speech. "Where I came from we only eat codfish when there's nothing
else in the house to eat."
"How absurd!" observed one of the creatures, arrogantly.
"Eat codfish, indeed!" said another in a lofty manner.
"Yes, and you're pretty salty, too, I can tell you. At home you're
nothing but a pick-up!" said Trot.
"Dear me!" exclaimed the first fish which had spoken; "must we stand
this insulting language--and from a person to whom we have never been
introduced?"
"I don't need any interduction," replied the girl; "I've eaten you, and
you always make me thirsty."
Merla laughed merrily at this, and the codfish said, with much dignity:
"Come, fellow aristocrats; let us go."
"Never mind; we're going ourselves," announced Merla, and followed by
her guests the pretty mermaid swam away.
"I've heard tell of codfish aristocercy," said Cap'n Bill; "but I never
knowed 'zac'ly what it meant afore."
"They jus' made me mad, with all their airs," observed Trot; "so I gave
'em a piece of my mind."
"You surely did, mate," said the sailor; "but I ain't sure they
understand what they're like when they're salted an' hung up in the
pantry. Folks gener'ly gets stuck-up 'cause they don't know theirselves
like other folks knows 'em."
"We are near Crabville now," declared Merla. "Shall we visit the crabs
and see what they are doing?"
"Yes, let's," replied Trot. "The crabs are lots of fun. I've often
caught them among the rocks on the shore and laughed at the way they
act. Wasn't it funny at dinner time to see the way they slid around
with the plates?"
[Illustration]
"Those were not crabs, but lobsters and crawfish," remarked the
mermaid. "They are very intelligent creatures, and by making them
serve us we save ourselves much household work. Of course, they are
awkward and provoke us sometimes; but no servants are perfect, it is
said, so we get along with ours as well as we can."
"They're all right," protested the child, "even if they did tip things
over once in a while. But it is easy to work in a sea palace, I'm sure,
because there's no dusting or sweeping to be done."
"Or scrubbin'," added Cap'n Bill.
"The crabs," said Merla, "are second cousins to the lobsters, although
much smaller in size. There are many families--or varieties--of
crabs, and so many of them live in one place near here that we call
it Crabville. I think you will enjoy seeing these little creatures in
their native haunts."
They now approached a kelp bed, the straight, thin stems of the kelp
running far upward to the surface of the water. Here and there upon the
stalks were leaves, but Trot thought the growing kelp looked much like
sticks of macaroni, except they were a rich, red-brown color.
It was beyond the kelp--which they had to push aside as they swam
through it, so thickly did it grow--that they came to a higher level,
a sort of plateau on the ocean's bottom. It was covered with scattered
rocks of all sizes, which appeared to have broken off from big shelving
rocks they observed near by. The place they entered seemed like one of
the rocky canyons you often see upon the earth.
"Here live the fiddler crabs," said Merla; "but we must have taken them
by surprise, it is so quiet."
Even as she spoke there was a stirring and scrambling among the rocks,
and soon scores of light green crabs were gathered before the visitors.
The crabs bore fiddles of all sorts and shapes in their claws, and one
big fellow carried a leader's baton. The latter crab climbed upon a
flat rock and in an excited voice called out:
"Ready, now--ready, good fiddlers. We'll play Number 19--Hail to the
Mermaids. Ready! Take aim! Fire away!"
At this command every crab began scraping at his fiddle as hard as he
could, and the sounds were so shrill and unmusical that Trot wondered
when they would begin to play a tune. But they never did; it was one
regular mix-up of sounds from beginning to end. When the noise finally
stopped the leader turned to his visitors and, waving his baton toward
them, asked:
"Well, what do you think of that?"
"Not much," said Trot, honestly. "What's it all about?"
"I composed it myself!" said the Fiddler Crab. "But it's highly
classical, I admit. All really great music is an acquired taste."
"I don't like it," remarked Cap'n Bill. "It might do all right to stir
up a racket New Year's Eve, but to call that screechin' music--"
Just then the crabs started fiddling again, harder than ever, and as
it promised to be a long performance they left the little creatures
scraping away at their fiddles, as if for dear life, and swam along
the rocky canyon until, on turning a corner, they came upon a new and
different scene.
There were crabs here, too--many of them--and they were performing
the queerest antics imaginable. Some were building themselves into a
pyramid, each standing on edge, with the biggest and strongest ones
at the bottom. When the crabs were five or six rows high they would
all tumble over, still clinging to one another, and, having reached
the ground, they would separate and commence to build the pyramid over
again.
Others were chasing one another around in a circle, always moving
backward or sidewise, and trying to play "leapfrog" as they went. Still
others were swinging on slight branches of seaweed, or turning cart
wheels, or indulging in similar antics.
Merla and the earth people watched the busy little creatures for some
time before they were themselves observed; but finally, Trot gave a
laugh when one crab fell on its back and began frantically waving its
legs to get right-side-up again. At the sound of her laughter they
all stopped their play and came toward the visitors in a flock, looking
up at them with their bright eyes in a most comical way.
[Illustration]
"Welcome home!" cried one, as he turned a back somersault and knocked
another crab over.
"What's the difference between a mermaid and a tadpole?" asked another,
in a loud voice, and without a pause continued: "why, one drops its
tail and the other holds on to it. Ha, ha! Ho, ho! Hee-hee!"
"These," said Merla, "are the clown crabs. They are very silly things,
as you may already have discovered; but for a short time they are
rather amusing. One tires of them very soon."
"They're funny," said Trot, laughing again. "It's almost as good as a
circus. I don't think they would make me tired; but, then, I'm not a
mermaid."
The clown crabs had now formed a row in front of them.
"Mr. Johnsing," asked one, "why is a mermaid like an automobile?"
"I don't know, Tommy Blimken," answered a big crab in the middle of the
row. "_Why_ do you think a mermaid is like an automobile?"
"Because they both get tired," said Tommy Blimken. Then all the crabs
laughed, and Tommy seemed to laugh louder than the rest.
"How do the crabs in the sea know anything 'bout auto'biles?" asked
Trot.
"Why, Tommy Blimken and Harry Hustle were both captured once by humans
and put in an aquarium," answered the mermaid. "But one day they
climbed out and escaped, finally making their way back to the sea and
home again. So they are quite traveled you see, and great favorites
among the crabs. While they were on land they saw a great many curious
things, and so I suppose they saw automobiles."
"We did, we did!" cried Harry Hustle, an awkward crab with one big
claw and one little one. "And we saw earth people with legs--awfully
funny they were; and animals called horses, with legs; and other
creatures with legs; and the people cover themselves with the queerest
things--they even wear feathers and flowers on their heads, and----"
"Oh, we know all about that," said Trot; "we live on the earth
ourselves."
"Well, you're lucky to get off from it and into the good water," said
the Crab. "I nearly died on the earth; it was so stupid, dry and airy.
But the circus was great. They held the performance right in front of
the aquarium where we lived, and Tommy and I learned all the tricks of
the tumblers. Hi! Come on, fellows, and show the earth people what you
can do!"
At this the crabs began performing their antics again; but they did
the same things over and over, so Cap'n Bill and Trot soon tired, as
Merla said they would, and decided they had seen enough of the crab
circus. So they proceeded to swim farther up the rocky canyon, and near
its upper end they came to a lot of conch shells lying upon the sandy
bottom. A funny looking crab was sticking his head out from each of
these shells.
"Here are the hermit crabs," said one of the mermaids. "They steal
these shells and live in them, so no enemies can attack them."
"Don't they get lonesome?" asked Trot.
"Perhaps so, my dear. But they do not seem to mind being lonesome. They
are great cowards, and think if they can but protect their lives there
is nothing else to care for. Unlike the jolly crabs we have just left,
the hermits are cross and unsociable."
"Oh, keep quiet and go away!" said one of the hermit crabs, in a grumpy
voice. "No one wants mermaids around here." Then every crab withdrew
its head into its shell, and our friends saw them no more.
"They're not very polite," observed Trot, following the mermaid as
Merla swam upward into the middle water.
"I know, now, why cross people are called 'crabbed'," said Cap'n Bill.
"They've got dispositions jes' like these 'ere hermit crabs."
[Illustration]
Presently, they came upon a small flock of mackerel, and noticed that
the fishes seemed much excited. When they saw the mermaid they cried
out:
"Oh, Merla! what do you think? Our Flippity has just gone to glory!"
"When?" asked the mermaid.
"Just now," one replied. "We were lying in the water, talking quietly
together when a spinning, shining thing came along and our dear
Flippity ate it. Then he went shooting up to the top of the water and
gave a flop and--went to glory! Isn't it splendid, Merla?"
"Poor Flippity!" sighed the mermaid. "I'm sorry, for he was the
prettiest and nicest mackerel in your whole flock."
"What does it mean?" asked Trot. "How did Flippity go to glory?"
"Why, he was caught by a hook, and pulled out of the water into some
boat," Merla explained. "But these poor, stupid creatures do not
understand that; and when one of them is jerked out of the water and
disappears they have an idea he has gone to glory--which means to them
some unknown, but beautiful sea."
"I've often wondered," said Trot, "why fishes are foolish enough to
bite on hooks."
"They must know enough to know they're hooks," added Cap'n Bill,
musingly.
"Oh, they do," replied Merla. "I've seen fishes gather around a hook
and look at it carefully for a long time. They well know it is a hook,
and that if they bite the bait upon it they will be pulled out of the
water. But they are curious to know what will happen to them afterward,
and think it means happiness, instead of death. So finally, one takes
the hook and disappears, and the others never know what becomes of him."
"Why don't you tell 'em the truth?" asked Trot.
"Oh, we do. The mermaids have warned them many times, but it does no
good at all. The fish are stupid creatures."
"But I wish I was Flippity," said one of the mackerel, staring at Trot
with his big, round eyes. "He went to glory before I could eat the hook
myself."
"You're lucky," answered the child. "Flippity will be fried in a pan
for some one's dinner. You wouldn't like that, would you?"
"Flippity has gone to glory!" said another, and then they swam away in
haste to tell the news to all they met.
"I never heard of anything so foolish," remarked Trot, as they swam
slowly on through the clear blue water.
"Yes; it is very foolish, and very sad," answered Merla. "But, if the
fishes were wise, men could not catch them for food, and many poor
people on your earth make their living by fishing."
"It seems wicked to catch such pretty things," said the child.
"I do not think so," Merla replied, laughingly; "for they were born
to become food for some one, and men are not the only ones that eat
fishes. Many creatures of the sea feed upon them. They even eat one
another, at times. And if none was ever destroyed they would soon
become so numerous that they would clog the waters of the ocean, and
leave no room for the rest of us. So, after all, perhaps it is just as
well they are thoughtless and foolish."
Presently they came to some round balls that looked much like balloons
in shape and were gaily colored. They floated quietly in the water, and
Trot inquired what they were.
"Balloonfish," answered Merla. "They are helpless creatures, but have
little spikes all over them, so their enemies dare not bite them for
fear of getting pricked."
Trot found the balloonfish quite interesting. They had little dots of
eyes and dots for mouths; but she could see no noses, and their fins
and tails were very small.
"They catch these fish in the South Sea Islands and make lanterns of
'em," said Cap'n Bill. "They first skin 'em, and sew the skin up again
to let it dry, and then they put candles inside and the light shines
through the dried skin."
[Illustration: FLIPPITY'S GONE TO GLORY]
Many other curious sights they saw in the ocean that afternoon, and
both Cap'n Bill and Trot thoroughly enjoyed their glimpse of sea life.
At last Merla said it was time to return to the palace, from which she
claimed they had not, at any time, been very far distant.
"We must prepare for dinner, as it will soon begin to grow dark in the
water," continued their conductor. So they swam leisurely back to the
groves that surrounded the palaces, and as they entered the gardens the
sun sank, and deep shadows began to form in the ocean depths.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: _Chap. 8._
A BANQUET UNDER WATER]
The palaces of the mermaids were all aglow with lights as they
approached them, and Trot was amazed at the sight.
"Where did the lamps come from?" she asked their guide, wonderingly.
"They are not lamps, my dear," replied Merla, much amused at this
suggestion; "we use electric lights in our palaces, and have done so
for thousands of years--long before the earth people knew of electric
lights."
"But where do you get 'em?" inquired Cap'n Bill, who was as much
astonished as the girl.
"From a transparent jellyfish which naturally emits a strong and
beautiful electric light," was the answer. "We have many hundreds of
them in our palaces, as you will presently see."
Their way was now lighted by small phosphorescent creatures scattered
about the sea gardens and which Merla informed them were hyalæa, or
sea glowworms. But their light was dim when compared to that of the
electric jellyfish, which they found placed in clusters upon the
ceilings of all the rooms of the palaces, rendering them light as day.
Trot watched these curious creatures with delight, for delicately
colored lights ran around their bodies in every direction in a
continuous stream, shedding splendid rays throughout the vast halls.
A group of mermaids met the visitors in the hall of the main palace,
and told Merla the queen had instructed them to show the guests to
their rooms as soon as they arrived. So Trot followed two of them
through several passages, after which they swam upward and entered a
circular opening. There were no stairs here, because there was no need
of them, and the little girl soon found herself in an upper room that
was very beautiful indeed.
All the walls were covered with iridescent shells, polished till they
resembled mother-of-pearl, and upon the glass ceiling were clusters
of the brilliant electric jellyfish, rendering the room bright and
cheerful with their radiance. In one corner stood a couch of white
coral, with gossamer draperies floating around it from the four high
posts. Upon examining it, the child found the couch was covered with
soft, amber sponges, which rendered it very comfortable to lie upon.
In a wardrobe she found several beautiful gossamer gowns, richly
embroidered in colored seaweeds, and these Mayre was told she might
wear while she remained the guest of the mermaids. She also found a
toilet table with brushes, combs and other conveniences, all of which
were made of polished tortoise-shell.
Really, the room was more dainty and comfortable than one might suppose
possible in a palace far beneath the surface of the sea, and Trot was
greatly delighted with her new quarters.
The mermaid attendants assisted the child to dress herself in one
of the prettiest robes, which she found to be quite dry and fitted
perfectly. Then the sea-maids brushed and dressed her hair, and tied it
with ribbons of cherry-red seaweed. Finally they placed around her neck
a string of pearls that would have been priceless upon the earth, and
now the little girl announced she was ready for supper and had a good
appetite.
Cap'n Bill had been given a similar room, near Trot's; but the old
sailor refused to change his clothes for any others offered him, for
which reason he was ready for supper long before his comrade.
"What bothers me, mate," he said to the little girl, as they swam
toward the great banquet hall where Queen Aquareine awaited them, "is
why we ain't crushed by the pressin' of the water agin us, bein' as
we're down here in the deep sea."
"How's that, Cap'n? Why should we be crushed?" she asked.
"Why, ev'r'body knows that the deeper you go in the sea the more the
water presses agin you," he explained. "Even the divers in their steel
jackets can't stand it very deep down. An' here we be, miles from the
top o' the water, I 'spect, an' we don't feel crowded a bit."
"I know why," answered the child, wisely. "The water don't touch us,
you see. If it did, it might crush us; but it don't. It's always held a
little way off from our bodies by the magic of the fairy mermaids."
"True enough, Trot," declared the sailorman. "What an idjut I was not
to think o' that myself!"
In the royal banquet hall were assembled many of the mermaids, headed
by the lovely queen, and as soon as their earth guests arrived
Aquareine ordered the meal to be served.
The lobsters again waited upon the table, wearing little white caps and
aprons which made them look very funny; but Trot was so hungry after
her afternoon's excursion that she did not pay as much attention to
the lobsters as she did to her supper, which was very delicious and
consisted of many courses. A lobster spilled some soup on Cap'n Bill's
bald head and made him yell for a minute, because it was hot and he
had not expected it, but the queen apologized very sweetly for the
awkwardness of her servants, and the sailor soon forgot all about the
incident in his enjoyment of the meal.
After the feast ended they all went to the big reception room, where
some of the mermaids played upon harps while others sang pretty songs.
They danced together, too--a graceful swimming-dance, so queer to the
little girl that it interested and amused her greatly.
Cap'n Bill seemed a bit bashful among so many beautiful mermaids, yet
he was pleased when the queen offered him a place beside her throne,
where he could see and hear all the delightful entertainment provided
for the royal guests. He did not talk much, being a man of few words
except when alone with Trot; but his light blue eyes were big and round
with wonder at the sights he saw.
Trot and the sailorman went to bed early and slept soundly upon their
sponge-covered couches. The little girl never wakened until long after
the sun was shining down through the glass roof of her room, and when
she opened her eyes she was startled to find a number of big, small and
middle-sized fishes staring at her through the glass.
"That's one bad thing 'bout this mermaid palace," she said to herself;
"it's too public. Ever'thing in the sea can look at you through the
glass as much as it likes. I wouldn't mind fishes looking at me if they
hadn't such big eyes, an'--goodness me! There's a monster that's all
head! And there goes a fish with a sail on its back; an' here's old
Mummercubble, I'm sure, for he's got a head just like a pig."
[Illustration]
She might have watched the fishes on the roof for hours, had she not
remembered it was late and breakfast must be ready. So she dressed, and
made her toilet, and swam down into the palace to find Cap'n Bill and
the mermaids politely waiting for her to join them.
The sea maidens were as fresh and lovely as ever, while each and all
proved sweet tempered and merry, even at the breakfast table--and that
is where people are cross, if they ever are. During the meal the queen
said:
"I shall take you this morning to the most interesting part of the
ocean, where the largest and most remarkable sea creatures live. And
we must visit King Anko, too, for the sea serpent would feel hurt and
slighted if I did not bring my guests to call upon him."
"That will be nice," said Trot, eagerly; but Cap'n Bill asked:
"Is there any danger, ma'am?"
"I think not," replied Queen Aquareine. "I cannot see that you will
be exposed to any danger at all, so long as I am with you. But we are
going into the neighborhood of some fierce and even terrible beings,
which would attack you at once did they suspect you to be earth people.
So, in order to guard your safety, I intend to draw the Magic Circle
around both of you before we start."
"What is the Magic Circle?" asked Trot.
"A fairy charm that prevents any enemy from touching you. No monster of
the sea, however powerful, will be able to reach your body while you
are protected by the Magic Circle," declared the Queen.
"Oh, then, I'll not be a bit afraid," returned the child, with perfect
confidence.
"Am I to have the Magic Circle drawn around me, too?" asked Cap'n Bill.
"Of course," answered Aquareine. "You will need no other protection
than that, yet Princess Clia and I will both be with you. For to-day I
shall leave Merla to rule our palaces in my place until we return."
No sooner was breakfast finished than Trot was anxious to start. The
girl was also curious to discover what the powerful Magic Circle might
prove to be, but she was a little disappointed in the ceremony. The
queen merely grasped her fairy wand in her right hand and swam around
the child in a circle, from left to right. Then she took her wand in
her left hand and swam around Trot in another circle, from right to
left.
"Now, my dear," said she, "you are safe from any creature we are liable
to meet."
She performed the same ceremony for Cap'n Bill, who was doubtful about
the Magic Circle, because he felt the same after it as he had before.
But he said nothing of his unbelief, and soon they left the palace and
started upon their journey.
[Illustration: _Chap. 9._
THE BASHFUL OCTOPUS]
It was a lovely day, and the sea was like azure under the rays of the
sun.
Over the flower beds and through the gardens they swam, emerging into
the open sea in a direction opposite that taken by the visitors the
day before. The party consisted of but four: Queen Aquareine, Princess
Clia, Trot and Cap'n Bill.
"People who live upon the land know only those sea creatures which
they are able to catch in nets, or upon hooks, or those which become
disabled and are washed ashore," remarked the Queen, as they swam
swiftly through the clear water. "And those who sail in ships see only
the creatures who chance to come to the surface. But, in the deep ocean
caverns are queer beings, that no mortal has ever heard of or beheld,
and some of these we are to visit. We shall also see some sea shrubs
and flowering weeds, which are sure to delight you with their beauty."
The sights really began before they had gone very far from the palace,
and a school of butterfly fish, having gorgeous colors spattered over
their broad wings, was first to delight the strangers. They swam just
as butterflies fly, with a darting, jerky motion, and called a merry
"Good morning!" to the mermaids as they passed.
"These butterfly fish are remarkably active," said the Princess, "and
their quick motions protect them from their enemies. We like to meet
them; they are always so gay and good-natured."
"Why, so am I!" cried a sharp voice just beside them, and they all
paused to discover what creature had spoken to them.
"Take care," said Clia, in a low voice. "It's an octopus."
Trot looked eagerly around. A long, brown arm stretched across their
way in front, and another just behind them; but that did not worry her.
The octopus, himself, came slowly sliding up to them, and proved to be
well worth looking at.