JELLYFISHES 115 



weeks' time the animal is just as perfect as it was 

 before ! 



It seems rather hard to believe that an animal 

 can treat itself in such a manner as this, and 

 yet continue to live, doesn't it? But remember 

 that "truth is stranger than fiction," and that 

 some of the strangest animals of all are found 

 among those which live in the sea. 



PLATE XXXIX 

 JELLYFISHES (2) 



Jellyfishes are among the very oddest creatures 

 which are found in the sea; for their bodies 

 are made up almost entirely of sea-water ! It is 

 quite true, of course, that if you cut them in two 

 the water does not run away. But then if you 

 cut a cucumber in two the water does not run 

 away; and yet cucumbers are made almost 

 entirely of water. And the reason why it does 

 not run away is just the same in each case. Both 

 in the cucumber and in the jellyfish the water 

 is contained in a very large number of very tiny 

 cells ; and if you cut either of them across you 

 only divide a very small number of the cells, so 

 that only a very small quantity of water escapes. 

 But if you leave a jellyfish lying on the beach 

 in the hot sunshine, and come back to look for 



