, or Old Mr. Toad's?" asked Peter. "Grandfather Frog's last year's children," replied Jerry. "They'll grow into real Frogs this summer, if nothing happens to them." "Where are Old Mr. Toad's last year's children?" asked Peter. "Don't ask me," replied Jerry. "They hopped away last summer. Never saw anything like the way those Toad youngsters grow. Those Toad pollywogs you see now will turn into real Toads, and be leaving the Smiling Pool in a few weeks. People think Old Mr. Toad is slow, but there is nothing slow about his children. Look at that little fellow over there; he's begun to grow legs already." Peter looked, and sure enough there was a pollywog with a pair of legs sprouting out. They were his fore legs, and they certainly did make him look funny. And only a few days before there hadn't been a sign of legs. "My gracious!" exclaimed Peter. "What a funny sight! I thought my babies grew fast, but these beat them." X THE LITTLE TOADS START OUT TO SEE THE WORLD The world is a wonderful great big place And in it the young must roam To learn what their elders have long since learned-- There's never a place like home.