"One fish," continued the traveller, "was covered all over with spines; and when I went near him, I suppose he thought that I was going to attack him, for he swelled himself out into a ball, stuck every spine straight out, and floated on his back; and he might be very sure neither I nor any other would dare to swallow him.'

"How did you find your way home?" asked the first speaker.

“I was rather puzzled,” replied Mr. Curly; "but I recollected that when I left my own country I seemed to go towards the sun; and so, I thought, if I left the sun behind me I should be in the right path. Thus, although I went from side to side very often, I at last reached our own seas; and right glad was I to meet the fat old turbots, the steady soles, the bright-green mackerel, and the crabs and the lobsters; it seemed as if I knew them all.

"I was sure I had come to my own river, for I knocked up against one of those large round creatures, with holes in their necks, and round mouths, which they fasten upon you, and suck you all to pieces. I however darted away, and here I am, safe and sound, with the exception of my tail, which I hope you will excuse."

All the eels welcomed the traveller back again, thanked him for telling them his history, and hoped he would settle among them for the rest of his life.

*Diodon.

+ Lamprey.

THE GRATEFUL MICE.

A MOUSE in search of food, one day happened to get into a sack of peas; and while he was feasting upon them, the mouth of the sack was tied up, lifted on to a man's shoulders, and carried away. Longtail-for so the mouse was named -was quite frightened when he found himself moving, and wondered where he was going to; but he lay very still, for he knew, if it were found out that he was in the sack, he should be taken out, and have his neck wrung. At last the sack was thrown down with great violence into a deep place, and poor Longtail had such a thump, that he quite lost his senses for a time; and when he recovered them he felt every thing under him was still moving, and that he was very faint and sick, and he thought to himself, "I cannot tell where I am, but unless I have some air I shall die;" so he nibbled a little hole in the sack and came out. He lay for three or four days on the floor of a dark place, at the end of which time he was able to raise up his head and look about him.

He found he was in a store-room, full of all sorts of good things to eat; and he began to think he had not been quite so unlucky as he at first supposed, and looked forward to many a feast. His appetite having returned, he first attacked the cheese, then he got at a box of candles, and a great many other dainties; but after a time, he grew tired

of being alone, and wished himself back with his friends; however, there he was forced to stay.

Occasionally he went into the captain's cabin, by way of having company; but it was much too dangerous to go often, and he contented himself with sitting at the mouth of a little hole, and peeping out.

The ship went and returned, and Longtail was never discovered; so he returned to Liverpool in safety, and quite surprised his old companions by appearing again among them. "We thought you were dead," said one, "for there have been some cats among us, who have taken us off sadly. You look so fat and so well, that you must have had a happy time." Longtail was made so much of, that he began to give himself airs; strutted about, whisked his tail, stroked his whiskers, and pretended he could scarcely understand English.

Some silly young mice thought Longtail very grand, and tried to do as he did, but for this they were only laughed at by the old ones; but as they did not laugh at the traveller, it was plain, if they went away, they might do just as he did. They asked their friend a great many questions, who never told them of any of the disagreeable things which he met with, but boasted of all he had seen, and the poor ignorant mice determined to get secretly into a ship and go away.

Off they started, two dozen of them; hid themselves in some hampers, and were put away, as Longtail had been, in the captain's store-room. Oh! how sorry some of them were, and wished themselves at home once more, when they got into the sea called the Irish Channel; and how they

abused Longtail for not telling them they would be sick! They recovered, however, and lived much as he had done, on the dainties around them. Some being more courageous than he, went oftener into the captain's cabin, and they came back to the others, and said they had heard where they were going. "Where?" they were asked. "To live in a castle," they replied. "That will be very nice,” was the remark; "it must be so charming to have long passages, and dark staircases, with snug places to hide in, and never be found out."

The mice arrived at the castle, got into their hampers, were carried to the land, and lodged in the governor's store-room instead of the captain's. As soon as they dared they came from their hiding-places, looked about them, and were very much surprised at finding themselves surrounded by a number of strange creatures, not looking at all as if they would like to make their acquaintance. Some had a great many legs, others a very long tail, which they raised in the air, and which had a bag and a very sharp prickle at the end;* then there was no end to large cockroaches, and great big beetles, and flies; so that the mice rather wished themselves safe back in Liverpool.

The mice got out of the store-room as fast as they could, and went to the living-rooms of the castle. It was quite different to what they expected; the place was big enough to be a castle, but there were no dark places, and the people who lived in it were almost all black, children as well, and they were very much shocked to see them half naked. The worst of all was, that they found very

* Centipedes and Scorpions.