How Sammy Went to Coral-Land | Page 3

of vegetable fibres, and is
shaped like a hollow ball, flat at the top. From a hole in this ball the
mother can pass in and out, and she watches over her nest with the
most tender care, until the young ones leave it.
Fishermen catch the Hassar by holding a basket in front of the nest and
beating it with sticks. When the poor mother comes out to defend her
family, she falls into the basket and is captured.
"And serves her right, too," Aunt Sheen always concluded. "Building a
nest and watching over it is a silly thing for a sensible fish to do. No
one ever thinks of such behavior except some miserable little fish
called Sticklebacks, and a few other inferior kinds. Why couldn't she
leave her spawn in a quiet place somewhere near the shore, and then let
them hatch out and look after themselves? That's the way I was brought
up."
Now, this speech may sound very unkind and even heartless, but
leaving the young to look after themselves is the customary thing

among fishes. And when you consider that one mother fish often has
many hundreds of children, it is not to be wondered at that she finds it
impossible to take care of such a very large family.
The deep sea fishes come to the shore in the breeding season, deposit
their eggs, or spawn, in some convenient spot, sometimes in the
seaweed, or in vegetable matter, sometimes in the sand, on rocks, or in
little, secluded pools, and then they bother themselves no more about
their offspring.
The salmon, and some other kinds of sea fish go up the rivers and
streams inland to deposit their young. Salmon are very strong, and they
can make tremendous leaps and shoot up rapids with great swiftness.
Indeed, the salmon is one of the most rapid swimmers in the fish family,
and it is said that one salmon could make a tour of the world in a few
weeks.
Sammy was very proud of his family, as well he might be, for his
maiden aunt was always telling stories of their relations and
connections.
Aunt Sheen was a big fish, the oldest and largest, not only in her own
pool, but in all the salmon stream. In her youth she had been a great
traveler and seen many wonderful sights, and was regarded with awe
and admiration by the younger fish. But she had grown fat and lazy
with age, and was now content to spend the remainder of her days in
this quiet stream which hid itself among the northern pines a good
many miles from the sea.
It was a pleasant place, with deep, still pools here and there in the shade,
nice, slippery mossy rocks to hide under, and sunlit shallows where the
water rippled over the white pebbles, or leaped musically down a tiny
waterfall.
Such merry times as Sammy and his companions had chasing each
other up and down the stream, leaping the waterfall, jumping over the
rocks, and playing hide-and-seek in the shallows. Then there was
always the excitement of watching for the flies and different insects

that hovered near, and which made delicious meals when caught. The
young salmon used to boast of the flies they had captured, just as boys
and men do of their luck in fishing.
But our hero soon grew tired of this quiet life. It seemed very stupid
and humdrum when compared with Aunt Sheen's marvelous tales of the
great ocean, and the strange sights and thrilling adventures that there
awaited the voyager. He was larger than his brothers and sisters, his
sea-going instinct was strong within him, he longed for the wonders of
the great, unknown world, and grew tired of Aunt Sheen's repeated
warnings.
This old fish always professed to be entirely uninterested in the doings
of her youthful relatives. It was a matter of creed with her. But in spite
of this fact she was very fussy over the young fish, and gave them a
great deal of what Sammy considered tiresome advice.
"There is safety in numbers," was her favorite saying. "When you want
to go on a journey wait until your companions are ready, and go in a
school. Dreadful things always happen to young fish if they start out by
themselves, they get eaten by sharks, or caught by those awful
two-legged monsters on land, and the devil-fish is always on the
lookout for them."
"But," Sammy would protest, "you have always said that some of the
most terrible experiences you ever had came when you were with a lot
of others. That time you were nearly speared going up the rapids you
were in a school, and when you were caught in the net and it broke--"