CHAPTER II

HOW SAMMY ESCAPED FROM THE SHARK AND MADE THE ACQUAINTANCE OF THE
HERMIT-CRAB


Oh a wily old crab is the Hermit-Crab,
And a crafty old crab is he!
His home he makes in a stolen cell,
And the passing stranger he loves full well
But beware of his hospitality!
For a hungry old crab is the Hermit-Crab,
And a wicked old crab is he.


"Dear me! what a very large place the sea is," said Sammy. He had gone
quite a distance before he realized that the occasion for hurry was
now over, and then he rose gracefully to the surface and looked about
him. Overhead stretched the blue sky speckled with fleecy, white
clouds, and off in the distance a long line of white sand showed the
shore line, against which the incoming tide sent its undulating
billows. Near the shore circled a flock of sea-gulls, and far away,
where sea and sky seemed to meet, the white sails of a ship gleamed in
the sun. In every other direction, as far as the eye could reach,
stretched the blue waters of the ocean.

Presently a large fish sprang from the waves, his silvery scales
sparkling in the sun, then fell back with a gentle splash. This
recalled Sammy to himself, and diving hastily below, he swam slowly