1.“Look at this Christmas present，”said Kate to me，as she held up a pretty seal-skin coat which her uncle had sent her.“Is it not perfectly lovely？”
I admired the handsome garment，while Kate went on：“I should so like to see the seals，with their pretty，soft furry coats.”
2.“Have you ever heard of the magic carpet whichthe Arabianlegendstell of ？”I asked.“When one tookhis seat on this carpet，and wished to be in any distant place，the carpet immediately rose into the air，and in a moment carried him there.Suppose we imagine your coat to be a magic carpet，and let it carry us，or at least our thoughts，to the far-off home of the fur-seal.”
“Yes，let us go at once，”cried Kate.
3.“Nay，if we go at once，not a seal shall we be-hold.They are far out at sea just now，and we need not expect them to come to land before May.But let us make a new use of the magic carpet：if it can carry our thoughts to a distant place，why not to a distant time as well？”
“The one seems as easy as the other，”she replied.
4.“Very well，then.It is now May，about the 20th，let us say，and we are already at the other side of theworld.This is the Behring Sea，which tumbles its cold，grey billows on the shore；and the island on which we stand is St.Paul‘s Island，one of a small group called the Pribylov Islands.
5.”It is cool and misty；but there are few warm orclear days in this quarter，even in summer.On therocks we can see a few large seals，seven feet long every one of them；we recognize them at once by the pictures of seals that we have seen.The nearest one shows no fear of us，and we need not fear him.He walks up the beach，lies or sits down and fans himself in a comical way with his hind flippers.He is very fat，and it is well for him that he is so.When he has his family gathered round him on that rock，he will stay there to defend them from all comers for the next three or four months，and during that time he will neither eat nor drink.
6.“Soon the mother seals arrive，and come on shore to nurse their little ones；for，curiously enough，the baby seals cannot swim when they are born.As they grow older，they begin to roll about the shore，and arevery frolicsome.When about three months old，theybegin to venture into the water；but at first they soon scramble out again，sputtering and spitting and crying as loud as they can.In a few days they learn to swim and dive perfectly.”
7.“But the fur，”cried Kate.“Are all these seals dressed in soft brown fur like this？”
“No，not one of them.The old chiefs have a coat of coarse grey hair，and the females have a more silkycoat，no doubt；but still it is hair，not fur.But now，in obedience to your wish，our magic carpet carries us onwards to see the fur.We have left the crowded ’rookeries，‘or nursing homes，and at some distance along the shore we see thousands of other seals.
8.”They are young male seals-’bachelors‘，the hunters call them-from two to six years old.They seem to enjoy life，and roll and tumble about like so many kittens.When they get older，they will take up their residence on the rookeries，and gather a family group round them like the old warriors we have left there.
9.“Now it is near the end of June，and the seal-hunters have arrived.They are mostly Indians，natives of the islands.They approach a swarm of those bachelor seals，and surround and drive inland a flock of two or three hundred，as if they were sheep.Then an experienced hunter goes round and points out any sealthat is not to be killed，because he is too young，or too old，or is shedding his coat.
10.”At last we reach the fur.The seals have been killed，and their skins have been sprinkled with salt and sent on to London.Now each skin is stretched on a frame，and the inside is scraped until it becomes thin and soft.Next it is heated，and then all the coarse hairs are easily combed out，and the soft silky fur whichremains is dyed a rich brown colour，as you see it in the coat which you admire so much.
11.“The seal has really two coats-long hair out-side，and soft，short fur growing among it，just as the soft down of the duck grows below its feathers.The long hairs have deeper roots than the fur，and when the skin is pared thin，these roots are cut away from the inside，and the hairs come out easily，leaving the furfirmly fixed in the outer skin.
12.”All the skins are taken from the young or ’bachelor‘seals，and the rookeries are carefully pre-served，so as to keep up the supply of seals year after year.The American Government，to whom these islands now belong，is very careful to prevent the killing of too many seals.
“But now it is tea-time；let us wish ourselves back again.Our magic carpet has proved its power once more，for here we are back at Christmas and home again.”
