Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-10-29

plants. ard fringed with gay mossas
/ beautiful to behold The bottom Of the
| sea is covered with silver sand. and
| over II rnoye.the crimson and gold-oOE
| orai ieIIy-fish. the scarlet star-tish, ana
:. Thousand other brilliant creatures
| making the neighborhood always 81
tractiye and delightful On certain
| ledge of rock, close by the bottom I
lived. as happy an animal as could pe
found in the Mediterranean Sea :.
| what do you meanp" interruptad
the nail-brush, which was new, and
yery ignorant .sYou, an animalp L
don't believe it If your back were
bone, and your hair pig hristles, Ike
mine, you flight at least call yourself
an animal product; but you have no
back that 1 can see, nor hair either.
"You are extremely rude. = said the
sponge. s.But you know no better, and
ignorance should always be pitied rathv
er than blamed. / was an animal, my
Young friend, though now, alas, am
only the skeleton of one.
II lived. as said. very happy LIE.
on my rocky ledge. l never moved
from it. had no occasion to do so.
even if I had been provided with legs,
as many animals are. l never had any
fancy for rowing life. To draw in the
warm delicious water through the thou
sand small holes and canals OF my
frame, and spout it out again through
my large holes, was my chief occupa-
ton, and one of which | was never
weary. The water was full OF tiny
creatures of all kinds, and these formed
my food, and gave me plenty to eat
In the spring I was always busy with
my maternal duties. l brought out
hundreds of lovely little young eggs,
yellow and white-the prettiest eggs
you ever saw. In short time they PUB
out their tiny feelers, sort of fringe OF
waving lashes, like those things on the
nurse eyes; as soon as they appeared
l knew my babies We're ready to come
out and, sure enough, they soon broke
through the empowering, and waving
their Iashes, swan out into the sea.
.:At first they staid near me, de-
lighting my heart with their pretty
tricks; but very soon they felt the need
of homes of their own, and went off to
fix themselves on rocks, or coral-trees.
and become, in their turn, full-grown
spolges, like myself. l could not COM
plain, for had left my own mother in
the same way. never saw any OF them
again, except one dear child, who made
his home on the shell of large crab
He grew finely; and became a noble
sponge; but the crab never seemed to
mind him in the least, and carried him
about with him wherever he went. In
this way he often passed near my ledge.
and as the crab was friendly and sem
sble fellow we often had a pleasant
chat together.
..One day, one dreadful, dreadful
day, was talking thus with my sob
and his landlord. when suddenly some
thing huge and dark was seen above us,
swimming slowly downward through
the clear water. AT first l paid no at
tention to it, supposing it to be shark,
or some other large fish; but as it drew
nearer | saw that it was no fish, but q
strange and horrible monster, the like
of which had never been seen under
the sea. 1t had four long arms, some
thing like those Of a cuttlc-tish, only
much less graceful, and divided at the
end into five claws, or feelers l have
since learned that two of these arms
are called legs, and that the feelers are
fingers and toes.) 1t had cleaning
eyes, and in one claw it held some
thing bright and shining All! it makes
me cold to think of it. To my horror
the monster fixed his shining eyes
on me, and swan directly toward my
ledge. The crab scuttled off with my
son on his back, and 1 was left alone
and helpless. l saw one of the long
arms extended; the five feelers clutched
me in their grasp. l shrank down, and
chung with all my might to the rock;
but in vain. The shining thing in the
monsters other claw was slipped I'M
der me. 1t cut my delicate fibers; l
r<rsrv 1,x-<
last, with one terrible cut and violent
home; torn from it, alas! forever!
Il was thrown into o bag full of
other sponges, which the monster had
slung about his middle, and then he
pursued his path of destruction. | will
pass briefly over the dark days that fol-
lowed the drying in the sun, till all the
life was dried out of me; the fearful
with thousands of other
like myself. into wooden
cases; the voyage over seas: finally
the exposure of my bleached and
miserable skeleton in the window of
druggists shop. All these things are
too painful to be dwelt upon; and, as
you know, am now resigned to my
lot. l find in you a sympathizing
friend. l have water given me Though
IF very inferior quality morning and
night. and, were it not for the soap
and the squeezing, l should make no
complaint. But often, as I hang idly
n my wire basket, my thoughts go
back to my own dear home under the
Syrian shores; and / long for
lraught of the warm, delicious water,
or the cool retirement of my rocky
edge, and for the sight of my dear SON,
ding gracefully about on the back of
lis crab Our Little Ones.