THE MAILED WARRIORS OF THE SEA. 167 
Not so the large crabs, the backs of which we 
so often find covered w r ith weed and shells and small 
tube-worms which have settled upon them, so that 
when a crab is old and does not change his shell, 
he often carries a perfect colony of life about with 
him. If the prawn is the crystal fairy of the sea 
Fig. 59- 
Early life of a Crab. 
I, A crab soon after birth ; 1', natural size. 2, A crab after 
changing its skin several times ; 2', natural size. 3, The young per- 
fect crab after it has tucked its tail under the carapace. 
surely the crab, when big, is the lumbering armed 
giant, who destroys and devours without rr\ercy, 
glaring out of his coat of mail, and not fearing any 
creature except a stronger crab than himself. He 
spares no animal, whether fish, mollusc, crustacean, 
or worm, that comes in his way as he sidles along 
