MARVELS OF FISH LIFE 



CHAPTER I 



.//' 



ATTITUDES AND MOVEMENTS EXPRESSING INTENTIONS 

 AND EMOTIONS 



MOST people think of fish as dull, uninteresting creatures, 

 leading monotonous lives. This is mainly due to the 

 fact that they have only seen them in bowls, tanks, 

 or in an aquarium, where natural food does not exist 

 and where their enemies are conspicuous by their 

 absence. That a fish's life is far from monotonous will 

 be seen later, the object of the present chapter being to 

 illustrate how interesting he is to watch when " At 

 Home." 



Many fish possess a certain degree of reasoning 

 power, and often there is more truth in stories about 

 the intelligence of fish than is usually supposed. 



The pike is an exceptionally interesting fish, and 

 well repays observation. Some years ago I kept a small 

 pike for many months in my sitting-room. He became 

 quite tame, and would nibble the end of a finger. By 

 the side of his tank was a smaller one, which contained 

 his food in the form of minnows; and resting on this 

 smaller tank was a net for picking out the minnows. 



