96 THE SEA SHORE 



clear sea-water, and rinse it thoroughly. Then 

 take it to another pool, and rinse it again. 

 Then take it to a third pool, and rinse it again; 

 and go on rinsing it till every atom of mud 

 has been washed out of its hairy coating. And 

 then, if you look at it in the bright sunshine, 

 I am quite sure that you will be astonished to 

 find what a lovely creature it really is. For all 

 the colours of the rainbow, and ever so many 

 more besides, seem to be chasing one another 

 over its bristles, and altering with every move- 

 ment and every change of light. Doesn't it 

 seem strange that an animal so beautiful as 

 this should live with all its beauty covered up, 

 so that hardly any eye can ever see it? 



But these bristles have another use besides 

 that of a filter. Each of them is really a kind 

 of long, slender spear with a barbed tip, which 

 can be used as a weapon of defence. If you 

 were to look at one of these bristly spears 

 through a good strong microscope you would 

 see that it was edged on both sides with sharp 

 little hooked teeth, looking very much like 

 those of a shark. But you need not be in the 

 least afraid to handle a sea mouse, for although 

 these slender spears look so formidable, they 

 are not nearly strong enough to pierce your 

 skin. 



