40 Three Young Crusoe s 



there was easier and better swimming and the water 

 was warmer. When it came to floating, she ex- 

 celled them all. Lying flat on her back, gently 

 rocked by the waves, she would watch the white 

 clouds floating across the blue sky and dream of the 

 bright day coming when a big white ship would come 

 and take them home. Meanwhile, however, she was 

 thankful and happy and was learning many useful 

 things. Perhaps, at home, she might never have 

 learned to swim or to float. 



The boys also taught Edna to swim with her eyes 

 open beneath the water so that she could see the 

 wonderful sea gardens on the bottom, where little 

 coral animals worked away at their building and 

 seaweeds of man}' colors grew and brilliant fishes 

 went sailing by. A whole new world of striking 

 beauty was thus revealed to her. The bits of sea- 

 weed cast on the beach by the tide gave no idea at 

 all of what was beneath the waves. 



"Did you ever hear of eating seaweeds?" asked 

 Henry. 7'he others became interested at once and 

 he told them what he knew about the subject, which 

 was not much. Edna promised to experiment with 

 cooking some when they had time to gather them, 

 and William thought it would be nice to make a 

 collection of the prettiest ones to put on the walls 

 of Edna's room. 



