Living in a cup

An animal like a tiny flower floats down through the water of the sea.
It fastens itself to the sandy bottom. It takes minerals out of the
water and builds a tiny stone cup around itself.

After a while the little animal buds, just as a flower does. The bud
grows and becomes another flower animal. The new animal builds a stone
cup around itself. Then the new animal buds, too.

After many years, there is a big pile of the tiny stone cups, all stuck
together. Inside each cup is one of the little flowerlike animals.
During the day, each little animal hides inside its cup. At night, each
animal stretches

Thousands of tiny animals that look like little flowers live in this
lacy-looking coral.
Lace Coral

its body and holds out arms that look like flower petals. The arms catch
tiny animals that swim near.

The stone cups stuck together are called coral. When a little flowerlike
animal is inside each cup the coral looks like a field of flowers. The
little animals are colored, so the coral may be red, pink, orange, blue,
green, or purple. And different kinds of flowerlike animals put their
cups together in different ways. The coral may be shaped like a bush, a
fan, a round ball, or a bunch of lace.

Live coral is beautiful to see. It makes the world of the sea look like
a fairyland.