New World Under the Sea
Nothing in the world can really prepare you for what lies beneath the tropical sea！
I shall never forgot my first time out. From the moment I eased into the warm water and looked though my faceplate， I saw beauty all around me. I felt like a great explorer， discovering a whole new world！
First， there was the clear blue water itself. It was a whole family of colors， really： cobalt， azure， peacock blue， sapphire turquoise.
Below me， the white sand was like a pale silken carpet. And scattered all around was the many-colored coral. Some coral clumps looked like story-book castles with hundreds of lacy towers. Others looked like treed in the winter， with bare limbs outstretched.
Best of all， there was darting， gliding， diving，d ancing life. Fish were everywhere！ Some raced about. Others moved along very slowly， leaving a crooked trail. They reminded me of a man out for a stroll in the country， looking this way and that to take in all the sights. Some fish did not move at all. They were so still they seemed frozen to the spot.
The colors were almost unbelievable. I had always known that fish in the warm seas come in many different colors， but I was hardly ready for all I saw. There were as many colors as there were sizes and shapes！
I kicked along. The sea was a lovely cushion for my body. And my mask was a window that framed the underwater world.
Suddenly something moved at the top of my window. I glanced up to see what looked like several thin， pale-green torpedoes.
"Needlefish，" I learned later from the park ranger who swam with me. They were about two feet long， with jaws like those of an alligator. Their fins were set so far back that it looked as if the fish had tried to swim right out of them.
What made all of those tracks on the bottom？
"A cowrie，" my friend told me later. I had seen cowrie shells on the beach. But this cowrie was a living creature. Creeping under its shiny tan shell， it made a single path in the sand.
I spotted another path. This one looked as if had been made by a pincushion that had been rolled along. At the end of the path， I saw what looked like a bunch of purple knitting needles： a spiny sea urchin. It moved along stiffly， using its bottom spikes as legs. I kept a safe distance away. If those spines jab you， they will break off in your flesh！ Sea urchins remind you that you must treat with respect the creatures in this world that is not your own.
I saw below me a shape so still I could hardly make it out. It looked like a foot-long hot dog. And it had fins at the tail like the feathers on an arrow. This was a trumpet fish. Only its bright， round eyes were moving. Was it hoping to be mistaken for an underwater plant？
As I held my breath and swam down for a closer look two shadows on the sand suddenly leaped to life. One turned out to be a smooth purple ray. Its flat diamond shape sailed away as smoothly as a magic carpet. The other was a large flouder. It had been partly coverd with sand to hide from its enemies. But now it shot away going in the opposite direction.
Just then the big coral reef came into full view. It looked like an undersea island of hidden caves and tangled forests.
Swimming among the coral were damsefish. These squrecut little fish have sides as flat as a pumpkin seed that let them hide in narrow cracks.
A school of sergeant majors swam by me. How smart they looked in their white uniforms with bright yellow and black bars down their sides！
A single beau gregory looked as if it had been dipped into different pots of Easter-egg dye. Its bottom half was bright blue.
A jewel fish nearby was dotted every half inch with a blue dot. The dots looked just like snappires on black velvet.
Then there were parrot fish with thick bodies and thick tails. Wild with colors， they come in red， blue and many shades of green. They may be spotted， striped or streaked. And their tails and fins are of yet another color.
As I watched， it came to me that fish have personalities Damsefish are fighters. A four inch fish will chase one four times its length. I watched a beau gregory try to drive away my ranger friend by butting his faceplate.
Once I had seen the reefs， I was simply fascinated by the fish swimming among the coral.
Each day brought sth new to look at.
I learned that many kinds of fish have interesting habits. The long， thin filefish eats standing on its head！ Wrasses often bury themselves in the sand at night to sleep. Many kinds of parrot fish sleep inside a mucous balloon that may take them half an hour to blow up at night. They may spend another half hour geeting out of it in the morning.
The Silent World is often quite noisy. Certain fish chatter. Others grind their teeth. Still others make a noisse with their swim bladders.
Each fish seems to be suited for its way of life. Because of their coloring， needlefish and spadefish can hide among underwater plants. And the Nassau grouper has eight different changes of dress to fool the shark as well as its own victims.
Color is not always for protection. Some fish use it to show their feelings. I saw a surgeon fish chasing another that was bothering him. When he grew angry， his front half turned pale and his back half， dark.
Some fish turn pale with fear. I saw a bright yellow fish thickly covered with black dots. It swam into a clump of coral. Something must have frightened it there. When it came out， its head was almost black and its belly was cream-colored.
As I paddled around， the sea often seemed filled with great schools of tiny fish. These are the fry， the babies of every kind. Fry are always on the move because they are forever being hunted.
One day as I dipped into the water， mask on， I found myself among a school of feeling fry. They swam around me like flakes of snow on the wind. I wondered what had frightened them. Then I saw two mackerel about a foot and a half long. They were swimming up and down， waiting to take the first bite when they were ready.
Not all little things in the sea feel hunted. One day a school of baby yellow jacks swam by my side. They cheerfully tried to keep up with me. Each time I dived， they would dip with me， and whenever I rose or turned， they peered through my faceplate with big eyes black as buttons. I put my hand under one. It did not seem to mind. And when at last I climbed out of the water， I felt sad to see them swim away！
Fish live in a world that， having seen， I can't forget. I shall return to it often. Through my faceplate I'll keep on looking - and marveling - at the many wonders under the sea.
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