GAGE] THE STORY OF LITTLE RED-SPOT 137 



float out wide on each side of his head so as to catch all the air from 

 the water that is possible. Bye and bye his gills begin to shrivel, 

 and then what is ottr poor Httle hero to do, how is he to breathe ? 

 Well, when he gets restless and hungry for air, he tries an experi- 

 ment, comes to the top of the water where it is all air, takes a 

 mouthful of it and swallows it right into — his stomach, no — into 

 his lungs, which he didn't know much about before. I fear he is 

 rather lazy now for he does not take the trouble to go to the top 

 verv^ often even for this little mouthful of air, but goes panting 

 away in the water, getting all the air possible by drawing it into 

 his mouth. You may be sure he is too intelligent to swallow that 

 water into his lungs, or his stomach either. He forces it out of his 

 gill-slits and takes a mouthful of fresh water. 



Red-spot stays in the pool — which now is still and warm. Most 

 of the Babelmakers go away, leaving their thousands of voiceless 

 children behind them. We wonder if the children could cry would 

 the parents stay to take care of them. However that may be, little 

 Red-spot's alert, quick motions still are very necessary to him. 

 If the largest, hungriest mouths are gone, the pool is ftdl of growing 

 morsels of life, many of whom are relations of Red-spot. But a 

 mere matter of relationship is of small consequence, each seems 

 only to be eager to swallow any living morsel which is a trifle 

 smaller than himself. So Red-spot has a two-fold anxiety; first 

 to catch plenty of fine fat mollusks and worms for himself, and then 

 to see that he is not eaten by some other htmgry fellow out in 

 search of dainties. He acts as though he were haunted, so suddenly 

 does a little shiver run through the fin that goes ruffling from the 

 back of his head to the tip of his tail. That shiver sends him far 

 away from the cause of his terror. 



About the middle of August he feels he is no longer fitted for life 

 in the narrow pond. An impulse strong as any that moves youth 

 to daring deeds forces him to tr\' his fortune in the great unknown 

 world of solid ground. 



Imagine his joy when he sees that he is growing beautiful I First 

 a dusky red hue spreads all over him, then his coat gradually 

 changes to a beautiful orange red, .while his vest is a shade lighter. 

 The Vermillion spots on his back grow larger and a dot or two of 

 black appears beside each red spot. His gills are gone, his tail 

 loses its frill. If a fairy godmother had touched him with her 

 wand, the change could not be greater. 



