How Sammy Went to Coral-Land | Page 4

"It wouldn't have broken if there hadn't been a school of fish in it,"
interrupted his aunt, tartly. "That just proves what I say; the weight of
so many made the hole, and so I escaped.
"The only time when I came near getting caught was once when I was
alone and got a hook in my gills. My! it was terrible! I ought to have
known better, but I was very hungry that morning, and when I saw that
beautiful fly hanging over the water--"

But Sammy had heard this story many times before, and was tired of
the conversation.
"I don't want to wait any longer for these lazy brothers and sisters of
mine to get ready," he said crossly. "Besides, if I did go in a school, I
might get speared, or caught so that the rest could get away, and that
would not suit me a bit. I'd rather risk the flies."
"You are an impertinent young fish," said Aunt Sheen, and she retired
under her favorite rock in a rage.
That night when everything was very still, and all the world seemed
asleep, alone and unobserved Sammy swam quietly down stream and
started alone on his wanderings.
It was a lovely moonlight night, and only the faint sighing of the wind
in the pine-trees broke the silence.
On and on swam Sammy following the stream as it twisted and turned
now in the shadow, now in the moonlight. Now it flowed along straight
and smooth with scarcely a ripple, its banks sweet with dew-soaked
wild flowers, and now it dashed against a huge rock which partly
blocked its path, or glided swiftly over shallow rapids.
All night long Sammy kept on his way, and all the time he felt that he
was gradually going down, down, down, as the stream crept towards
the sea.
The next morning he found himself in a strange country. The little
stream down which he had been traveling had become a river. There
were houses here and there on the shores, cultivated fields and
pasture-lands, and in some places cattle browsed on the banks, or stood
knee-deep in the water.
The strange sights and sounds filled Sammy with awe, and something
like fear. He kept carefully in deep water and occasionally hid under a
rock when he saw a big, strange fish approaching, for he knew that
large fish often ate smaller ones.

Once in a while he stopped to ask a question of some brother salmon as
to the right way to go, but the answer was always, "Follow the river and
you can't go wrong," and follow the river he did.
When noon came he was fortunate enough to catch several fat flies,
which made a delicious meal. Then he rested and dozed for a time in
the shade of the bank, after which, feeling much refreshed, he started
again on his journey.
For a day or so he traveled on, stopping only for a little rest and food,
and getting more and more eager and excited all the time as he neared
his destination.
Once the journey came near having an untimely ending for, unheeding
Aunt Sheen's caution as to strange flies, he leaped eagerly at a
particularly beautiful one poised over his head. Fortunately for our hero
a strong puff of wind blew the fly aside at that moment, but not before
the cruel hook which was concealed in it had grazed his tender mouth.
A good deal scared by his adventure, and feeling much less
self-confident, Sammy swam away, resolved to avoid all suspicious
insects in the future. He had several other narrow escapes at this stage
of his journey, but they are not important enough to mention here.
But always as he journeyed on the river grew wider and wider, deeper
and deeper. Strange dark shapes passed over his head, strange fish
swam past him, the banks seemed very far away, and the currents were
strong and hard to swim against.
For quite a while there had been a new and delightfully salt taste and
smell to the water, it became stronger and stronger as he went on; then
there was a roar of breakers along the shores, and the swift tide swept
Sammy away from the river's mouth, and out into the vast ocean.
CHAPTER II
HOW SAMMY ESCAPED FROM THE SHARK AND MADE THE
ACQUAINTANCE OF THE HERMIT-CRAB

Oh a wily old crab is the Hermit-Crab, And a crafty old crab is he! His
home he makes in a stolen cell, And the passing stranger he loves full
well But beware of his hospitality! For a hungry old crab is the
Hermit-Crab, And a wicked old crab is he.
"Dear me! what a very large place the sea is," said Sammy. He had
gone quite