22 
Hozu Sammy Went to Coral-Land 
11 And serves her right, too,” Aunt 
Sheen always concluded. “ Building a 
nest and watching over it is a silly thing 
for a sensible fish to do. No one ever 
thinks of such behavior except some 
miserable little fish called Sticklebacks, 
and a few other inferior kinds. Why 
couldn’t she leave her spawn in a quiet 
place somewhere near the shore, and then 
let them hatch out and look after them¬ 
selves ? That’s the way I was brought up.” 
Now, this speech may sound very un¬ 
kind and even heartless, but leaving the 
young to look after themselves is the 
customary thing among fishes. And 
when you consider that one mother fish 
often has many hundreds of children, it 
is not to be wondered at that she finds it 
impossible to take care of such a very 
large family. 
The deep sea fishes come to the shore 
