other merrily hither and thither; a brilliant blue fish darted out
from a near-by thicket, and a company of scarlet fish swam past,
making a beautiful picture, with the clear, blue waters of the Lagoon
as a setting.

[Illustration: GLOBE FISH A Curious Inhabitant of Coral-Land]

[Illustration: PORCUPINE FISH Another Curious Inhabitant of
Coral-Land]

Far down below myriads of gorgeous shells lay scattered about on the
white sand like gay figures in a carpet, every color showing plainly
through the wonderfully transparent water. Here a tree of coral rose
up from the depths, its branches covered with lovely star-shaped
flowers; farther below a bed of shrubbery sprang from hidden rocks,
and close at hand a colony of beautiful Sea-Anemones lifted their
proud heads, and swayed gracefully in the water. Some of these flowers
were shaped like chrysanthemums with rows of fringed petals, some were
shorter and stouter, like dahlias, and all formed a mass of brilliant
color, pink, purple, orange, blood-red, and sea-blue, striped with
pink.

Never had Sammy seen such a sight as this bed of Anemones, and, struck
with admiration, he stopped to examine them more closely. But the
experienced Pilot warned him to be careful.

"They look very fine," said he, "but they are not to be trusted." You
know, of course, that the Sea-Anemones, like almost all flowers and
plants which grow in the ocean, are living animals, polyps, we call
them. The Anemones are polyps, and the coral big and little, living