What am I? If you look at a frog when it is a month old it looks very different. It is also called by a different name a tadpole or a polliwog. It takes a frog full one year to start looking like an actual frog. Why does a frog changes so much in the first year.

The mother frog first lays eggs which are covered in a jelly like substance. This jelly tastes very yucky and that is why it keeps the eggs safe. Who wants to eat yucky things right?

In a few days tiny tadpoles wiggle out of the eggs. They have long tails for swimming, and slits, called gill for breathing. Its a good thing that tadpoles are good swimmers because they are favorite food of fish.

From here the tadpole undergo a lot of changes in the next few months. It gets bigger and is now called a froglet. It begins to grow a pair of hind legs. The feet are webbed feet for it to swim nicely.

After a few weeks the front legs also appear, with small feet that look like hands.

After this starts the process of the tail becoming shorter and shorter. The Froglet’s tail shrinks, the lungs develop and the back legs grow and pretty soon we will have a Frog.

It is almost an year since the eggs were laid. Now we have a frog that looks also like a frog. It has a smooth and moist skin and huge bulging eyes. The long strong legs can make it jump really high. Finally !!

Did you know there is an African frog that can jump eight feet high. Whoa! He will give a tough competition to high jump athletes.

What is the difference between a Toad and a Frog. Well the toads live on land and the frogs can live both on land and water. Also Toads have short legs so they can only hop and not leap.

No wonder there is a story about “The Princess and the Frog” , the princess does not need Mr. Shorty legs Toad :)