The facts of the natural history are mingled with the fancies of the
author's brain in the most natural manner. The description of the
house-building of the caddis larvae (page 262) is accurate enough for a
scientist, who might, however, be shocked by the whimsical notion of the
rivalry told in the last sentence of the paragraph. The otters behave
like otters, the salmon like salmon, the lobster like the lobster he is.
The dragon "splits" at the call of nature, the ephemerae dance in the
sunlight, and game-keepers kill poachers in real life as in the story.
The great auk is extinct and the right whale is still hunted, but
Peace-pool is as fancifully portrayed as is the creation of world-pap.
It appears that as Kingsley proceeded with his story he let his
imagination play more freely and drew farther away from facts as his
fancies came plentifully. So the story furnishes food for thought by old
and young, and parts of it can be understood only by those who have had
considerable study and experience.

III. _Fun and Humor._ A more entertaining story is hard to find. There
are many amusing situations and funny doings, besides which, Kingsley's
style of writing abounds in a rich humor that is not always evident to
the hasty and careless reader. Not a little of the humor is ironical and
sometimes we are inclined to think that the writer may be having a
little quiet fun at the expense of his readers.

Children are inclined to read _Tom, the Water Baby_ as they do many
another tale, for the story only. They want to know what happens to Tom,
whether or no Grimes is punished, what becomes of Ellie, and how it "all
comes out." But when attention is called to the fun in the tale children
will read it more than once, for they like to laugh even better than
their elders, and curiosity prompts them to watch to "see the joke."

The humorous twist to things begins in the second sentence of the story
and it does not disappear permanently till the very last sentence of the
_Moral_. See how it shows in these few extracts: "His master was so
delighted at his new customer that he knocked Tom down out of hand"
(page 219).

After Tom's pathetic discovery of his own dirtiness (page 232), comes
this: "With a noise as of ten thousand tin kettles tied to ten thousand
mad dogs' tails." Humor and pathos are both strengthened by the violent
contrast.

On page 232 begins the long humorous paragraph descriptive of the chase
after Tom.

"The birc