8o THE SEA-SHORE 



well that sea anemones can sting, and there- 

 fore never think of devouring them, no matter 

 how hungry they may be; so that so long as 

 an anemone is guarding the whelk-shell in which 

 he lives, the hermit knows that he is perfectly 

 safe. And the anemone benefits, because it gets 

 a share of the crab's meals. When a hermit 

 crab finds the dead body of some small creature 

 at the bottom of the sea he pulls it to pieces 

 and devours it; and as he does so a quantity of 

 tiny scraps are sure to come floating upwards, 

 and are seized by the outspread arms of the 

 anemone. So the crab gets the big pieces, and 

 the anemone gets the little ones; and both are 

 perfectly satisfied. 



