THE STORY OF THE PECTUN. 63 



the little eyes which are in the margin of my 

 mantle. 



I could not see far, but everything about me 

 looked so fresh and cool that I concluded to go to 

 sleep for a little while, and then wake up and swim 

 races with my brothers. 



I do not know how long I slept, but after a hazy 

 dream about nothing, I was awakened by hearing 

 a rush of water over my head, or over what you, 

 perhaps, would call my head; for to tell the truth, 

 I never had a head and never expect to have one. 

 But a head is not necessary, if one has eyes and 

 ears in other parts of his body, as I have. 



At any rate, I heard a great rushing sound 

 above me, and I started up in considerable alarm 

 and began to snap my shells vigorously. I was 

 so light and agile that my pair of shells served me 

 as well in the water as a pair of wings serve a bird 

 in the air; so away I flew towards the surface of 

 the water, which I soon found was in a state of 

 great commotion. 



The little pool in which I went to sleep w^as 

 now all covered, and the waves were whirling and 

 tossing as if they intended to mix the air and 

 water together into a kind of soda-water fizz. 



I have since learned that that was just what 

 they were doing, and that air-fizz is just what a 



