THE STORY OF A STONE. 



199 



taking them in, and tried to wall himself up inside 

 with them, as a person would " stone a well," or as 

 though a man should swallow pebbles, and stow 

 them away in his feet and all around under the 

 skin, till he had filled himself all full with them, as 

 the man filled Jim Smiley's frog. 



Little Favosites became lonesome all alone in 

 the bottom of that old ocean among so many 

 outlandish neighbors. So one night when he was 

 fast asleep, and dreaming as only a coral animal 

 can dream, there sprouted out from his side, some- 

 where near where his sixth rib might have been 

 if he had had any ribs, another little Favosites ; 

 and this one very soon began to eat worms and to 

 wall himself up as if for dear life. Then from 

 these two another and another little bud came out, 

 and other little Favosites were formed. They all 

 kept growing up higher and cramming themselves 

 fuller and fuller of stone, till at last there were so 

 many and they were so crowded together that 

 there was not room for them to grow round, and 

 so they had to become six-sided like the cells of a 

 honeycomb. Once in a while some one in the 

 company would feel jealous because the others 

 got more of the worms, or would feel uneasy at 

 sitting still so long and swallowing lime. Such 

 a one would secede from the little union with- 

 out even saying " good-by," and would put on 

 the airs of the grandmother Medusa, and would 

 sail around in the water, opening and shutting 

 its umbrella, at last laying more eggs, which for 

 all we know may have hatched out into more 

 Favosites. 



