CHAPTER II 

 THE MOLLUSCS 



PLATE VII 



THE CUTTLE (i and 2) 



now come to the Molluscs, or Soft-bodied 

 Animals, of which there are a very great 

 many. Some of them live in shells, like the oyster 

 and the whelk, and are often spoken of as " shell- 

 fishes." But they are not really fishes at all, for 

 they have no bones as fishes have, and are made 

 in quite a different way. And there are just a 

 few of them which have no shells at all. 



One of these is that very curious creature 

 which we call the Cuttle. You may sometimes 

 find it in the rock-pools, lurking in the crevices 

 among the rocks, or hiding under the masses 

 of sea-weeds which grow round the edges. It 

 has a soft, white, bag-like body, and a big head, 

 on which are two great staring black eyes. Just 

 above these eyes eight long slender arms spring 

 out; for cuttles keep their arms on their heads 

 instead of on their bodies! And another arm 

 which is even longer still, and is flattened out 

 at the end into a kind of oval plate, hangs down 

 on either side. 



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