The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1886-12-04
a MUD MOUSE.

Creeps Quietly About at tho Bottom ol
the Ses-How the Pretty Miss Breathes
and walks. sf4tss
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; mouse that can not squeak, and
that actually lays eggs! How the little
brown fellow, whom you hear scampcr-
ing and squeaking In the wall, would
open his bright black eyes if he were to
hear of such mouse as this.
THAT creature a mouse?'' he would
say. where is its long, beautiful tail?
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 a mouse at all!'
Between yon 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-thc sea-
mouse.
Brownie might well be proud, how
ever, If he could claim it as his cousin,
creatures in the world. Her long.
oval body is covered with thick coat
of hair, and every single hair in this
coat is a tiny bit of living rainbow.
flashing back the light in q thousand
many-colored rays. Rubies, emeralds,
sapphires, topazes, diamonds, anne
thysts, opals-take q 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 crceps so
quietly about in the mud at the bottom
of the sea-
BIZ the way, she has another name
besides sea-mOuse, and q much prettier
ones-Aphrodite Let us call her that
in the futsfea a
Now. siss Aphrodite proud Of her
beautyp 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 sbyest little creature
in the world. Instead Of summing her
self, and penjoying 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 a 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 am. and he
likes to be stared at, and can stare
back again"
"a Humph! / don't want to look at the
octopus now, do youP Ugly thingl
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
each side of her fiat bodyP Well. she
walks If you can call it walking-with
those. She does not get about very
fast; bufthere is no need of that, for
she has plenty of time, and is never in
q hurry Another queer thing about
her is the way in which she breathes
You see she lives in the mud great
deal, and yet she does not want to
breathe mud So. under her. beautiful
rainbow CLOAK a hair. she has another
coat of sol1e5b ihg that looks like felt.
This felt coat catches and holds the
mud. and does e61E let any of it pass
through; SO tbH thescale-lfke gills I'M
derneath. Through which she breathes,
get nothing but clear, good water. /
am very sorry to be ohliged TO say that
Aphrodite u sxtrenely grpedy. but it is
the melancholy txnsAs' fhere is no end
to her Appetizer and / ann afraid that il
she were very hungry she would not
hesitate to eat her own grandmother.
Isn't that shocking?-L0urG r. Rich
erds. IN Oar. Little Ones ...