46 



EXPERIMENTAL LESSONS. 



" Then the mother knows that in a few days her babies will be out." 



" At first when the baby sponges come out of their eggs they will 

 not let their mothers out of sight, but when they are older they will swim 

 away and she may never see them again," said the sponge. 



I would sit on my rock and draw in the pleasant water through the 

 small holes and let it go out through the larger ones," said the sponge. 



I could not eat through all these holes for these were filled the 

 earlier part of my life with a sort of jelly. I am nothing but a skeleton 

 of a sponge. 



I had a baby sponge who built his home on the shell of a crab. 



Fig. 23. 





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'iiteilll'SP^ 





£ 



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iiw .£'/,.'; "VI I 1^0^ ^^'Aiii'H^iL m 



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Sponges. A, Loggerhead; B, Scarlet. 



And as the crab was not a bad old fellow he often passed my home, and 

 we often had pleasant talks together. 



One day when the crab and I were talking together, we saw a large 

 fish coming towards us. It had two long feelers coming out from its 

 head with five claws at the end of each, and two more coming out from 

 its body, though I have learned since that two of these feelers are called 

 arms and the claws are fingers. 



This fish had in her claws a thing that glittered. 



When the crab and my son saw this big fish the crab ran off as fast as 

 his legs could carry him." 



" But," said the bath-tub, " if you were on your rock how did you 

 get up here ? " 



"Wait," said the sponge, "and you shall know that. 



For I was fastened to the rock and could not move," 



