The hermit crab froze. His ivory and orange striped pincers suspended mid-step in the air, as he looked at the crow in front of him.

The crow continued poking at the bush in front of her, trying to see if there was a dead branch it could use for her nest. Then she went back to poking at the broken branch she had dug out of the dead creamy corals that had piled up along one side of the beach.

When the crow finally flew away, the hermit crab continued on his way along the white sand, his perfectly shaped pearl-white moon eye shell rising up as he extended his orange striped pincers and legs to their full height. His protruding eyes looked straight ahead, as his feelers poked the air in front and felt the ground for any possible dangers.

A dark rock protruded from the sand, but the hermit crab expertly grabbed the rock with his pincers and raised his body and shell off the ground to quickly climb it.

Continuing on his way along the sand, he saw his neighbour walking towards him. “Good morning, Mr. Conch Shell,” he greeted his neighbour.

His pincers drew around the tall, beautiful but spiny peach and ivory conch shell of his neighbour in a cursory hug, their multiple legs entangling in the standard form of crab greeting. A human could think of it as a hug and hand shake combined, except with multiple hands. “Beautiful day today, isn’t it?”

“Indeed! The sea breeze is especially refreshing today,” Mr. Conch Shell replied in his booming voice.

“Well, I best be on my way. Lots of crab business to take care of today,” the hermit crab said.

“Yes, indeed! The same here. Well, then, best of luck with your crab business.” Mr. Conch Shell waved goodbye with a pincer, moving on his way.

The hermit crab continued his journey.

He froze, as a large grey crab came running across the sand. The grey crab halted for a moment, directly between the hermit crab and Mr. Conch shell. Standing tall on its back legs, the grey crab towered over the two hermit crabs, a giant to them. His protruding eyes, raised high above his head and body, glanced down at the lowly hermit crabs before it. His large grey-green shell glistened in the sun, as his front pincers and legs stayed suspended in the air.

“What do we do? What do we do?” whispered Mr. Conch Shell loudly from the other side of the grey crab.

“Just stay quiet,” hushed the hermit crab. He looked up to see the grey crab looking intently at him. “Umm, Mr. Giant Grey Crab… How about not eating us today?” he ventured, giving up all caution.

“Yes, our esteemed Mr. Giant Grey Crab. We have not had our breakfast yet, so you will not find us very nutritious today,” Mr. Conch Shell added.

The giant grey crab continued to look silently down at the two hermit crabs, as they squirmed uncomfortably under the intent gaze.

“Ahh, what the heck! You’re safe today. I have some important crab business to take care of right now,” said the grey crab.

And then he sprinted away to whatever his important crab business was.