THE FLOUNDER 9 



about in safety until they hatch ! Isn't that odd ? 

 And it is even said that after the little fishes are 

 hatched they will go back into their father's pouch 

 if they are frightened, just as baby kangaroos do 

 into that of their mother, and remain there until 

 the danger has passed away ! 



PLATE IV 

 THE FLOUNDER 



This is one of the "flat fishes," as everybody 

 calls them, like the turbot and the sole. Yet, 

 really and truly, these creatures are not flat at all. 

 They are thin. For what we always call the back 

 of a sole is not really its back. It is one of its 

 sides. And what we always call its lower surface 

 is not its lower surface, but its other side ! 



This sounds very strange, doesn't it? But the 

 fact is that when these so-called "flat" fishes 

 are first hatched they swim upright, just as all 

 other fishes do. Then their backs are upwards, of 

 course, and their lower surfaces are downwards, 

 and one of their sides is on either side. For about 

 a month they swim about in this way. At the end 

 of that time a strong desire comes over them to 

 go and lie down on the sand or mud at the bottom 

 of the sea. Now, in order to do this, of course, 

 they have to lie upon their sides. Then three 

 very strange things happen. 



