ANOTHER SEASIDE TALK. 131 



ways. What the spiders and insects are to the 

 land, the crabs and their neighbors are to the sea. 

 Very few crabs live on the land, and scarcely an 

 insect lives in the ocean. How many legs has a 

 crab? 



Let me see; there are four small ones and one 

 big one on each side; so there are ten in all. 



Yes; and how many joints in each leg? 



I can't tell, for he will not let me count them; 

 but there are a good many, at least five or six. 



Very well; some time when you have a dead 

 crab you can count them carefully. And notice 

 then in which way the joints move, forward and 

 back, or up and down. But does each leg end in 

 a spur? 



There are spurs on all but the front pair, and 

 they have big pincers. 



Yes; and the crab uses them for all sorts of 

 purposes. They are his hands, his tools, and his 

 weapons, all in one. But can you find his eyes? 



Are they not those little shining knobs on two 

 stalks? 



Yes; and the crab guards them very carefully. 

 He has no eyelids, so when he is in danger he 

 pulls his eyes under the edge of his shell, stalks 

 and all. He also has a lively pair of feelers, close 

 beside his eyes. His mouth is very funny, for he 



