“But the sea will soon be full of herrings, then.”
“No fear of that, Pinocchio. Think of the many large fish that are in the sea. They live on these eggs and on small fishes. Why, they can and they do swallow hundreds of eggs at a time. The sea is big enough to hold all its fish and more. You don’t think we are crowded, do you?”
“Last night we certainly were.”
“One night is not every night. You see, herrings travel in great numbers, and we happened to meet a school of them.”
“Oh, they go to school, do they? Well, I never before thought a fish had to go to school, too!” mumbled Pinocchio to himself.
After traveling a long time through the milky sea, the two travelers at last came out of it.
Soon after a long, sharp, flat blade rose suddenly out of the water. It looked like a sword, and Pinocchio, of course, thought it was one.
“What have we here?” he asked. “A soldier battling in the sea? And is that thing his sword?”
“You can hardly be blamed for thinking it a sword. It looks very much like one,” said Marsovino. “It is the long upper jaw of a fish, and from this it receives its name, swordfish. With this weapon, as it is very strong, the fish can defend himself against much larger animals. I hope he won’t come near us.”