EXERCISES
1. Of what use are Sharks? 2. How does the Thresher Shark hunt its prey? 3. Give the names of several Dogfish and Rays. 4. What is the food of the Skate, and how is it obtained?
LESSON VIII
THE DANGERS OF THE DEEP
The "game" of hide-and-seek is played by most of the dwellers in the sea. Many of them are "hiders" and "seekers" by turn. That is to say, they are always seeking other creatures to devour, but must also be ready to hide from their own enemies.
Eating and being eaten--that is the life of the sea. The small and weak ones must hide, and their lives depend on their skill in hiding. Perhaps we should not call it a "game," as it is not done for fun. But, though the sea is full of danger for some creatures, you must not think that they live in fear. There is no doubt that they enjoy their lives, each in its own way.
Many are the quaint dodges and tricks of the hiders and seekers in the sea. We can mention but a few in this lesson. Look at the Spider Crabs, and their trick of dressing up. They have hooks on their backs, which catch in the seaweed. Some of them even tear off weed with their pincers, and fix it on to these hooks, and succeed in looking like bundles of weed, and not a bit like living Crabs.
Then there are the fish which wear a coloured scaly coat. Many of them are not easily seen in the glinting water, as you know. Others are lazy; they lie on the bed of the sea, and wear a disguise which hides them from prowling foes. The Plaice and other flat-fish, as we noticed in Lesson 2, are coloured and marked like the sand and pebbles of their home; and they can even change colour to suit their background. They are wonderfully hidden, owing to this useful dodge. It is as if Mother Nature had given them the marvellous "cloak of invisibility," of which we read in fairy-tales.
Shrimps and young Crabs wear a coat of sand-colour or weed-colour. Our soldiers, for much the same reason, wear suits of khaki.