They carry a large net--a shrimp-trawl, it is called--which is drawn
over the sandy home of the Shrimp. When the trawl is hauled up it may
contain not only Shrimps, but the other dwellers in sandy places. Among
these, sad to say, is often a mass of baby Plaice and other flat fish.
Tiny little fellows they are, some hardly as large as a postage stamp.
They are thrown aside, being of no use to the fisherman.

Now these babies are quite flat, darkish on the upper side, white on the
other side, like the Plaice you see in the shop. They are not such new
babies after all. Though such wee mites, it is more than six weeks since
they left the egg; and, in that time, they have passed through wonderful
changes, as you will see.

Plaice lay a great many eggs, which float about in the sea. Most are
gobbled up by those sea-creatures--and they are many--who love fish-eggs
for dinner. From each remaining egg a baby Plaice escapes. At first it
floats upside down at the surface of the sea, and eats nothing at all.
Then it rights itself, and begins to swallow the tiny creatures which
swarm in sea-water.

Strange to tell, this baby Plaice is not a bit like its mother. It is
not a flat fish now, but a "round" fish. It has one eye on each side of
its head, and you would expect it to grow up like any other round fish.

For about a month this small, transparent youngster hardly alters. Then
it grows deeper in the body, and begins to swim near the bottom of the
sea. At last it lies on one side, and its life as a "round" fish is
over.

A fish lying thus on its side would have one eye buried in the sand, and