IN THE TOADFISH'S SHOE 



27 



So it was she that I caught, and not the 

 Mr. Toadfish at all ! I am glad of it. I have a dealx- 

 of sympathy and down-right admiration for Mr. 

 >He behaves most handsomely. 



However, Mrs. Fish is very wise, and could not 

 leave her treasures in better keeping. If ever there 

 y was a faithful parent, it is a Father Toadfish. For 

 ; three weeks he guards the eggs before they hatch 



out, and then they are only half hatched ; for it has 6j 

 / taken the little fish all this time to get out on the ' 



top side of the eggs, to which they are still attached 

 ^- "by their middles, so that they can move only their 

 * heads and tails. 



They continue to wiggle in this fashion for some 

 weeks, until the yolk of the egg is absorbed, and 

 , .they have grown to be nearly half an inch long. 

 c ' .- - They are then free from the rock and swim off, look-| 

 ing as much like their parents as children can, 

 '.every bit as ugly. 



Ugly ? Did I say ugly ? Is a baby ever ugly to its 

 mother? Or a baby toadfish to its father? No. You* 

 ^Ix-- 1 'cannot love a baby and at the same time see it ugly/- 

 You cannot love the out of doors with all your mint. 

 >as well as with all your heart, and ever see it ugly. 

 All this time the father has been guarding th( 

 little toadfish ; and if, during the. whole period, h 

 goes out to get a meal, I have not been able to find 

 when it is, for I always find him at home, minding c 

 the babies. 



