298 LITTLE FOLKS 
has laid the eggs, instead of letting her take care of them as other 
mothers do, he just drives her out of the house, and won't even 
allow her to see the babies. 
There's one good thing about it, though ; she don't seem to care 
much. She swims off and has a good time, while Mr. Stickleback 
scarcely ever leaves the house. 
It's as much as any other fish's life's worth to pass the house, 
for Mr. Stickleback will rush out and give battle at once. 
It is curious to see them fight. The only weapons they have, 
are sharp spines, or bones, sticking up in their backs, (that's why 
they have such an outrageous name, you see,) and the thing they 
try to do is to dive under the enemy and stab him from below. 
So they both dive, and the result is, that they oppose each 
other with their noses, and they often flap around a long time, nose 
to nose, neither of them able to get under. 
The moment one gets his nose the least below the other, he 
dives, and tries to stab, but if the enemy is quick enough, he w T ill 
instantly rise and avoid him. They are plucky little fellows, and 
hardly ever stop till one is dead. 
I must say, in excuse for Mr. Stickleback that he has reason 
to be suspicious of prowlers, for other fish are very fond of eggs, 
to eat, and it would be a poor father that wouldn't preserve the 
little ones from such a fate. 
Let me tell you how he builds his house. 
To begin with, he lives in a river, and he selects a nice place 
among the plants that grow in the stream, where there are good 
strong stems to build to. First, he bites off bits of green from 
other plants near by, and fastens them to the chosen stems with a 
gummy material he has about him. When he has enough of these 
funny green bricks for a floor, all nicely glued together, he goes to 
the bottom of the river, and brings up a mouthful of sand, which 
he scatters over the foundation. He continues to bring sand till 
the little platform is weighed down, and made steady in the water. 
Then he proceeds to build, with more green bricks, the sides 
and top of his house. When done, it is shaped something like a 
barrel, smooth and strong all over, about the size of a man's fist. 
He even plasters it, by constantly rubbing himself against the 
inside wall, thus rubbing off the sticky stuff from his body. It 
wouldn't be very nice plaster, if it remained sticky, but it soon 
hardens, and looks like varnish. 
