Some of the flowers were brown,—little brown sacks, with a daisy flower growing out of the end, waving its petals to and fro to catch its dinner of tiny unseen things that live in the water. Some of the flowers were green, some were yellowish pink, some pale greenish blue. And they were all wide open under the water, staring up through it at the blue sky.
One flower was like a little ripe, red strawberry, growing from the roof of the cave; just the size and shape of a juicy strawberry, and looking good enough to eat. Each blue flower-star had a white centre, and when Rose put her little finger down very carefully into this mouth, it closed its petals tightly, for it thought it had found a nice bit of dinner. It was a funny, tickly feeling, and Rose drew away her finger quickly, but very gently so as not to hurt the sea-flower. Then Kenneth put his finger into the mouth of one of the pinkish flowers, and the petals did not move. He tickled the flower gently, and it seemed to like the feeling, which I dare say was as new to the flower as the flower was to Kenneth. For the children had never before seen a garden of live flowers.
LIVING FLOWERS
For a long time they lay and watched the wonderful little pool and the beautiful flowers, that moved their petals so gracefully in the water. And they never noticed that a storm was gathering out to sea. But by and by they saw that the flowers were closing one by one, closing tightly and not opening again.
“Why, what makes the flowers go to sleep?” cried Rose sorrowfully. “It is not night yet, and garden flowers do not close till the sun sets.”
“It is growing dark,” said Kenneth. “There is a cloud coming over the sun.”
Sure enough! A heavy cloud rolled over the sun, and all the sea-flowers closed their eyes tightly, just as earth-flowers do at night. Then Kenneth and Rose sat up and looked around. My! They were surprised! A heavy fog was rolling in from sea, and it was going to rain very soon. They had been so interested in the flowers that they had not thought of this.
“Oh, it is going to rain!” cried Rose.
“The flowers have warned us just in time. Let us hurry home, Kenneth, before the fog shuts down so that we cannot see the way.” For they knew how cruel the fogs were about the island, so thick and heavy that the fishermen themselves were afraid of being caught in them, and of losing the way home.