From Tadpole to FROG

From Tadpole to FROG

This is Frog Pond. But where are the frogs?

When winter winds whistle, the frogs hide. Theysleep at the bottom of the pond in the soft mud. Frogs hibernate in their hideaway all winter long

After the ice melts, flowers appear. Birds return. And pond creatures wake up. Spring has arrived at Frog Pond. Here are theold frogs stretching their legs. At night you hear " Ba-ra-rooom . . . ba-ra- rooom. . . ba-ra-rooom. . . " The males are calling to their mates.

The females hear the call. The male hugs his mate. He fertilizes her eggs asshe lays them in the water. Thousands of softjelly-covered eggs cling together in the cool water. In about ten days the eggs hatch. The pondcomes alive with thousands of tiny tadpoles. They wiggle their tails and breathe underwaterwith gills, just like fish.

During the summer the tadpoles swim abouteating water plants. But water beetles, snakes, and birds are eating, too. They're eating tasty tadpoles.