1.Old Crusty the crab was out for his morning walk in Brodick Bay.He was not high and dry on the shore,where the tide sometimes carried him and left him.He never felt quite at ease when he was out of the water.
2.He was afraid that he might be trodden upon by some careless person in sand-shoes,and crushed at once out of the shape of a crab;or that he might be caught in a little net and carried off by a small boy,and teased out of his life.So,ever since Crusty had grown up,he had kept away from the shore,and spent most of his time under water.
3.This morning,although he was running about on the smooth,soft sand,there was no danger of his being crushed to death,or turned into a little boy's plaything;for there were many feet of clear water over his head,and Crusty felt that he was perfectly safe.
4.The old crab had hitherto escaped the fisher-men's nets;and he had very little fear of his finny companions-except,indeed,when he was changing his coat,and then he hid himself very carefully-for what fish would care to swallow a creature that wears his bones on the outside,and that can grip as tightly as a pair of pincers,and hold on for a wholes day at a time?
5.So Crusty did pretty much as he liked,and he thought nobody would dare to touch him.He did not know that there are more ways of catching a crab than one,or that pride and bad temper may get even a crab into hot water.
6.Crusty was very well pleased with himself and his appearance this morning,for his new shell was most convenient and comfortable.He was quite sure that he was a very important person indeed.He had greeted several of his smaller neighbours with a lofty"good-morning,"when suddenly,to his great surprise,he felt something give him a poke in the ribs.
7.Now,as Crusty's ribs were all in a solid mass,and his flesh safe inside of them,he was not in the least hurt,but he was very angry;for though he lived in cold water,he had a hot temper,and he had never learned to curbit.So he turned round in a great hurry to revenge himself,and punish the bold intruder him in this way.
8.Crusty's eyes were not very sharp,and he did not stop a minute to find out what it was that had pushed him so rudely.But he caught sight of something ,and at once took hold of it in his great,strong claws,and pinched it as hard as he could.
9.Crusty felt the something draw back as he took hold of it,and he thought it was most likely trying to escape from his clutches."Serves him right,"thought the old crab;"I'll teach him not to insult again."
10.So,as he was in a very bad temper,he pinched harder than ever,and would not let go.Then he felt the something running away rather fast;but he didn't care about that.He would punish it well before he let it go.
11.Away went Crusty and his enemy through the water;but in a minute the old crab gave a great gasp ,and found himself,to his great surprise,right out of the water,in the open sunshine and fresh air.Then he got a fling which made him feel quite giddy,and came down upon something nearly as hard as himself.
12.Alas,poor Crusty !he was in the bottom of a fisherman's boat.His hasty temper had cost him his life.That something which had made him so angry was the end of a long pole,which a sly fisherman had poked at him to make him angry;for the fisherman knew that if the crab was angry enough,he would hold on to the pole until he was lifted right out of the water.
13.If the silly crab had been patient and good-tempered,he would have saved his life and his shell.If he had taken no notice of the poke in his ribs,he would still have been safe down below the water;but it was too late to think of that now.But if he had had a little parting advice to give to any one before he was boiled,it would surely have been this,"Keep your temper."