mother asleep by the window. Her knitting was in her lap and the cat
lay curled up beside her chair. It was all so natural that Trot thought
she could hear the clock over the fireplace tick. After a moment the
scene faded away, when the queen asked with another smile: "Are you
satisfied?"
"Oh, yes!" cried Trot. "But how could you do it?"
"It is a form of mirage," was the reply. "We are able to bring any
earth scene before us whenever we wish. Sometimes these scenes are
reflected above the water, so that mortals also observe them."
"I've seen 'em," said Cap'n Bill, nodding. "I've seen mirages; but I
never knowed what caused 'em, afore now."
"Whenever you see anything you do not understand, and wish to ask
questions, I will be very glad to answer them," said the Queen.
"One thing that bothers me," said Trot, "is why we don't get wet, being
in the ocean with water all around us."
"That is because no water really touches you," explained the Queen.
"Your bodies have been made just like those of the mermaids, in
order that you may fully enjoy your visit to us. One of our peculiar
qualities is that water is never permitted to quite touch our bodies,
or our gowns. Always there remains a very small space, hardly a hair's
breadth between us and the water, which is the reason we are always
warm and dry."
[Illustration]
"I see," said Trot. "That's why you don't get soggy, or withered."
"Exactly," laughed the Queen, and the other mermaids joined in her
merriment.
"I s'pose that's how we can breathe without gills," remarked Cap'n
Bill, thoughtfully.
"Yes; the air space is constantly replenished from the water, which
contains air, and this enables us to breathe as freely as you do upon
the earth."
"But we have fins," said Trot, looking at the fin that stood upright on
Cap'n Bill's back.
"Yes; they allow us to guide ourselves as we swim, and so are very
useful," replied the Queen.
"They make us more finished," said Cap'n Bill, with a chuckle. Then,
suddenly becoming grave, he asked: "How 'bout my rheumatics, ma'am?
Ain't I likely to get stiffened up with all this dampness?"
"No, indeed," Aquareine answered; "there is no such thing as rheumatism
in all our dominions. I promise no evil result shall follow this visit
to us, so please be as happy and contented as possible."
[Illustration]
[Illustration: _Chap 5._
THE SEA SERPENT]
Just then Trot happened to look up at the glass roof and saw a
startling sight. A big head, with a face surrounded by stubby gray
whiskers, was poised just over them, and the head was connected with a
long, curved body that looked much like a sewer pipe.
"Oh, there is King Anko," said the Queen, following the child's gaze.
"Open a door and let him in, Clia, for I suppose our old friend is
anxious to see the earth people."
"Won't he hurt us?" asked the little girl, with a shiver of fear.
"Who, Anko? Oh, no, my dear! We are very fond of the sea serpent, who
is king of this ocean, although he does not rule the mermaids. Old Anko
is a very agreeable fellow, as you will soon discover."
"Can he talk?" asked Trot.
"Yes, indeed."
"And can we understand what he says?"
"Perfectly," replied the Queen. "I have given you power, while you
remain here, to understand the language of every inhabitant of the sea."
"That's nice," said Trot, gratefully.
The Princess Clia swam slowly to one of the walls of the throne room
where, at a wave of her hand, a round hole appeared in the coral. The
sea serpent at once observed this opening and the head left the roof
of glass only to reappear presently at the round hole. Through this he
slowly crawled, until his head was just beneath the throne of Queen
Aquareine, who said to him:
"Good morning, your Majesty. I hope you are quite well?"
"Quite well, thank your Majesty," answered Anko; and then he turned to
the strangers. "I suppose these are the earth folks you were expecting?"
"Yes," returned the Queen; "the girl is named Mayre, and the man Cap'n
Bill."
While the sea serpent looked at the visitors they ventured to look
at him. He certainly was a queer creature, yet Trot decided he was
not at all frightful. His head was round as a ball, but his ears were
sharp pointed and had tassels at the ends of them. His nose was flat
and his mouth very wide indeed, but his eyes were blue and gentle in
expression. The white, stubby hairs that surrounded his face were not
thick, like a beard, but scattered and scraggly. From the head, the
long brown body of the sea serpent extended to the hole in the coral
wall, which was just big enough to admit it, and how much more of the
body remained outside the child could not tell. On the back of the body
were several fins, which made the creature look more like an eel than a
serpent.
"The girl is young and the man is old," said King Anko, in a soft
voice. "But I'm quite sure Cap'n Bill isn't as old as I am."
"How old are you?" asked the sailor.
"I can't say, exactly. I can remember several thousands of years back,
but beyond that my memory fails me. How's your memory, Cap'n Bill?"
"You've got me beat," was the reply. "I'll give in that you're older
than I am."
This seemed to please the sea serpent.
"Are you well?" he asked.
"Pretty fair," said Cap'n Bill. "How's yourself?"
"Oh, I'm very well, thank you," answered Anko. "I never remember to
have had a pain but three times in my life. The last time was when
Julius Sneezer was on earth."
"You mean Julius Cæsar," said Trot, correcting him.
"No; I mean Julius Sneezer," insisted the Sea Serpent. "That was his
real name--Sneezer. They called him Cæsar sometimes, just because he
took everything he could lay hands on. I ought to know, because I saw
him when he was alive. Did you see him when he was alive, Cap'n Bill?"
"I reckon not," admitted the sailor.
"That time I had a toothache," continued Anko; "but I got a lobster to
pull the tooth with his claw, so the pain was soon over."
"Did it hurt to pull it?" asked Trot.
"Hurt!" exclaimed the Sea Serpent, groaning at the recollection. "My
dear, those creatures have been called lobsters ever since! The second
pain I had way back in the time of Nevercouldnever."
"Oh, I s'pose you mean Nebuchadnezzar," said Trot.
"Do you call him that, now?" asked the Sea Serpent, as if surprised.
"He used to be called Nevercouldnever when he was alive, but this
new way of spelling seems to get everything mixed up. Nebuchadnezzar
doesn't mean anything at all, it seems to me."
"It means he ate grass," said the child.
"Oh, no; he didn't," declared the Sea Serpent. "He was the first to
discover that lettuce was good to eat, and he became very fond of it.
The people may have called it grass, but they were wrong. I ought to
know, because I was alive when Nevercouldnever lived. Were you alive,
then?"
"No," said Trot.
"The pain I had then," remarked Anko, "was caused by a kink in my tail,
about three hundred feet from the end. There was an old octopus who did
not like me, and so he tied a knot in my tail when I wasn't looking."
"What did you do?" asked Cap'n Bill.
"Well, first I transformed the octopus into a jelly fish, and then I
waited for the tide to turn. When my tail was untied the pain stopped."
"I--I don't understand that," said Trot, somewhat bewildered.
"Thank you, my dear," replied the Sea Serpent, in a grateful voice.
"People who are always understood are very common. You are sure to
respect those you can't understand, for you feel that perhaps they know
more than you do."
"About how long do you happen to be?" inquired Cap'n Bill.
"When last measured, I was seven thousand four hundred and eighty-two
feet, five inches and a quarter. I'm not sure about the quarter, but
the rest is probably correct. Adam measured me when Cain was a baby."
"Where's the rest of you, then?" asked Trot.
"Safe at home, I hope, and coiled up in my parlor," answered the Sea
Serpent. "When I go out I usually take along only what is needed. It
saves a lot of bother and I can always find my way back in the darkest
night, by just coiling up the part that has been away."
"Do you like to be a sea serpent?" inquired the child.
[Illustration]
"Yes, for I'm King of my Ocean, and there is no other sea serpent to
imagine he is just as good as I am. I have two brothers who live in
other oceans, but one is seven inches shorter than I am, and the other
several feet shorter. It's curious to talk about feet when we haven't
any feet, isn't it?"
"Seems so," acknowledged Trot.
"I feel I have much to be proud of," continued Anko, in a dreamy tone;
"my great age, my undisputed sway, and my exceptional length."
"I don't b'lieve I'd care to live so long," remarked Cap'n Bill,
thoughtfully.
"So long as seven thousand four hundred and eighty-two feet, five
inches and a quarter?" asked the Sea Serpent.
"No; I mean so many years," replied the sailor.
"But what can one do, if one happens to be a sea serpent?" Anko
inquired. "There is nothing in the sea that can hurt me, and I cannot
commit suicide because we have no carbolic acid, or firearms, or gas to
turn on. So it isn't a matter of choice, and I'd about as soon be alive
as dead. It does not seem quite so monotonous, you know. But I guess
I've stayed about long enough; so I'll go home to dinner. Come and see
me, when you have time."
"Thank you," said Trot; and Merla added:
"I'll take you over to his majesty's palace when we go out, and let you
see how he lives."
"Yes, do," said Anko; and then he slowly slid out of the hole, which
immediately closed behind him, leaving the coral wall as solid as
before.
"Oh!" exclaimed Trot; "King Anko forgot to tell us what the third pain
was about."
"So he did," said Cap'n Bill. "We must ask him about that, when we
see him. But I guess the ol' boy's mem'ry is failin', an' he can't be
depended on for pertic'lars."
[Illustration: _Chap. 6._
EXPLORING THE OCEAN]
The queen now requested her guests to recline upon couches, that they
might rest themselves from their long swim and talk more at their ease.
So the girl and the sailor allowed themselves to float downward until
they rested their bodies on two of the couches nearest the throne,
which were willingly vacated for them by the mermaids who had occupied
them until then.
The visitors soon found themselves answering a great many questions
about their life on the earth, for, although the queen had said she
kept track of what was going on on the land, there were many details of
human life in which all the mermaids seemed greatly interested.
During the conversation several sea-maids came swimming into the room,
bearing trays of sea apples and other fruit, which they first offered
to the queen and then passed the refreshments around to the company
assembled. Trot and Cap'n Bill each took some, and the little girl
found the fruits delicious to eat, as they had a richer flavor than
any that grew upon land. Queen Aquareine was much pleased when the old
sailor asked for more, but Merla warned him dinner would soon be served
and he must take care not to spoil his appetite for that meal.
"Our dinner is at noon, for we have to cook in the middle of the day,
when the sun is shining," she said.
"Cook!" cried Trot; "why, you can't build a fire in the water, can you?"
"We have no need of fires," was the reply. "The glass roof of our
kitchen is so curved that it concentrates the heat of the sun's rays,
which are then hot enough to cook anything we wish."
"But how do you get along if the day is cloudy, and the sun doesn't
shine?" inquired the little girl.
"Then we use the hot springs that bubble up in another part of the
palace," Merla answered. "But the sun is the best to cook by."
So, it was no surprise to Trot when, about noon, dinner was announced
and all the mermaids, headed by their queen and their guests, swam into
another spacious room where a great, long table was laid. The dishes
were of polished gold and dainty cut glass, and the cloth and napkins
of fine gossamer. Around the table were ranged rows of couches for the
mermaids to recline upon as they ate. Only the nobility and favorites
of Queen Aquareine were invited to partake of this repast, for Clia
explained that tables were set for the other mermaids in different
parts of the numerous palaces.
[Illustration]
Trot wondered who would serve the meal, but her curiosity was soon
satisfied when several large lobsters came sliding into the room,
backward, bearing in their claws trays loaded with food. Each of these
lobsters had a golden band around its neck to show it was the slave of
the mermaids.
These curious waiters were fussy creatures and Trot found much
amusement in watching their odd motions. They were so spry and
excitable that, at times, they ran against one another and upset the
platters of food, after which they began to scold and argue as to whose
fault it was, until one of the mermaids quietly rebuked them and asked
them to be more quiet and more careful.
The queen's guests had no cause to complain of the dinner provided.
First the lobsters served bowls of turtle soup, which proved hot and
deliciously flavored. Then came salmon steaks fried in fish oil, with
a fungus bread that tasted much like field mushrooms. Oysters, clams,
soft-shell crabs and various preparations of sea foods followed. The
salad was a delicate leaf from some seaweed that Trot thought was
much nicer than lettuce. Several courses were served and the lobsters
changed the plates with each course, chattering and scolding as they
worked, and as Trot said, "doing everything backwards" in their
nervous, fussy way.
Many of the things offered them to eat were unknown to the visitors,
and the child was suspicious of some of them; but Cap'n Bill asked no
questions and ate everything offered him, so Trot decided to follow
his example. Certain it is they found the meal very satisfying, and
evidently there was no danger of their being hungry while they remained
the guests of the mermaids. When the fruits came, Trot thought that
must be the last course of the big dinner, but, following the fruits
were ice creams frozen into the shapes of flowers.
"How funny," said the child, "to be eating ice cream at the bottom of
the sea!"
"Why does that surprise you?" inquired the Queen.
"I can't see where you get the ice to freeze it," Trot replied.
"It is brought to us from the icebergs that float in the northern parts
of the ocean," explained Merla.
"O' course, Trot; you orter thought o' that; I did," said Cap'n Bill.
The little girl was glad there was no more to eat, for she was ashamed
to feel she had eaten every morsel she could. Her only excuse for being
so greedy was that "ev'rything tasted just splendid!" as she told the
queen.
"And now," said Aquareine, "I will send you out for a swim with Merla,
who will show you some of the curious sights of our sea. You need
not go far this afternoon, and when you return we will have another
interesting talk together."
So the blonde mermaid led Trot and Cap'n Bill outside the palace walls,
where they found themselves in the pretty flower gardens.
"I'd feel all right, mate, if I could have a smoke," remarked the old
sailor to the child; "but that's a thing as can't be did here in the
water."
"Why not?" asked Merla, who overheard him.
"A pipe has to be lighted, an' a match wouldn't burn," he replied.
"Try it," suggested the mermaid. "I do not mind your smoking at all, if
it will give you pleasure."
"It's a bad habit I've got, an' I'm too old to break myself of it,"
said Cap'n Bill. Then he felt in the big pockets of his coat and took
out a pipe and a bag of tobacco. After he had carefully filled his
pipe, rejoicing in the fact that the tobacco was not at all wet, he
took out his match box and struck a light. The match burned brightly
and soon the sailor was puffing the smoke from his pipe in great
contentment. The smoke ascended through the water in the shape of
bubbles and Trot wondered what anyone who happened to be floating upon
the surface of the ocean would think to see smoke coming from the water.
"Well, I find I can smoke, all right," remarked Cap'n Bill; "but it
bothers me to understand why."
"It is because of the air space existing between the water and
everything you have about you," explained Merla. "But now, if you will
come this way, I will take you to visit some of our neighbors."
[Illustration]
They passed over the carpet of sea flowers, the gorgeous blossoms
swaying on their stems as the motion of the people in the water above
them disturbed their repose, and presently the three entered the dense
shrubbery surrounding the palaces. They had not proceeded far when they
came to a clearing among the bushes, and here Merla paused.
Trot and Cap'n Bill paused, too, for floating in the clear water was a
group of beautiful shapes that the child thought looked like molds of
wine jelly. They were round as a dinner plate, soft and transparent,
but tinted in such lovely hues that no artist's brush has ever been
able to imitate them. Some were deep sapphire blue; others rose pink;
still others a delicate topaz color. They seemed to have neither heads,
eyes nor ears, yet it was easy to see they were alive and able to float
in any direction they wished to go. In shape they resembled inverted
flowerpots, with the upper edges fluted, and from the centers floated
what seemed to be bouquets of flowers.
"How pretty!" exclaimed Trot, enraptured by the sight.
"Yes; this is a rare variety of jellyfish," replied Merla. "The
creatures are not so delicate as they appear, and live for a long
time--unless they get too near the surface and the waves wash them
ashore."
After watching the jellyfish a few moments they followed Merla through
the grove and soon a low chant, like that of an Indian song, fell upon
their ears. It was a chorus of many small voices, and grew louder
as they swam on. Presently a big rock rose suddenly before them from
the bottom of the sea, rearing its steep side far up into the water
overhead, and this rock was thickly covered with tiny shells that clung
fast to its surface. The chorus they heard appeared to come from these
shells, and Merla said to her companions:
"These are the singing barnacles. They are really very amusing, and if
you listen carefully you can hear what they say."
So Trot and Cap'n Bill listened, and this was what the barnacles sang:
"_We went to topsy-turvy land to see a man-o'-war,
And we were much attached to it, because we simply were;
We found an anchor-ite within the mud upon the lea
For the ghost of Jonah's whale he ran away and went to sea.
Oh, it was awful!
It was unlawful!
We rallied round the flag in sev'ral millions;
They couldn't shake us;
They had to take us;
So the halibut and cod they danced cotillions._"
"What does it all mean?" asked Trot.
"I suppose they refer to the way barnacles have of clinging to ships,"
replied Merla; "but usually their songs mean nothing at all. The little
barnacles haven't many brains, so we usually find their songs quite
stupid."
"Do they write comic operas?" asked the child.
"I think not," answered the mermaid.
"They seem to like the songs themselves," remarked Cap'n Bill.
"Oh, yes; they sing all day long. But it never matters to them whether
their songs mean anything or not. Let us go in this direction and visit
some other sea people."
So they swam away from the barnacle-covered rock and Trot heard the
last chorus as she slowly followed their conductor. The barnacles were
singing:
"_Oh, very well, then,
I hear the curfew,
Please go away and come some other day;
Goliath tussels
With Samson's muscles,
Yet the muscles never fight in Oyster Bay._"
"It's jus' nonsense!" said Trot, scornfully. "Why don't they sing
'Annie Laurie,' or 'Home, Sweet Home,' or else keep quiet?"
"Why, if they were quiet," replied Merla, "they wouldn't be singing
barnacles."
They now came to one of the avenues which led from the sea garden out
into the broad ocean, and here two swordfishes were standing guard.
"Is all quiet?" Merla asked them.
"Just as usual, your Highness," replied one of the guards.
"Mummercubble was sick this morning, and grunted dreadfully; but he's
better now and has gone to sleep. King Anko has been stirring around
some, but is now taking his after-dinner nap. I think it will be
perfectly safe for you to swim out for a while, if you wish."
"Who's Mummercubble?" asked Trot, as they passed out into deep water.
"He's the sea pig," replied Merla. "I am glad he is asleep, for now we
won't meet him."
"Don't you like him?" inquired Trot.
"Oh, he complains so bitterly of everything that he bores us," Merla
answered. "Mummercubble is never contented or happy for a single
minute."
"I've seen people like that," said Cap'n Bill, with a nod of his head;
"an' they has a way of upsettin' the happiest folks they meet."
"Look out!" suddenly cried the mermaid. "Look out for your fingers!
Here are the snapping eels."
"Who? Where?" asked Trot, anxiously.
And now, they were in the midst of a cluster of wriggling, darting
eels which sported all around them in the water with marvelous activity.
[Illustration]
"Yes, look out for your fingers and your noses!" said one of the eels,
making a dash for Cap'n Bill. At first the sailor was tempted to put
out a hand and push the creature away, but remembering that his fingers
would thus be exposed he remained quiet, and the eel snapped harmlessly
just before his face, and then darted away.
"Stop it!" said Merla; "stop it this minute, or I'll report your
impudence to Aquareine."
"Oh, who cares?" shouted the Eels. "We're not afraid of the mermaids."
"She'll stiffen you all up again, as she did once before," said Merla,
"if you try to hurt the earth people."
"Are these earth people?" asked one. And then they all stopped their
play and regarded Trot and Cap'n Bill with their little black eyes.
"The old polliwog looks something like King Anko," said one of them.
"I'm not a polliwog!" answered Cap'n Bill, angrily. "I'm a re-spec'able
sailorman, an' I'll have you treat me decent or I'll know why."
"Sailor!" said another. "That means to float on the water--not _in_ it.
What are you doing down here?"
"I'm jes' a-visitin'," answered Cap'n Bill.
"He is the guest of our queen," said Merla, "and so is this little
girl. If you do not behave nicely to them you will surely be sorry."
"Oh, that's all right," replied one of the biggest eels, wriggling
around in a circle and then snapping at a companion, which as quickly
snapped out of his way. "We know how to be polite to company as well as
the mermaids. We won't hurt them."
"Come on, fellows; let's go scare old Mummercubble," cried another;
and then in a flash, they all darted away and left our friends to
themselves.
Trot was greatly relieved.
"I don't like eels," she said.
"They are more mischievous than harmful," replied Merla; "but I do not
care much for them myself."
"No," added Cap'n Bill; "they ain't respec'ful."
[Illustration]
[Illustration: _Chap. 7._
_The_ ARISTOCRATIC CODFISH]
The three swam slowly along, quite enjoying the cool depths of the
water. Every little while they met with some strange creature--or one
that seemed strange to the earth people--for although Trot and Cap'n
Bill had seen many kinds of fish, after they had been caught and
pulled from the water, that was very different from meeting them in
their own element, "face to face," as Trot expressed it. Now that the
various fishes were swimming around free and unafraid in their deep-sea
home, they were quite different from the gasping, excited creatures
struggling at the end of a fishline, or flopping from a net.
Before long they came upon a group of large fishes lying lazily near
the bottom of the sea. They were a dark color upon their backs and
silver underneath, but not especially pretty to look at. The fishes
made no effort to get out of Merla's way and remained motionless,
except for the gentle motion of their fins and gills.
[Illustration]
"Here," said the mermaid, pausing, "is the most aristocratic family of
fish in all the sea."
"What are they?" asked the girl.
"Codfish," was the reply. "Their only fault is that they are too
haughty and foolishly proud of their pedigree."
Overhearing this speech one codfish said to another, in a very
dignified tone of voice: "What insolence!"
"Isn't it?" replied the other. "There ought to be a law to prevent
these common mermaids from discussing their superiors."
"My sakes!" said Trot, astonished; "how stuck up they are, aren't they?"
For a moment the group of fishes stared at her solemnly. Then one of
them remarked in a disdainful manner:
"Come, my dears, let us leave these vulgar creatures."