234 LITTLE FOLKS 
he found out, that his structure was most beautiful; and though he 
had no bones, he had as many organs as if he was full of bones. 
A very odd thing about him, too, is that he breathes through 
his skin. You would naturally think such a delicate, dainty crea- 
ture, must feed on dew. Far from it; he is very greedy — snaps 
up everything that comes in his way, and stuffs it into his mouth. 
There are many varieties of this droll family — all sizes, from a 
tiny atom of a jelly-drop, the size of a marble, up to those nearly 
as large as an umbrella. Many of them are shaped like an 
umbrella, with most beautiful fringe hanging from the edges. But 
this fringe, however lovely it may look, isn't safe to touch, for it is 
well armed, and stings dreadfully. In fact, the pretty creatures 
have another name, not so nice as Jelly Fishes, and that is Sea 
Nettle. 
One of them, distinguished by the pleasant name of Rhizos- 
toma, is as large as a big parasol. It is white, with violet and blue 
border. It has no fringe, but has eight innocent looking arms 
hanging down under this blue and violet umbrella. This oddity 
has a great many tiny mouths, all down the edges of its arms, and 
of course it must eat the smallest creatures, that one can't see 
without a microscope. When he is disturbed, he can shut his 
umbrella and sink. There's a picture of him on next page. 
Another of the family has a mouth big enough to make up for 
his cousin's little ones. He is ornamented with beautiful bands 
and stripes on the body, and long scarlet ribbon-like streamers from 
its deep scollops. 
At some seasons, the Mother Medusa is also adorned with gay 
festoons of tiny eggs of the loveliest colors. 
There's a funny thing I want to tell you about these eggs, 
when they are hatched into babies. Most babies — you know — are 
like their mothers ; that is, a cat's baby is a little cat, and a cow's 
baby a little cow. But a Medusa s baby isn't a little Medusa. Not 
by any means. First, it looks not much like anything, but it grad- 
ually grows till it looks like a pile "of live plates. After living 
a while in that shape, the upper plate begins to wriggle and twist, 
and finally with a mighty jerk it comes off; and there's a little star- 
shaped creature, that after a while grows like its mother. The next 
plate soon gets uneasy, and thus they all finally separate. 
Another of the family has still odder babies. Out of one egg 
will grow a creature that looks like a plant. It is fixed to the rock, 
