Bombinating Beast Tadpoles

Bombinating Beast Tadpoles
Biographical Information
Born	Sometime before When Did You See Her Last?
Died	Before Shouldn't You Be in School? (possibly)
Alias	Tadpoles
Physical Description
Species	Bombinating Beast
Scales	Black
Relationships
Family Members	Bombinating Beast
Owner(s)	Inhumane Society
Behind the Scenes
Appearances	When Did You See Her Last?

“	The tadpoles didn't watch me go. They had other thoughts.	”
	— Lemony Snicket, When Did You See Her Last?

The Bombinating Beast Tadpoles are attempted recreations of the mythical Bombinating Beast by the Inhumane Society.

Biography

In an attempt to recreate the Bombinating Beast, Armstrong Feint and likely other members of the Inhumane Society experimented on and created several tadpoles, the infant stage of the beast. It is incredibly likely that the tadpoles were made with equipment from the Roe House and through some process similar to the one used to make caviar, as knowledge of that process was considered dangerous.

Several tadpoles are kept in their current base of operations, The Aquarium of Stain'd-by-the-Sea. They do not seem to be well-cared for, as upon being seen by Lemony Snicket, they are described as swimming in a murky bowl, with a chunk of honeydew melon as food and a large chunk of wood the only decoration. Snicket mentions that the tadpoles do not seem interested in him, though they had "other thoughts." When Snicket leaves the aquarium, he remarks his distaste for the solo tadpole to them, and he assumes they do not care. Moxie Mallahan seems to have made a note of the importance of the tadpoles, as she references them to Snicket later.

The tadpoles are not seen again, and as only one recreation of the beast seems to exist, it is likely that the tadpoles either failed to become Bombinating Beasts, or are otherwise deceased.

Solo Tadpole

One tadpole is kept separate from the others, kept in a fishbowl in one of the aquarium's upper bathrooms on the rim of a sink, with another bit of melon and climbing wood. The tadpole is noted to bite Snicket, drawing blood and foreshadowing the power the tadpole will grow into. Why this tadpole is kept separate is unclear, though Ellington Feint theorizes that Armstrong might have "rescued" it. It is possible that this tadpole was different in some way, and potentially the one that became the recreation of the beast seen later.

Physical Appearance

The tadpoles are described as tiny and black, and with very sharp teeth.

Trivia

• It is likely that the tadpoles were not well-cared for; even ignoring the murky water they were kept in, all the tadpoles were mentioned as being kept in fishbowls, which are known by most pet owners to be incredibly harmful for fish kept inside.

Appearances

Books
A Series of Unfortunate Events (Books)
1. The Bad Beginning (1999):	Absent	7. The Vile Village (2001):	Absent
2. The Reptile Room (1999):	Absent	8. The Hostile Hospital (2001):	Absent
3. The Wide Window (2000):	Absent	9. The Carnivorous Carnival (2002):	Absent
4. The Miserable Mill (2000):	Absent	10. The Slippery Slope (2003):	Absent
5. The Austere Academy (2000):	Absent	11. The Grim Grotto (2004):	Absent
6. The Ersatz Elevator (2001):	Absent	12. The Penultimate Peril (2005):	Absent
13. The End (2006):		Absent
All the Wrong Questions
Who Could That Be at This Hour? (2012):	Absent	Shouldn't You Be in School? (2014):	Mentioned
When Did You See Her Last? (2013):	Debut	Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? (2015):	Mentioned
File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents (2014):		Absent
Snicketverse
Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography (2002):		Absent
The Dismal Dinner (2004):		Absent
The Beatrice Letters (2006):		Absent
29 Myths on the Swinster Pharmacy (2014):		Absent
The Hero of the Story (2017):		Absent
Poison for Breakfast (2021):		Absent
Other Snicket Books
The Baby in the Manger (2002):		Absent
The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming (2007):		Absent
The Lump of Coal (2008):		Absent
The Composer Is Dead (2009):		Absent
13 Words (2010):		Absent
The Dark (2013):		Absent
Goldfish Ghost (2017):		Absent

Gallery