That night the Child dreamed that he was floating in the star-light, far
out on the deep sea, and strange creatures came up from the sea-caves,
and looked, and looked at him, and sang of their homes among the pearls
and corals, whilst he lay floating in a dream, until the moon arose and
the moonbeams embraced him, and carried him softly back by a pathway of
light to his own little bed in the cave. When he awoke, the moon was
looking on him from her place far up in the depths of heaven, yet
touching his cheek with her silver sceptre, and the Child longed
exceedingly that his dream might come true.
He soon fell asleep again; but in the morning he was full of schemes how
he might sail out into the deep sea.
He knew it was of no use speaking of it to the quiet flowers; so he went
down as quickly as he could to the beach to consult his friends there.
They could none of them help him. The crabs took no interest at all in
the subject, and the limpets and mussels evidently thought it a very
wild idea. The whelks entered a little more into it; and he could not
help hoping he might fall in with another medusa. But at length, after
many fruitless inquiries, the Child seated himself, rather despondingly,
on his old station by the rock-pool.
There his eyes lighted on a stone covered with a number of delicate
little cups, like alabaster vases, each fastened to the rock by its
stem. He was beginning to move one when a small whelk shell near made a
slight rattling on the rocks, and two little horns, with two black eyes
at their roots, peeped out to see what was the matter.
"Take care," said the whelk, "you are disturbing my nursery."
Then the Child saw that each of the white vases was a little egg-cup
carefully fastened to the rock, and he begged the whelk's pardon.
"Do you go out to sea?" he asked.
"Some of my relations do," replied the whelk; "and I myself have
occasionally floated among the great waves; but it is rather dangerous."
"I would not mind the danger," said the Child, "if you would teach me
how."
The whelk had no idea how to teach any one, so the subject dropped.
In a few minutes, as the Child was gazing idly over the rocks, he
observed on the top of one of them a number of little shells opening and
shutting under the shallow water, whilst through the openings little
feathery heads kept darting in and out.
"Are you limpets?" he asked.
"No connection," was the reply.
"Oh, I thought you were limpet shells broken and mended," said the
Child. "Are you related to the builders of the sand-bridges?"
"Not at all," answered the feathery heads. "We are Balanuses. In our
youth we were great voyagers, and floated about on the waves. But now we
have grown wiser. We have thrown off our legs and eyes, and built
ourselves these little chambers with folding-doors, and are settled down
respectably for life."
The Child could scarcely help laughing at the idea of any one finding it
a comfort to throw away his legs and eyes; but he thought it would not
be respectful towards elderly gentlemen, who had seen so much of the
world, so he said, as gravely as he could, "Was it not pleasant dancing
about among the great waves?"
"Very well for young people," was the answer, "or for those who cannot
provide for themselves otherwise; but to have a drawing-room with
folding-doors, and stay at home when it is dry, or feel about when it is
wet, just as one likes, is quite a different thing."
And the little heads swayed about so happily, making tiny whirlpools to
suck in their food, that the Child had no doubt they were as happy as
they could be, and wisely resolved to be the same.
So the thin cloud of discontent was blown away, though not the desire to
see the far-off wonders; and as he sat and watched in happy silence, the
soft music of the living creatures again broke on his ear. And as he
looked and listened, new wonders burst on him, new doors of beauty kept
springing open in the fairy palace of the rock-pool. Hairy stems of the
large brown sea-weeds blossomed, as he looked, into a thousand little
living stars, vibrating their sensitive rays to and fro in the crystal
water. The scales which spotted them proved to be a honeycomb of
countless cells, every one of which had its little living busy tenant;
and a tiny withered-looking stalk, with knobs at the end of the
branches, suddenly shot out from each little knob numbers of busy little
fingers, feeling in all directions for food,--whilst through all flowed
the sweet solemn song, so that the Child lingered in happy wonder until
the little creeks grew invisible in the shade and the water plashed with
a cold sound. The little rock-borers kindled their bluish-white lamps,
in the depths of their tiny caves, to light him home; and when he
reached the mossy bank, the glow-worms were awaiting him with their rows
of coloured lamps, illuminating the mossy bank as for a festival; and
the rock-pools shone like steel mirrors, with a cold gray light, among
the dark rocks. Then he returned to his cave.
But still the longing grew within him to learn the words of the Song,
and he thought, "I wonder if they could teach it me far out on the deep
sea?"
His friends and playfellows on the shore saw his thoughtful looks, for
they all looked to him and loved him as their joy and crown, their
darling and their little King; and they often consulted together how
they could give him his wish.