American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-08-17
TROT'S AQUARIUM.
A STORY FOR THE LITTLE ONES

IMAM OF a DrlSnI rosy boy, yet MIS- III
ker's little sons name was Trot. 1t wa
quite a good name for any one who raj
about as much as he did, and this was tn,
way he obtained it:
When he was baby-boy, his mothe
used to ride him on her knee and sin.
this little verse:
''The ladies they ride, so pretty, so pretty, 81
The gentlemen ride faster faster, faster;
The little boys ride trot trot, trot, trot, trot'
Suiting the motion to the song. thu
baby-boy would listen, and then cry:
I'm Trot, I'm little boy
And so he began to be called Trot, and
as he grew older his father and mother
kept it Hp.
Trot had no brothers or sisters, and
wanting something to play with, was
fond of pets, and always had bird, OIL
cat, or dog A cousin Who lived in the
country remembered this trait Of Trot's
and sent him for a Christmas present d
little eel, about half as long as shoe
string, and dace, a tiny brown fish with
a lighter stripe down each side of his
body like regimentals. These little fellows
| came from fresh stream in the field, and
were lively and graceful, swimming about
| in the clear water.
Mrs. Tinker found large glass globe
on the top shelf of the closet, and put
| ting bright shells and red and white coral
in the bottom, she filled it with water,
and placed the fish in it. Trot was per-
fectly delighted, and when she bought a
| gold fish and put it with the others, he
| was the happiest boy one could see in
| many day. His mother helped him to
| take care of them, the only thing which
was necessary being to change the water
once in day or two, and feed them very
small bits of raw meat, like pin points,
once week.
Trot named the dace Brownie, the gold
fish Colby, and the eel Snaks, and spent
his leisure time looking at them. Goldy
would flash through the water swiftly
like beam of light, even disturbing the
level surface with his tail. Hither and
thither, up and down, lowering and rails
ing the broad fin on his back, and NOV
| ing the small side ones like oars.
Brownie was much quieter, often hid
ing under a spray of coral, and when he
swan, gliding quickly in zig.zags from
the top to the bottom of the globe. You
could hardly see him open his mouth,
while Colby kept his in motion as it he was
sucking in all he could find from the
water. When they were fed it was pretty
to see them pounce on the meat, and
when they had enough they would spit
out a piece, and then Mrs. Tinker would
There, Trot, don't give them any
more for fear it makes them sick.
Snaks hardly ever came out where he
could be seen, but lived mostly in the
piece of red coral. That had holes in it,
and Snaks would lie through it with his
head out one of the doors, as Trot called
the holes, as if he lived in a cave under
the water. If he saw any one looking at
him he would draw in and hide, and very
seldom came out to swim on the top of
the water though when he did, his swift
ness was wonderful, curving about like
brown snake. Trot's fish were great
pleasure to others as well as to himself,
and they were as well and as happy as
possible.
When he had them for some time, his
cousin Dick came to spend a few days
with Mrs. Tinker. Trot was delighted at
the prospect of having some one to play
with him, and at first he and Dick had
the pleasantest times in the world. After
a day or two they had used up all the
plays they both like, a and little disputes
rose as to what "to do next" The fish
had been shown to Dick at first, and he
had admired them very much, and wish
ed they were his, which TTot said could
not be, because
81 want them myself"
On one occasion, when they had de-
sided to play the Battle of Bunker Hill
with their tin soldiers, and the engage
ment was indefinitely postponed by both
parties refusing to take command OF the
British forces, Dick suddenly jumped up,
eXclaiming:
ooh, Snak's Quit" and he ran to the
globe.
There was Snaks sure enough, thread
ing around on top of the water, his head
a little raised, and his beady eyes as
bright as could be.
'Oh, splendid! Is't he jolly" cried
Trot.
Il wish 1 could take him in my hand,
said Dick.
al like Brownie best; see how tame he
isr and Trot put his finger in the water,
and Brownie came to see if he could get
anything to eat
tThere, you've frightened Snaksr' said
Dick, pushing Trot
81 don't care; they're NINE" replied
Trot, pushing up again.
81 think you might let me have share
in them" said Dick.
81 don't want to, replied Trot.
"Just let me feed them tomorrow"
said Dick.
mo" replied Trot, pushing Dick
roughly, for the boys were now elbowing
each othr> Its only once week, and
l want tc 20 it myself"
ssYou always do it, and I'm gong
AWAY pretty soon" said Dick, looking in
to Trot's face for II rclenting. Seeing
none, he put both his arms about the
globe. saying, Then you shant see
them"
Twill" said Trot, putting his arm
over too; and they beg IN to struggle Tor
the globe
1t stood on IA small table, and in the
contest the boys pushed against the table
so hard as to throw it yer, and they the
table, globe, fish and water fell to the
floor together.
tOh, screamed Trot, jumping up,
while Dick stood aghast at the disaster
Mrs. Tinker had heard the fall, and ran
o see what was the matter. Trot had
cut his finger on IA piece of glass, and
both of the boys were wet through. The
globe was broken in many pieces, ana
the fish lay gasping on the floor.
Mrs. Tinker repaired the damages and
cleared away the ruins as well as she
could, and having heard how the acct
dent happened, separated the boys for
the afternoon. When they came in to
supper, Trot ran to the basin where the
fish had been placed to see how they
Jared Brownie was floating on the top
of the water with his back downward,
quite dead. Trot went to bed in tears,