"But if the fish were wise, men could not catch them for food, and many poor people on your earth make their living by fishing." "It seems wicked to catch such pretty things," said the child.
"I do not think so," Merla replied laughingly, "for they were born to become food for someone, and men are not the only ones that eat fishes.

Many creatures of the sea feed upon them.

They even eat one another at times.

And if none was ever destroyed, they would soon become so numerous that they would clog the waters of the ocean and leave no room for the rest of us.

So after all, perhaps it is just as well they are thoughtless and foolish." Presently they came to some round balls that looked much like balloons in shape and were gaily colored.