As for Tiger himself, he seemed heartily ashamed of the part he had played, and could hardly be persuaded to leave the chimney-corner for a moment, or even to look up, when the children inquired for his health.
"I don't see what good air-holes do.

I wonder if anybody knows what they are for," exclaimed Ralph, as the children and their mother were seated around the sitting-room table in the evening.
"They are traps set to catch skaters, I suppose," said Oscar.
"And dogs," added Ella.
"But don't you know what they are for, Alice ?" continued Ralph.
"Yes," replied Alice, who had studied natural philosophy at school, "they are the breathing holes of the fishes.

Fishes can't live without air, any better than we can; and a pond or river frozen over solid, without any air-holes, would be as bad for them as a room from which all fresh air was shut out would be to us.

You can sometimes catch fish very easily by cutting a hole in the ice, for if they feel the need of air, they will rush right up to the opening." "But how are the air-holes made ?" inquired Ralph.
"I believe," replied Alice, "that they are generally made by springs that bubble up from the bottom.

These springs come from the earth, and the water is so warm that it gradually thaws the ice over them.