The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-10-02
a MUD MOUSE.

A Little, Modest, Beautiful Animal Which
Creeps Quietly About at the Bottom of
. the Sea-How the Pretty Miss Breathes
and Walks.
A mouse, my children! A mouse
with no particular head, and no par
ticular feet, and no particular tail. A
mouse that does not know the taste of
cheese, and that never saw mouse
trap; a mouse that can not squeak, and
that actually lays eggs! How the little
brown fellow, whom you hear scamper-
ing and squeaking in the wall, would
open his bright black eyes if he were to
hear of such mouse as this.
That creature mouse? he would
say. Where is its long, beautiful tailP
Where is its sharp nose, and its pretty
white teeth, and its four trim little feet,
with their dainty claws? Pooh! don t
believe it's mouse at all!''
Between you and me, my dears the
little brown fellow is right, and this
strange creature is not really mouse;
but that is what it is called-the sea-
mouse.
Brownie might well be proud, how
ever, if he could claim it as his cousin,
for she is one of the most beautiful
creatures in the world. Her long,
oval body is covered with thick coat
of hair, and every single hair in this
coat is tiny bit of living rainbow,
flashing back the light in a thousand
many-colored rays Rubies, emeralds,
sapphires, topazes, diamonds, anne
thysts, opals-take a handful of each,
mix them all together, and toss them up
in the sunlight at noon when the sun is
brightest - then you may have
some idea Of the sparkling beauty of
this little sea-mouse, which creeps so
quietly about in the mud at the bottom
of the sea.
By the way, she has another name
besides sea-mouse, and much prettier
One--AphrodlUe. Let call her that
in the future.
Now, is Aphrodite proud of her
beauty We should be, am sure, in
her place. We should spend all our
time in the brightest sunshine we could
find, on top of the biggest rock, and
we should sparkle and sparkle until the
sun himself would be Jealous. But
Aphrodite is not proud; on the con-
trary, she is the shyest little creature
in the world. Instead of summing her.
self, and enjoying the sensation she
creates, her one desire is to keep out of
the way. Burrowing into the mud,
hiding under stones or in empty shells,
wrapping herself up in sea-
weed mantle, she seems to be con-
stantly saying:
"Oh! don't, beg of you. take the
trouble to look at me | am only four
inches long, and l haven't any head
worth mentioning. You really en-
barrass me by staring; and there are
so many creatures all around here that
are really worth looking at. See that
great octopus over there, who is trying
so hard to attract your attention Go
and look at him, like good people!
He is fifty times as big as 1 am, and he
likes to be stared at, and can stare
back again"
Humph! | don't want to look at the
octopus now, do you? Ugly thing!
We will see him some day, however.
But now | really must stir up Miss
Aphrodite, and let you see how she
walks.
You see those punches of bristles on
Ss'Nh 'l'iO Vi iSl DONNs htlI, SIG
walks-if you can call it walking-with
those. She does not get about very
fast; but there is no need of that for
she has plenty of time, and is never in
a hurry. Another queer thing about
her is the way in which she breathes
You see she lives in the mud a great
deal, and yet she does not want to
breathe mud; so, under her beautiful
rainbow cloak of hair. she has another
coat of something that looks like felt
This felt coat catches and holds the
mud, and does not let any of it pass
through so that the scale-like gills I'M
derneath, through which she breathes,
get nothing but clear, good water. |
am very sorry to be obliged to say that
Aphrodite is extremely greedy, but it is
the melancholy truth. There is no end
to her appetite; and / am afraid that if
she were very hungry she would not
hesitate to eat her own grandmother
Isn't that shocking?-LdarG b. Rich
ards, IN Our Little Ones.