The Lighthouse Crab

Every evening, just before the tide turns, the great crab comes ashore to borrow the lighthouse. He settles beneath its tower, barnacles glowing in the last light, and lets the keeper climb carefully between his claws to trim the wick. No one remembers when this arrangement began. The village only knows that on stormy nights, the crab faces the sea, the lantern burns brighter, and no boat ever mistakes the way home.