SALAMANDER



Salamander merupakan nama yang umum digunakan bagi gabungan 500 jenis amfibi dari ordo Caudata atau Urodela. Beberapa amfibi yang termasuk dalam golongan salamander di antaranya keluarga kadal air (Salamandridae), aksolot (Ambystoma mexicanum), mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus), dan hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis).

Lingkungan hidup salamander beragam, mulai dari kolam atau genangan air, rawa, sungai, danau, hutan-hutan basah, dan daerah rumput-rumputan.

Kebanyakan salamander mempunyai tubuh langsing, kulit halus, kaki pendek, dan ekor panjang.

Hampir semua salamander pemakan daging. Amfibi ini menangkap mangsa dengan bergerak perlahan ke arah mangsa, baru kemudian menangkapnya tiba-tiba dengan lidah atau menjepitnya di antara gigi-giginya yang tajam. Mangsa salamander kebanyakan serangga, laba-laba, dan cacing tanah.

Supaya tidak dimakan pemangsa, salamander memperthankan dirinya dengan beragam cara. Beberapa salamander mempunyai kelenjar beracun di sekitar leher, ekor, dan kulitnya. Salamander Kalifornia (Ensatina eschsholtzii) menakuti pemangsa dengan kibasan ekornya. Sedangkan salamander jenis lain justru melepaskan ekornya, yang akan tumbuh lagi setelah itu.

Fakta menarik :

Tidak seperti salamander yang kebanyakan bertelur di luar, salamander api meletakkan, menetaskan, dan menumbuhkan telur di dalam perutnya. Ketika lahir, bayi salamander api mirip sekali salamander dewasa, hanya lebih kecil.

Salamander merupakan binatang pemalu. Amfibi ini menghabiskan waktunya dengan cara bersembunyi.


SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS



Once upon a time there lived a beautiful princess called Snow White. Her mother died, and her father, the King, married again. The new Queen hated Snow White. She was jealous of the princess’ beauty. She always asked her magic mirror about who the fairest one of all was. As long as the mirror’s reply was her, the Queen was happy.
One day there was a handsome Prince. He liked to propose Snow White to be his wife. Knowing about this, the Queen felt furious. Then she asked her mirror same question. The answer was Snow white! The Queen was angry. In her rage, she ordered her hunter to kill young princess and bring her heart to the Queen.
The Hunter was about to fulfill his duties. But, then, he fell to his knees. He begged Snow White to forgive him. He told the truth, and asked the princess to run away and never return. Snow White ran into the woods. She was frightened and exhausted. Then, she fell unconscious. A few moment later, some animals awakened her. They led her to a small cottage for shelter. The cottage was very small and dirty. So, she cleaned it up. After doing this, she was tired and decided to go to bed.
Meanwhile, the seven dwarfs had finished working hard at a diamond mine. They were on their way home. When they arrived, they felt surprised to see a light on in the cottage. They gathered their courage to enter the cottage. But, when they were in the bedroom, they saw a very pretty girl lying in one of the beds. They woke her up and introduced themselves. They were Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Bashful and Doc. Later on Snow White told them about her step-mother.
In the palace, the Queen had received the news from the Hunter. To prove the news, she questioned her mirror who the fairest was. Surprisingly, the answer was still Snow White. From the mirror, the Queen also knew that the princess lived in the cottage with the seven dwarfs.
The next day the Queen disguised herself as an ugly old woman. She appeared at the cottage while the dwarfs were on their way to work. She met Snow White. Then, she gave an apple which contained an evil spell. Snow White took one bite and she fell to the floor right away. The animals that witnessed it hurried to tell the dwarfs about happening. The dwarfs rushed to the cottage, but it was too late. The princess laid on the floor. The dwarfs decided to lay her in a glass coffin.
In the other palace, the prince knew that Snow white no longer stayed in the castle. He had been looking for her. When he saw her in the coffin, he opened the lid, bent over and kissed her. Slowly, Snow White opened her eyes. Only true love’s kiss could awaken the princess. Then, the prince carried her to his white horse. And they rode off into his castle to live happily ever after.