“He must be a clever little fellow to think of that! But this flower on the top—is that a part of the crab’s body?”
“That is not a flower; it is an animal.”
“An animal! But don’t you see that it has leaves all around?”
“Yes, and in fact it has the name of a flower. It is called a sea anemone. But if you look closely you will see the little leaves, as you called them, moving busily.”
“It is really true!”
“They are tiny arms which the anemone uses to get its food. Throw a piece of meat near them, and you will see them gather themselves together. In a second the meat will disappear into the body of the animal.”
“It seems hardly possible,” said Pinocchio again and again, as he watched the anemone closely.
“This anemone,” continued Globicephalous, “is a great friend of the hermit crab. Whenever you find one of these crabs you will find an anemone on its back. When the crab grows and has to move to a larger shell, do you think, my illustrious Mr. Pinocchio, that he abandons his tenant? Never! The anemone has no legs, so the crab takes her very carefully in his claws and carries her to his new home.”
“It sounds like a fairy story!” Pinocchio exclaimed, wonderstruck.