The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1886-10-02
A SEA-MOUSE.

A Little, Nj dest, 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; 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 a mOuseP" 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 clawsP Pooh! l don't
believe it's mouse at alln'
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 cailed-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 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.
BIZ the way, she has another name
besides sea-mouse, and much prettier
one--Aphrodite. Let US call her that
in the futures
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 am, and he
likes to be stared at, and can stare
back again.
Humph! don't want to look at the
octopus now, do youP 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
each side of her flat bodyP Well, she
walks-if you can call it walking-with
those. She does not get about very
fast but there is no need of that, fol-
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 tC
breathe mud; so, under her beautiful
rainbow cloak of hair, shehas another
coat of something that looks like felt
This felt coat catches and holds the
mud, and does not let any of it pas,
through; so that the scale-like gills un
derneath, through which she breathes
get nothing but clear, good water.
am very sorry to be obliged to say tina
Aphrodite is extremely greedy, but it i
, the melancholy truth. There is no en'
to her appetite; and am afraid that i
, she were very hungry she would no
hesitate to eat her own grandmother
Isn't that shocking?-Laura 3. Rich
ards, IN OR Littie Ones.