Page:The fairy tales of science.djvu/25

 Turtles which we see crawling along at a slow and steady pace. Now one of these sluggish fellows stops to pick up some dainty morsel (a mussel, perhaps, a snail, or a crocodile's egg), but the exertion appears to cost him no small annoyance, and now he draws in his head and prepares for a nap. As he has in all probability a hundred years yet to live, he can afford to devote an hour or two to digestion.

But hark! What noise was that? Surely that harsh discordant roar must have proceeded from the deep throat of some monster concealed in yonder forest. The Crocodiles seem to understand it perfectly, for see, they are making for the opposite bank with most undignified speed. There it is again, still louder than before! Now a crashing among the trees, followed by a wild unearthly shriek.

Look at that terrible form which has just emerged from the thicket. It rushes towards us, trampling down the tall shrubs that impede its progress as though they were but so many blades of grass. Now it stops as if exhausted, and turns its huge head in the direction of the forest.

How shall we describe this monster of the old world, which is so unlike any modern inhabitant of the woods? Its body, which is at least twenty feet long, is upheld by legs of proportional size, and a massive tail, which drags upon the ground and forms a fifth pillar of support. Its head is hideously