We may come upon
it in hot weather, among the furze bushes upon the common, or the stones
of some old ruin. It feeds upon a little grey slug, and is like the common
lizard in being so brittle that you can hardly take hold of it without
breaking it.
There is one more lizard which I have seen next door to the crocodile tank
at the Zoo: a very curious little animal, almost of the same colour as the
stick along which it walks, so slowly and silently that you may stand and
watch it for some time without being sure that it is moving at all; though
its eyes, which can move in different directions at the same moment, and
its long thin tongue, so clever at catching the insects on which it feeds,
are constantly in motion; but for its eyes and tongue, the Chameleon looks
as if it were as dead as the withered branch to which it clings.
The name of this lizard means "Ground-lion," but it is very unlike the king
of beasts both in appearance and disposition. The chameleon is found in
Spain, in Sicily, and in Syria; its home is in the branches of trees. Many
stories used to be told of the way in which it would change colour, not
exactly by blushing like a human creature, but by becoming green, yellow,
and even black when angry or calm, or when in sunshine or shade; but
naturalists who have kept a careful watch upon it do not believe that all
that has been said about this is true. There seems to be no doubt, however,
that it changes its colour according to its surroundings--a means of
protection given to a creature otherwise very defenceless.
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