126 Wild Life in Water 



The truth is, I might very properly speak 

 of wild " wit" in the water instead of " life," 

 for there can be not the shadow of a doubt 

 but that many of our fishes are really cunning. 

 We need but watch them carefully to be 

 readily convinced of this. How else could 

 they escape danger ? 



The pretty peacock minnows throng the 

 grassy beach at high tide, playing with their 

 fellows in water just deep enough to cover 

 them, and are, when here, very tame and 

 careless. They even get stranded upon the 

 airy side of floating leaves, and enjoy the ex- 

 citement. They realize, it would seem, that 

 where they are no pike can rush down upon 

 them, no snake work its way unseen among 

 them, no turtle crawl into their playground ; 

 but as the tide goes out and these minnows 

 are forced nearer to the river's channel, they 

 lose their carelessness and are suspicious of 

 all about them. 



To call this instinctive fear and result of 

 heredity sounds well; but the naturalist is 

 brought nearer to the wild life about him 

 when he credits them simply with common 

 sense. The charm of watching such " small 

 deer" vanishes if we lean too much on the 



