Chapter X: The Sea Beasts

It was wonderful how many sea creatures Peggy and Janet found when they began. The little tub was quite full before long, and Peggy, looking into it, told Janet that she was afraid they wouldn’t be very comfortable.

Janet considered for a minute, and then told Peggy that there was an old washing-tub in the scullery which she was sure her aunt would let her use instead of her own little one; then there would be room enough for all the creatures to be happy.

“But how would we ever get a washing-tub filled with water out of the sea?” Peggy asked.

“Hoots! James and me can carry it up in pails,” said Janet.

“Will _you_ ask Aunt Euphemia about it?” Peggy asked. She had begun to see that Janet could get anything she wanted. Janet said that she would, and went off to gain Aunt Euphemia’s consent to the scheme. She came back smiling, and Peggy knew all was right, so she clapped her hands with delight.

“O Janet, do you think James will get the water to-night?” she cried. “For it would be horrid if my poor beasts died, or were sick for want of it.”

Janet then went off to look for James, and before long Peggy had the joy of seeing him come toiling up the walk, carrying two huge pails of water. Then Janet went down to the sea again with two pails, and brought them back filled, and James brought two more, and when they had all been poured into the tub it was quite full.

“Now I can put in my beasts!” Peggy cried.

The first of all was a great prize: it was a bit of stone with two sea anemones attached to it. Sea anemones are the creatures that Peggy had seen in the pool that were like little pink flowers. Janet had explained to her that it hurt anemones to be scraped off the rocks, and so they had to hunt till they found them growing on a small stone that it was possible to lift. It had been some time before they found this, but at last, at the bottom of a pool, Janet spied a small stone with two beautiful anemones sticking to it. Whenever she lifted the stone out of the water, the funny little creatures drew in all their pretty petal-like feelers, and became like lumps of red-currant jelly; but the moment Peggy placed them in the tub of water, out came the feelers one by one till they were as pretty as ever again.

Then there was one of the big ones that had been scooped out of the sand with great difficulty, and was rather offended evidently, for it took a long time to put out its feelers—just lay and sulked on the bottom of the tub. Peggy watched it for a long time, but as it wouldn’t put out its feelers, she turned to the other creatures.

There were a number of whelks. Whelks, you know, are sea-snails. They live in shells, and draw themselves in and out of them very quickly. The moment Peggy put them into the tub, they pushed their shells on to their backs as snails do, and began crawling slowly along the edges of the tub.

“O Janet, my whelks will walk out and get lost!” Peggy cried. But Janet told her she thought they liked the water best, and would stay in it.

Then there were three mussels. Mussels live in tight, dark blue shells; but when they please they can open their shells, much as you open a portfolio, for there is a kind of hinge at the back of the shell. However, they too were sulky, and lay still quite tight shut.

Janet had picked up a very large shell, and put it into the tub, and Peggy asked her why. She said they would see before long. Now she took the large shell and laid it in the water. Peggy watched, and suddenly she saw a thin green leg come stealing out; then another and another, till at last a tiny green crab came scrambling altogether out of the shell, and ran rapidly about the tub.

“O Janet, it’s a little crab! How did you know? Do they always live in these big snail shells?” Peggy cried.

Janet told her that they were called hermit crabs, and that they lived in the cast-off shells of other creatures, just using them as houses.

“Put your hand into the water, Miss Peggy, and you will see him run in,” Janet said.

Peggy shook her hand in the water, and saw the little crab scuttle away and get into his shell like lightning.

Janet had wanted to add a big red crab, like the one that nipped Peggy, but Peggy wouldn’t have it. There were some limpets, in their little pyramid-shaped shells, and then Janet had added a lot of seaweed of different kinds. Some of it was slimy green stuff, like long green hair, which Peggy didn’t at all admire; but there were pretty feathery pink weed and nice brown dulse.

“I wonder if James could get a flounder,” Janet said thoughtfully.

Peggy asked what a flounder was, and Janet said it was the kind of flat little fish Peggy had had fried for breakfast that morning.

“They’re ill to catch,” she added. “But maybe James could get ye ane.”

“Oh, a fish—a real live fish—in my tub would be so _delicious_!” cried Peggy.

She ran off to beg James to try to catch one for her; and James, who was very obliging, went off once again to the shore with a pail in search of a flounder.

Peggy stood and watched him for quite half an hour as he went slowly across the sands, stooping over each pool to see if there were flounders in it.

At last he came back, and Peggy scarcely liked to ask him whether he had got one, for she felt it would be so disappointing if he hadn’t—her collection would be quite incomplete. But James was grinning with pleasure, and he showed her two nice brown flounders in the pail.

“Oh, they _are_ flat!” cried Peggy.

She dived her hands into the pail, and attempted to catch them—quite in vain. Then James slowly poured away all the water on to the ground, and there the flounders lay, flopping about at the bottom of the pail. Peggy was almost afraid to touch them, but James said they would do her no harm; so she caught hold of one of the slippery, wriggling little fish, and flung it into the tub, and it darted off and hid itself under the seaweed. Then she put in the other flounder, and it also hid under the seaweed, where it couldn’t be seen.

“I think they must be sleepy, and be going to bed,” Peggy said. And then, quite tired out with her exertions, she rubbed her eyes and yawned, till Janet told her it was time for her to go to bed like the flounders; and Peggy agreed that it was.