death by the fury
of the storm?

Do you suppose there is a terrible roar of wind and wave that bangs us
against each other at such times, and makes of the under-sea a raging
bedlam?

Oh, by no means! There is nothing of the kind down in what Folks call
"the lower ocean." It is calm and quiet as the surface of a pond on a
pleasant summer day.

And yet, if you wonder how I first learned about the lashing and the
thrashing of the waves above our heads when there is a storm, let me
tell about the time when I was a naughty, wilful fish, bound to have my
own way and do just as I pleased. It was when I was quite young, yet
pretty well grown. And this makes me wonder if growing little men-Folks
and women-Folks ever are determined to have their own way, no matter
what the mother may say.

I have an idea it is what is called the "smart age," when the young,
whether fish, flesh, or fowl, start up all at once, and think they know
more than--"than all the ancients." I heard that expression used once,
and it seemed somehow to fit in here.

Well, I was a young, big fellow, when one day I felt the will strong
within me to take leaps toward the upper sea. Now, I have already said
that my mother took the best and most watchful care of me when I was a
chicken-fish. So when she saw how restless and venturesome I appeared
that day, she tried her best, poor dear, to turn me from my purpose.

For she was older and wise, and could tell by certain signs when the
upper currents were seething and boiling. So when I darted upwards with
a strong swirl that cut the waters apart for my passage, she thrust
herself farther ahead, trying to drive me back, and said plainly by her
actions:

"Don't go aloft, my son, you will rush into danger; heed the warnings of
your mother and stay where the waters are untroubled and safe."

No, I was getting to be a smart man-fish, and must be allowed to go
where I would.

Very well, I went. Upward and upward I dove, until, oh, distress! I was
caught by the turmoil and confusion of a great storm. I had gone too far
because of knowing far less than I thought I did.

Do you ask why I did not immediately dive downwards again? Alas, I
couldn't! I had raised myself into the storm circle, and big creature
that I was, I had need to learn that there were mighty forces of the sea
that made all my strength as a mere wisp of straw when placed against
them.

Do not Folks, I wonder, sometimes find it much easier to ge