“But how would we ever get a washing-tub filled with water out of the sea?” Peggy asked.
“Hoots! James and me can carry it up in pails,” said Janet.
“Will you ask Aunt Euphemia about it?” Peggy asked. She had begun to see that Janet could get anything she wanted. Janet said that she would, and went off to gain Aunt Euphemia’s consent to the scheme. She came back smiling, and Peggy knew all was right, so she clapped her hands with delight.
“O Janet, do you think James will get the water to-night?” she cried. “For it would be horrid if my poor beasts died, or were sick for want of it.”
Janet then went off to look for James, and before long Peggy had the joy of seeing him come toiling up the walk, carrying two huge pails of water. Then Janet went down to the sea again with two pails, and brought them back filled, and James brought two more, and when they had all been poured into the tub it was quite full.
“Now I can put in my beasts!” Peggy cried.
The first of all was a great prize: it was a bit of stone with two sea anemones attached to it. Sea anemones are the creatures that Peggy had seen in the pool that were like little pink flowers. Janet had explained to her that it hurt anemones to be scraped off the rocks, and so they had to hunt till they found them growing on a small stone that it was possible to lift. It had been some time before they found this, but at last, at the bottom of a pool, Janet spied a small stone with two beautiful anemones sticking to it. Whenever she lifted the stone out of the water, the funny little creatures drew in all their pretty petal-like feelers, and became like lumps of red-currant jelly; but the moment Peggy placed them in the tub of water, out came the feelers one by one till they were as pretty as ever again.
Then there was one of the big ones that had been scooped out of the sand with great difficulty, and was rather offended evidently, for it took a long time to put out its feelers—just lay and sulked on the bottom of the tub. Peggy watched it for a long time, but as it wouldn’t put out its feelers, she turned to the other creatures.