A frog's life begins as a tiny egg laid by the mother frog in water, with many eggs clumped together in a floating jelly-like mass. A few days later, a small creature called a «tadpole» hatches out. It has a long tail for swimming like a fish and breathes through gills, just like fish do.
The tadpole grows gradually — first back legs appear, then front legs, and its tail slowly shrinks until it disappears completely. At the same time, its lungs develop so it can breathe air instead of water, allowing it to move onto land.
Finally, the transformation is complete and it becomes a full-grown frog with four strong legs for jumping, living between water and land. This whole journey is called «metamorphosis» and usually takes two to three months.
