io6 How Sammy Went to Coral-Land 
help it in swimming. It spends a good 
deal of its time on the bottom of the 
ocean near the coral reefs, and can creep 
along very quickly, supporting itself with 
its head and tentacles. The head is flat 
and muscular and acts as a defense to the 
opening of the shell, and the Nautilus 
also possesses very strong jaws which it 
makes good use of in crushing crabs and 
other shell-fish on which it feeds. 
Sammy found it rather difficult at first 
to come to a friendly understanding with 
the Nautilus, for the gallant little mar¬ 
iner was somewhat shy of strangers, and 
would frequently show his distrust by 
suddenly drawing in his tentacles, up¬ 
setting his shell, and dropping to the bot¬ 
tom of the Lagoon, thus effectually cut¬ 
ting short any conversation. But this 
was only his way of protecting himself; 
after a time he grew bolder, and being a 
