Being a hermit is terribly lonesome. Actually, I'm not really a hermit, I'm a hermit crab. I don't know how we got our name, for I live with my siblings. We made our home by the brink of the sea where sunlight dapples the water and coral rise in groups of vibrant colors. When I was first born, I had a shell of shiny black, as black as the midnight sky- or as black as I imagined it to be. This I stayed in for as many years as I could remember, and the days were getting more and more uncomfortable. Until one night I woke up. The shell felt more cramped and uncomfortable than ever. Today I decided I would find a new shell. At the crack of dawn I escaped from our nook by the seaside. After I had wandered far from my home, there seemed to be not as much light, and a few times I considered turning back. I didn't know where I was going, what I would find, and where I would stop, but still I continued on. Suddenly, from out of the thickening shadows a blowfish emerged. It puffed and grew and boy was it scary!! (Also very ugly with all those spikes!) I began to run, faster and faster when I suddenly realized my mistake. I sat on the gravel and curled up inside my too-tight shell until the fish had gone away. I continued on, but there were still no shells in sight. It was nearing lunchtime and I began to get hungry. I scavenged at the ocean floor for something to eat. After scanning the ground, I came upon a rotten sardine and ate ravenously. And then, from out of the corner of my eye, I saw the shell. The perfect shell! I ran headlong towards it, bombarding through loose pebbles and rocks, and even a few mussels. But unfortunately when I got there, there was someone else there too. It was another male, like me, standing triumphantly over the shell. I snapped at him with my claws, and he did the same. Pretty soon, we got into a claw fight. After a while I defeated him, or won the shell. The crab got nervous and darted away, leaving behind his claw in my claw. The shell was mine! I took it behind a rock. Was the coast clear? Pretty soon, I came out a new crab. I'll bet I looked absolutely charming!