A STORY OF A SEAL.
"The seal is an amphibious quadruped."
"Oh, come now, Aunt Emily, do not puzzle us with your hard names," cries Johnny.
"But, Johnny, a lad seven years old ought to know that amphibious means 'capable of living on land or water;' and that quadruped means 'having four feet.'"
"Oh, now I understand," said Johnny. "But does the seal have feet?"
"It has a sort of feet; but they are so wrapped up in the skin, that they are not of much use on land, except to help it to creep, after a fashion. So the seal passes most of its time in the sea, coming on shore only to bask and sleep in the sun, or to suckle its young ones. It is covered with a close thick fur and is a very good swimmer."
"But let us have the story," said Jane.
"The story is this: once a fisherman, after harpooning an old seal, found one of its young ones on the sand, and took it home. Here it became the playmate of the children, whom it seemed to love very much. They named it Blue-eyes. It would play with them from morning till night, would lick their hands, and call them with a gentle little cry, not unlike the human voice in its tone.
"It would look at them tenderly with its large blue eyes, shaded by long black lashes. It was very fond of music. It would follow its master to fish, swimming around the boat, and taking a great many fish, which it would give up without even biting them. No dog could have been more faithful, or more quick to learn what was wanted.
"But the fisherman's half-sister was a silly old woman. She had come to help nurse his wife, who was ill. This half-sister took it into her head that the poor seal would bring bad luck to the family. She told her brother that he must get rid of it.
"Weary of her teasing, he at last took the poor seal, rowed with it out into the open sea, and there, more than seven miles from the shore, threw it into the water, and then hurried home as fast as sails would carry him.
"But, when he entered his cottage, the first thing he saw was the faithful seal lying close beside the cradle of one of his children. As soon as it saw its master, it showed great joy, and tried to caress him. But he took the seal and gave it away to a sailor, who was going on a long voyage. Two weeks afterward, as the fisherman came back from his boat, he saw the seal at play with the children.
"'If you do not kill that seal, I will kill it myself,' said the old aunt. The children began to cry. 'No, no, you shall not kill it!' cried Hans with flashing eyes. 'You shall kill me first,' cried little Jane. 'You have no right to kill it,' cried Mary, the eldest girl.
"'Am I to be ruled by these children?' said the silly aunt, turning to her brother.
"'The seal shall live,' said he: 'the children shall have their way. Your notion that the poor seal brings bad luck is a very silly notion. You ought to be ashamed of it.'
"'Hurrah!' cried Hans. 'Blue-eyes, the vote is taken: you are to live, and all this nonsense about your bringing bad luck is blown away.'
"The seal began to flop about as if in great joy.
"'I shall leave the house at once,' said the silly aunt.
"'Do as you please,' said the fisherman.
"And so it turned out, that the only ill luck brought to the family by the seal was the departure of the cross and silly old aunt. And, if the truth were known, this was found to be a very good thing for all. The fisherman prospered, the mother of the children got well at once; and all were happier than ever before, including Blue-eyes, who now was the jolliest seal that ever played with children."
Emily Carter.
