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WESTERN SERIES OF READERS. 



stomach. 



Right again; and from these it gets its name. 

 Now put your finger down to its mouth and hold 

 it still; it will not hurt you. 



Why, the creature is closing all its rays round 

 my finger, and pulling itself together into a little 

 bunch. 



Yes; and if your finger had been a limpet or a 

 little crab, it would have been pulled inside, 

 through the creature's mouth, down into its 

 And it would never have come out 

 alive, either; though after 

 a time the creature would 

 have thrown out the 

 empty shell. 



But can the anemone 

 change its place? 



Slightly; but it gener- 

 ally chooses its home on 

 a rock, and stays there 

 all its life. You will find 

 beds of small gray ones on some rocks, so close 

 together that they touch one another. Again, in 

 deeper water, you will see great green ones living 

 apart, and, when open, each one looks like a 

 beautiful flower six or eight inches across. Their 

 tentacles, or rays, are very sensitive, and quickly 

 catch any unlucky creature that comes in their 

 way. 



Figure 77. 



