1. Egg mass—A female frog lays several hundred or even thousands of eggs in a mass in still water. A jellylike covering sticks the eggs together and protects them. So many are laid because so few survive. Frog eggs are eaten by ducks, fish, bugs, and many other hungry creatures.

2. Embryo—A tiny tadpole develops within an egg. Each black dot is an egg. It starts as a single cell. God gives that one cell everything needed to eventually turn into a frog. The single cell splits into two. The two split into four, and so on. The growing embryo is nourished by the egg’s yolk for about 3 weeks. Then it hatches.

3. Tadpole—After leaving the egg, a tadpole first clings to an underwater plant. Later, it uses its tail to begin swimming about. It uses its ring of tiny teeth to scrape algae off underwater plants and rocks. (We often see algae growing. It can look like pond scum.) Rear legs grow first, then front legs develop. A tadpole breathes through gills like a fish. It uses its long tail to swim. Coloring is dark and dull because camouflage is a tadpole’s only defense at this stage.

4. Frog—Body shape begins to widen and change. Skull turns from cartilage to bone. Tail is absorbed by body. Eyes bulge out. Mouth widens. Organs change. Gills that breathe in water disappear. Lungs that breathie in air grow. Tiny, plant-tearing teeth disappear. After about 12 weeks, the most dramatic changes have taken place. Tadpoles have changed into frogs. They are able to breathe air, live on dry land, and feed on insects, worms, and other small living creatures.