LORD DOLPHIN

[Illustration: "A GREAT VESSEL WAS STRAINING AND TUGGING. AND I COULDSEE LIGHTS"]

LORD DOLPHIN

BY

HARRIET A. CHEEVER

AUTHOR OF "THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF BILLY TRILL, " "MADAME ANGORA, ""MOTHER BUNNY, " ETC. 

Illustrated by

DIANTHA W. HORNE

LORD DOLPHIN

1903

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I. LORD DOLPHIN INTRODUCES HIMSELF

II. UNDER THE WAVES

III. A CORAL GROVE

IV. THE MERMAID'S CAVE

V. MY GARDENS

VI. MY TREASURE GROUNDS

VII. WHAT I SAW ONE DAY

VIII. MY STRANGE ADVENTURE

IX. LORD DOLPHIN ON LAND

X. HURRAH!

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

"A GREAT VESSEL WAS STRAINING AND TUGGING, AND I COULD SEE LIGHTS"

"MY TURN TO SHOW A WIDE MOUTH NOW"

"WHITE FACES SEEMED TO RISE AND RIDE ATOP OF THE FOAMING BILLOWS"

"OFF TORE THE FISHES, MAD WITH TERROR"

"ONE CUTE LITTLE NYMPH OF A GIRL WAS CRAZY TO GET NEAR ME"

"I WAS GIVEN MY FIRST RIDE ON LAND"

LORD DOLPHIN: HIS STORY

 * * * * *

CHAPTER I. 

LORD DOLPHIN INTRODUCES HIMSELF

Now who ever heard of a fish's sitting up and telling his own story!

Oh, you needn't laugh, you young Folks, perhaps you will find that I canmake out very well, considering. 

Of course I have been among "Folks, " else I could never use yourlanguage or know anything about you and your ways. 

A message is not received direct from the depths of the sea very often, and especially from one of the natural natives. And then, there are veryfew fishes that ever have an experience like mine, and travel from onecontinent to another, going both by sea and by land. 

You surely will open your eyes pretty widely at that, and wonder how afish could go anywhere by land. Have patience and you shall hear allabout it by and by. 

I was born deep down in the Mediterranean Sea. That long name is nostranger. You have seen it many a time in your geographies. But couldyou tell the meaning of it, I wonder? _I_ can! It means "Midland Sea, "and is so named from being so near the middle of the earth. 

If the Mediterranean Sea should be pulled up and away, together with thespace it occupies, my! what a hole there would be in the big roundearth!

Nowadays, even the little Folks hear a great deal about Europe. Some ofthe family have very likely been there. Perhaps even small John orElizabeth have themselves crossed the great ocean, sailing on a finesteamer to the coast of England or Ireland. 

Oho! if you had fins and could spread them like sails, and cut throughthe water like a flash, you would have a very different idea of the word"distance" from what you have now. 

I know "Folks" do not think it very nice to talk much about one's self, but if there is no one else to introduce you, and it is necessary thatthose with whom you are talking should know the truth about you, it canbe plainly seen that the only thing to do is to tell the personal storyas modestly and as truthfully as possible. 

When first I saw the light, deep down in the sea, I was quite a littlefellow, and had a mother that took splendid care of me. She never hadbut one child at a time, and that one she watched over and tended withmuch affection until it was fully able to take care of itself. 

My name is Dolphin, and the Dolphin family is a large one. One branch isof a very peculiar shape, and has a long and pointed nose or beak fromwhich it is called the "Sea Goose, " or the "Goose of the Sea. " I belongto that branch, but as to being a goose, allow me to say I never was oneand never shall be, not really and truly. 

My head is round, and so large that it forms almost a third of my wholebody. Many Folks travelling by water have seen Dolphins, as once inawhile we are obliged to toss our heads up out of the water in order tobreathe, as we have lungs. Yet it is not necessary for us to breathe asFolks do, and we can blow out water in an upward stream from littleholes that are over our eyes. 

My colors are fine, dark, almost black on my back, gray at the sides, white and shiny as satin underneath. 

There are strange things about a Dolphin. One is that when one is aboutto die, the colors are very beautiful. In growing faint-tinted whereonce dark, new and brilliant shades flash forth that change and glow inshowy tints. In our beak are thirty or forty sharp teeth on each side ofthe jaw. Our voices are peculiar. We are said to make a kind of moan, which you know is not a very cheerful sound. This is strange, as we arereally very lively creatures, and bright and happy in disposition, notat all moany or sad. 

Then we have a kind of small tank or reservoir inside the chest and nearthe spine which is filled with pure blood. This, you must know, isseparate from the veins, and if we stay very long under water we candraw from this reserve supply, causing it to circulate through the body. 

There is a great deal of wisdom in all this that a poor fish cannotunderstand, but Folks must know how these strange things come about, andwho makes and guides all creatures everywhere. But a Dolphin cannot takeit in at all. 

We are a merry, friendly tribe. There probably are no fish that swim thesea that are fonder of Folks than we Dolphins. And we cannot helpfeeling quite proud because of what Folks have appeared to think of us. And I must explain why I do so grand a thing as to call myself "LordDolphin. "

To begin with: In long years past, in "ancient times, " as they arecalled, Folks had an idea that we were able to do them good in someways, and so were of special value to them. And certain old coins orpieces of money had the figure of a Dolphin stamped on them. It also wason medals, which, you know, are of gold, silver, and copper, and aregiven to Folks as a reward for having done a good or a brave deed. 

The figure of a Dolphin was also sometimes embroidered on ribbon to beused as a badge, showing that the wearer belonged to a particularsociety or order using the Dolphin as an emblem. Or it might be, again, that the figure showed one to be a member of an ancient or noble family. 

Then there are strange and attractive stories of "myths, " imaginaryforms or persons, like fairies, gods, and goddesses. When you are olderyou will study about these ancient, make-believe beings, and the studywill be called myth-ology, telling curious, interesting stories aboutthe myths. 

Apollo, one of the so-called deities, was a myth, and said to be the godof music, medicine, and the fine arts, a great friend of mankind; and agreat favorite I was said to be of Apollo's. 

Orion, another myth, and a most exquisite player of the lute, socharmed the Dolphins with his playing, that once being in great troubleand throwing himself into the sea, a Dolphin bore him on his back to theshore. 

Some Folks have called us whales. But we are not whales at all, and areof an entirely different family. Yet I am a big fellow all of eight feetlong, while some of us are still much longer than that. 

But the chief cause of pride with the Dolphins is the notice that hasbeen taken of us, and the honor shown us by the royal family of France. Why, we formed at one time the chief figure on the coat of arms of theprinces of France. 

A coat of arms, perhaps you know, is a family crest or medal, having onit a figure or device which a high-born family adopts as its particularsign or emblem of nobility. 

Then the French people once named a province of France for us, callingit Dauphené, and pronounced Dor-fa-na. 

But greatest of all the honors shown us, is the fact that the littlemen-babies born of the French kings, and heirs to the throne of France, were called "the Dauphin, " taken from our name. 

Are we not distinguished? And do you wonder that we have a somewhatexalted idea of ourselves after such honors as these have been heapedupon us? And do you think, in view of these facts, that I am taking ontoo grand a title in announcing myself as "Lord Dolphin"?

Dear me, I do hope not! It would be such a pity to make a mistake rightat the outset in telling a story. For truth to tell, I am not a bitproud, but just a good-natured chap that has decided to spin a sea-yarnfor the amusement, and I hope the instruction, it may be, of youngFolks, being perfectly willing the older Folks should hear it, too, ifthey like. And I don't believe the smaller Folks will object to thetitle, even if they don't have "lords" in this country. It must be theyare all lords here, all the nice men-Folks. 

Do you wonder what I live on? Fishes, of course, for we do not have avery great chance at getting other kinds of food under water. I likeherrings best of all, and feed on them oftener than on any other kind offish. 

There is just one fellow that I cannot endure. That is the flying-fish. I fight, make war on him, and drive him away every time he comes around. Oh, but he is the trying creature! Forever flying in your face, gettingin your way, prying into your affairs, a kind of gossip-fish, that Idespise. Why I feel so great a dislike for him I cannot say, it must bethere is something in my nature that sets me against him, but aflying-fish and a Dolphin cannot live along the same wave. 

There is another page in my history that must be mentioned. 

Several hundred years ago our flesh used to be eaten, and what is more, it was thought to be fine, so that only those who had a great deal ofmoney could afford to have it on their tables. But nowadays we are neverused for food, but are thought to be coarse, and not nearly as nice asmost other kinds of fish. 

All right! We are very glad not to be in danger of being devoured. We gosailing along under the bright surface of the sea, in groups of justourselves, and such leaps as we can take! By and by, you will hear ofleaps I have taken which have been the means of my learning a greatdeal. 

Away we scud, passing ships that think they are going pretty fast, but, O Neptune! our fins and tails take us along at a spanking rate, whichmakes the ships seem slow. 

In one thing we are much like Folks. Don't laugh, please, but we arevery, very fond of music. Sometimes we catch the sound of voices singingon a vessel, and up we go, leaping fairly into the air to get as nearthe sound as possible. 

And should there be a violin, a guitar, flute, or a cornet--oh, yes, Iknow them all!--on a passing vessel, we float alongside just far enoughunder water to keep our bodies out of sight, while we take in thestrains in our own peculiar way. For although our ears might be hard tofind, we yet absorb or draw in sound very readily. 

And now that you know quite a little about the Dolphin family, I willtell you some things that may interest you about my watery home. Forhome, you know, is wherever one lives, whether it be in the air, on theearth, in the earth, or in the waters under the earth. 

CHAPTER II. 

UNDER THE WAVES

Pretty soon I must describe my playground, but first you must learn afew simple things about the place I love best of all places in theworld, my home in the deep, deep sea. 

Do you suppose that when the sky is dark and threatening up where youlive, and when the wind is blowing like a hurricane, and the great waveslash about, acting as if mad, that there is great disturbance far below?

Do you suppose that when shipmasters are shouting out orders to thecrew, and trying to keep their vessels from turning topsy-turvy or goingdown out of sight, that the fishes are scampering about wild, drivenhere and there by the fierce winds, and scared half to death by the furyof the storm?

Do you suppose there is a terrible roar of wind and wave that bangs usagainst each other at such times, and makes of the under-sea a ragingbedlam?

Oh, by no means! There is nothing of the kind down in what Folks call"the lower ocean. " It is calm and quiet as the surface of a pond on apleasant summer day. 

And yet, if you wonder how I first learned about the lashing and thethrashing of the waves above our heads when there is a storm, let metell about the time when I was a naughty, wilful fish, bound to have myown way and do just as I pleased. It was when I was quite young, yetpretty well grown. And this makes me wonder if growing little men-Folksand women-Folks ever are determined to have their own way, no matterwhat the mother may say. 

I have an idea it is what is called the "smart age, " when the young, whether fish, flesh, or fowl, start up all at once, and think they knowmore than--"than all the ancients. " I heard that expression used once, and it seemed somehow to fit in here. 

Well, I was a young, big fellow, when one day I felt the will strongwithin me to take leaps toward the upper sea. Now, I have already saidthat my mother took the best and most watchful care of me when I was achicken-fish. So when she saw how restless and venturesome I appearedthat day, she tried her best, poor dear, to turn me from my purpose. 

For she was older and wise, and could tell by certain signs when theupper currents were seething and boiling. So when I darted upwards witha strong swirl that cut the waters apart for my passage, she thrustherself farther ahead, trying to drive me back, and said plainly by heractions:

"Don't go aloft, my son, you will rush into danger; heed the warnings ofyour mother and stay where the waters are untroubled and safe. "

No, I was getting to be a smart man-fish, and must be allowed to gowhere I would. 

Very well, I went. Upward and upward I dove, until, oh, distress! I wascaught by the turmoil and confusion of a great storm. I had gone too farbecause of knowing far less than I thought I did. 

Do you ask why I did not immediately dive downwards again? Alas, Icouldn't! I had raised myself into the storm circle, and big creaturethat I was, I had need to learn that there were mighty forces of the seathat made all my strength as a mere wisp of straw when placed againstthem. 

Do not Folks, I wonder, sometimes find it much easier to get into a hardplace than to get out of it? That was what I found then, being drivenabout first this way, then that. I was slammed against a great, roaringbillow that sent me off presently in another direction, merely to be metby another wave that dashed me against a third one. 

My instincts, that serve me for mind and brains, taught me that if Iwanted to get down to quiet, restful depths, I must dive head foremostdirectly toward the bottom of the sea. 

Oh, what folly to try! No sooner would I get my great head and long nosepointed for a swift downward plunge, than a thundering billow wouldactually toss me into the air, just as I have seen a spurt of spray tossa cockle-shell. 

Oh, but I saw strange sights and heard strange sounds that night! Oncewhen two waves came together I was not only tossed high in air, but forseveral moments I actually rode atop of the rolling foam. 

It was then that I had my first view of "Folks. " What wonderful beings!My first thought was, could it be some new, amazing kind of fish thatcould stand upright? You see, I had up to that time only known creaturesthat lay flat, that flapped fins in order to get along, or in order totry what is called by the long word, lo-co-mo-tion. 

But here were fine, tall objects that were in every way so different! Iindeed knew at once that they were far above and superior to the littlecreatures that flew, to anything that crawled, and to any kind of fishthat swam the seas. 

A great vessel was straining and tugging, and I could see lights hereand there that showed the water black as night. Sailors' voices rosehigh above the surging of water and the tempest's loud cry. There werequeer little holes in the sides of the vessel that I know now are called"port-holes, " and big guns were pointed out through them. 

A sailor with a rope about his waist tried to walk across the deck, butwas thrown along the wet and slippery boards like a ball tossed from thehands of a child. In a queer set of outside garments that I have learnedare called "oil-skins, " the crew, officers, and captain went to and fro, trying their best to keep things straight. 

In some way I knew that the brave captain was not afraid. A little palehe was, surely, but his voice was firm as he called through a strangefixture called the ship's trumpet. And his hands did not shake as hetried to peer through a great glass across the rolling sea. 

The sailor with the rope about him was again and again tossed andtumbled about as he tried to make the passage across the deck, but asoften as he tried his mates would have to pull on the rope and righthim. And I still think, as I did that night, that a ship's crew, sailors, officers, and captain, are brave, brave folk, --the bravestFolks I know. 

As the storm went crashing on, I kept thrusting myself downward, inhopes to plunge lower than the storm circle. No use. I was upborne everytime, and after many attempts knew it would be best to simply float as Imust. 

I had drifted far from the sailing-vessel, when, as I floated high onthe crest of a wave, I looked upon a pleasure-craft of some kind, ridinghigh upon the breakers. Men who were not regular sailors looked withstartled eyes on the terrible sea. They were calm and quiet, but fromthe way they questioned the staunch skipper, and watched the men formingthe crew, I knew they carried anxious hearts, and longed to see thewaters grow calmer. 

A hard fling sent me afloat again, and I had a peep inside the cabin, where ladies with white faces and clasped hands were whispering of thestorm, and listening with fear in their eyes to the wild clamor of thewinds. 

Then there was a peep beyond that showed me something that to this dayI cannot understand, but I tell it because my instincts assure me thatboy-Folks and girl-Folks in good homes with good parents will know justwhat it meant. And although I am only Lord Dolphin, a great fish of thesea, there was something about it that has comforted me, and I thinkalways will comfort me as long as I live. 

I saw a little girl, oh, a fair little creature, with fluffy, goldenhair shading her babyish face, who was on her knees beside a white andgilded berth. 

A berth, you know, is a small bed built right against the wall in anykind of a vessel, be it sailer, steamship, or yacht. I think this wassome rich man's yacht. 

The fair little lady, then, was on her knees beside her gilded berth, her elbows resting on the pretty white bed, eyes closed, tiny whitehands clasped, and lips moving. She surely was talking to some One, butWho I cannot even guess. 

But this much was certain: that child was not afraid. Not in the least!She must have wakened from sleep, else she would not have been alone. And hearing the wild storm, she had slipped from her little bed, putherself on her knees, and raised her dear, fearless little hands andheart--where?

Oh, surely that child had a Friend somewhere whom she trusted. Howbeautiful!

They say that fishes and some other creatures are cold of blood and havebut little feeling. But I have gone far enough to think out one thing, and it all comes of that child on her knees: if a dear mite of a womanlike that had a great, powerful Friend she could talk to in the dark, and feel safe with in such a tempest, just as true as I am a livingDolphin, I believe it must be some One strong enough and good enough tocare for all kinds of creatures. I do, indeed! Do you wonder it comfortsme?

It was strange that after awhile the moon came struggling through theblack and angry sky. She rode high, did Luna, --that is the moon'sname, --and was at the full, and wherever the clouds parted for a moment, a broad streak of luminous light shone down on great mountains of water, leaping up and up, as if eager to crush everything before them. 

The wind did not soon go down, it could not; neither could I with myutmost strength dive downwards through the piled-up, violent waves thatstill rushed and roared, bounded and snapped with wild force. 

Luna had sailed toward the west, and a gleam of daylight was streakingthe sky at the east, before the churning, choppy waters began leapingless high, and once again I was tossed crest-high, where I was glad tocatch sight of a sailing-vessel that was steadying herself in thedistance, and a white yacht was skipping like a frightened but rescuedbird afar off. 

I do not know whether I had been terribly afraid or not. I was notafraid of the sea itself, it was what Folks call my "native element, "the place in which I was born, was natural to me, and I was native toit. 

But yes, I think I was afraid that the coming together of those fiercewaves might crush me as they met in their terrible strength. The noiseof such a meeting could be heard miles away. Ships have been in greatperil from them, and fish have often had the life beaten out of them insuch a sea. 

Yet, naughty fellow that I was, no great harm came to me. As soon as Isaw my chance, head down I plunged, out of the harsh circle of thestorm. 

Oh, the peacefulness and the restfulness of those quiet lower regions!For far below, all strife of angry billow and raging storm was unknown, and glad enough was I to reach my mother's side. 

It may have been that my own plump sides were puffed out with the effortI had made, and the storm's rough tossing, and my absence and thedirection I had taken all told my mother that something had gone hardwith me, and that I was glad to again be near her in the silent depthsof home. She floated with me close alongside, guided me to a restfulgrove midst shimmering weeds that made a soft and silken couch, where inthe sweet stillness, lulled by the lap of gentle ripples against weed, or shell, or bending sea-flowers, I glided off to dreamless slumber. 

And the last thing I saw before slipping off to quiet sleep was a littlebright-haired child on her knees, eyes closed, hands upraised andfolded: a child that was not afraid. 

CHAPTER III. 

A CORAL GROVE

Perhaps you did not know that the fishes in the sea, both large andsmall, were playful creatures. Well, they are. They can frisk, frolic, play "hide-and-seek", "catch", and race and romp at a great rate. 

Now I want to tell something of our playground, and if you are surprisedat the beauty with which we are surrounded, why should you be? Theresurely are lovely things on the earth for all kinds of upper-aircreatures, such as Folks, animals, birds, and insects, to enjoy. 

Listen, then, while I tell about the "caverns of ocean". A cavern, youknow, is a hollow or den, and old ocean holds many a cavern or den fullof interest and beauty. But I will take you first to a kind of grove. 

My home, where I spend most of my time, is in deep water. But not in thedeepest, oh, no! That is said to be two thousand fathoms down. Think ofit! More than two miles below the surface. There probably is but verylittle life at that depth. But when I visit some groves, or the regionof a reef, I must first sail and sail until I reach water that is notdeep at all. 

Do you think you have ever seen coral, real coral? Yes, doubtless youhave, and you may have seen it in various forms. But I feel sure youhave never seen coral to know very much about it, as you have never beento the bottom of the sea. 

Ah, here are all kinds of graceful shapes shooting up from the depths, so singular and varied in form, that one would wonder what they aremeant to stand for. Look at these trees, perfect little trees in coral, eight or ten feet high, with branches spreading out from the trunk. Onthe branches are delicate sprays of fairylike net or lace-work, all inwhite, but of various patterns. Should you get near enough, you wouldsee that these branches, some of which seem to bear flowers in shapeslike pinks or lilies, are dented or pitted as if tiny teeth had eateninto them. This may be partly the work of worms. 

Now, this is simply a large piece of white coral, but all around andabout are fanciful shapes, nearly as large as the one described. Here, too, are what might be taken for thick bushes or shrubs, branching outwith sprays of fretwork, white and spotless. Then there are smallergrowths like low plants, and curiously colored, some pink, some red, others a yellowish white. These, too, appear to bear flowers, asters, carnations, or roses. 

And for miles at a time we can rove and sport in a beautiful coralgrove. 

Think of a little house, if you can, made entirely of ivory, with hereand there bright tints mingling with the white. For coral looks likeivory when its natural roughness is smoothed and polished. Think ofswimming through little rooms, under arches, over lovely walks, throughmake-believe doors, slipping past upright altars of red and white coral, resting on spreading seats, or under outreaching canopies, or stoppingto look at another outreaching shape like the arms of candelabra orcandlestick holders. Sliding over footstools, and under culverts, allsoft and gleaming in color. Then again there are curves and passages inwhich we can hide and stay hidden as long as we please. Is it notbeautiful? And all so clean and clear!

Yet there is need to take heed and be careful. These stretching shapesand branches, these candle-holders and bushy twigs have sharp, hardpoints, and bouncing against them too suddenly might severely wound afish, or it might slip into a crevice where it would be pricking work toget out. 

Now, what is coral. Is it alive? Does it live and breathe? It is one ofthe curious, mysterious things of the ocean about which Folks havewritten and studied, and the wise ones say that coral is neither insectnor fish, but a kind of sea-animal, that lives in both deep and shallowwaters. In the beginning it appears to be a tiny sea-creature, like asmall, fleshy bag, with a mouth at one end, while with the other itclings to some object, almost always a rock. 

These little creatures are said to have the power to sting if they areprovoked. From these tiny frames there comes a hard, stony substancethat spreads and spreads as we have seen, while the part that was alivebecomes a mere dead shell. 

This is the best explanation I can give about coral and the tinycreatures from which it takes its start, and that seem so exceedinglysmall to me to be called "sea-animals. " But think of the wonderfulformations that grow from the bodies of these mites of creatures! Why, there are whole reefs or chains of rocky borders along some coasts madeentirely of coral. Some of them are known as barrier reefs. 

Bless you! it may be hard to believe, but a barrier reef twelve hundredmiles long runs along the coast of Australia between the Pacific andIndian Oceans! Then there are coral islands in the Pacific Ocean, wholeplatforms of solid coral which shut in portions of quiet water in someplaces. 

The little corals themselves do not work in deep water, nor above thesurface of the sea. But the bony substance spreads and spreads, up, down, and across the sea. And as many shell-fish eat into coral, greatquantities of fine coral-sand sink to the bottom, making a nice whitecarpet for the fishes to glide over. Folks do not take coral from thesea at any time but during the months you call April, May, and June. 

Now remember these things when you go into houses and see fine largepieces of coral on the mantel, or it may be standing against the wall. 

Perhaps you have a coral necklace of little, uneven, red, stick-likebeads. The jeweller-man can tell you how very hard it is to drill theholes in these beads; it is like drilling through hard rock. But if youhappen to have a necklace, brooch, or bracelet of pink coral, my! youhad better take good care of it, for it must have cost a little bag ofgold. Pink coral is rare, beautiful, and very expensive. The genuinepink-tinted is said to have sold for so great a price as five hundreddollars for a single ounce. 

Heigho! I want neither necklace, brooch, nor bracelet. For where, pray, would Lord Dolphin wear a breastpin, or how would he look with a stringof coral beads about his neck, or a bracelet pinched about his tail?

You needn't laugh so hard. I have seen Folks who hung too much jewelryabout themselves and seemed to think it becoming. A few pieces of nicejewelry may be tasteful and ornamental, but when too much is worn, Ihave a fancy that it might make a coral mite or an oyster want to laugh. 

Pretty soon I must explain why an oyster might have a right to be amusedat seeing too many gems crowded on at once. But first you must hearsomething funny about coral, something so silly, too, that even a fishis almost ashamed to tell of it; but this was true long in the past, Folks are much wiser now. 

Long years ago there were Folks who believed that wearing a "charm, "which often was a little piece of coral, perhaps made into an ornament, would charm away harm or danger, and keep them safe from "the evil eye. "

"Dear sakes!" you cry, "what was 'the evil eye'?"

Well, it is almost sad to think that any one could be so foolish, yetwhen Folks know but little, they will catch up strange notions andlisten to silly signs without an atom of truth or common sense in them. So some ignorant Folks once believed that a witch, or some witchy Folkwith an evil eye, might look upon them and cause them harm, or make themmeet some danger. 

And they pretended that hanging a bit of coral somewhere about themwould keep off a look from "the evil eye, " and that making children weara piece of it would charm away sickness and act as a medicine. Now didyou ever!

Chinese Folks and Hindoos have made most exquisite and wonderfulcarvings of the coral of the Mediterranean, and there is such a thing asblack coral, also known as brain coral, but it is too brittle to beworked upon. 

Ah, who would not be a Dolphin, merry and free, whisking through deep, still water, coasting over coral sands, and diving and sporting throughcoral groves!

Nor is this the only rare and curious place through which I rove, chasing my comrades, wandering about in search of caverns below, andsweet music above, while forever making war on my enemy, theflying-fish. 

You see, these fish can cut through the water, reach the surface, thenreally fly with finny wings across short spaces right in the air. Theythink themselves smart, and are great braggarts. 

One morning a flying-fish was bent on worrying me, swishing its flappingfins directly before my face, then darting upward, sending the spraycross-wise into my eyes. I made a snap or two at the vexing creature, but as I missed him he became bolder, and stopped a race I was havingwith one of my mates. 

Suddenly I made a great leap after the flier, but up he went, up, up, and I after him, sharp! Further up he went, and I pursued. He laughed, fish-fashion, his big mouth sprawling way across his face as he spedabove the surface. 

I poked my nose into upper air and saw which way he was going, and to myjoy he made a dip just as up went my beak again, and I had him, squeezedsecurely between my jaws. 

Of all the wriggling and squirming, the begging and the pleading thatever you saw or heard! But I did not want to eat him, nor did I mean tokill him, either. But I did mean to teach old Mister Flier a lesson, showing it was neither wise nor in good taste to torment a fish-fellowthat was ever so much larger and stronger than himself. 

So down, down I went, until I reached a cell in a coral grove, and in Ipopped his Majesty, and sat down and grinned at him. My turn to show awide mouth now. 

Did you know a fish could tremble? That fellow trembled and shook as ifhe had a fishy fit when he found himself in that den, with a greatDolphin's eye on him. Perhaps it was indeed "an evil eye" to him. Hecould have slipped out and away would I only move and give him room. Oh, no, not just yet! I lashed the water with my strong tail, and "made upeyes" at him, I am afraid, in a truly evil way. 

Then I began to feel that it was neither kind nor noble to carry mypunishment too far, so off I slowly sailed, and out from his tightcorner slid my slippery prisoner. And he tormented me no more. I did notmean to harm him, and do not think I did, but he slipped sidewaysthrough the water ever after that. 

It must be that he jammed a fin in his haste to escape from his cubby, but I see him often, and always with that sideways gait. I hope he iscured forever of making of himself a pester and a plague. 

[Illustration: "MY TURN TO SHOW A WIDE MOUTH NOW"]

I was glad to see that he still could fly, and that swift as an arrow hecould dart over and under, through and across, the thousand winding waysof our coral groves. 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE MERMAID'S CAVE

As I have never been in a truly house, I cannot know of all the kinds ofcarpets or coverings that Folks use on the floors. 

Yet I have had peeps at very lovely carpets, as in a ship's cabin, and Iknow that velvet and fine, beautiful straw, as well as other kinds ofnice carpets, must be used in what Folks call their houses. 

Oh, but never has a floor of wood been covered with such wonderfulmaterial, or covering of such marvellous workmanship, as that over whichI have roamed, and on which I have rested all my life. Yet, except indeep waters, I will not pretend that my carpets are always very soft. 

In the deeper waters that I love, there are miles and miles of soft, blue mud, that to a Dolphin is far more luxurious and enjoyable than thethickest of velvet or the most closely, evenly plaited straw could be. But when, after a long, delightful journey, I visit the regions ofshallower waters, ah, the beautiful things I could bring you, were therea tunnel, a car, or an air-shaft to convey me safely to land!

What are these shining, many-colored things I see lying about, with allkinds of fishes sailing around and playing with, as a child plays withblocks or cards?

Shells! all kinds and shapes, many of them rough outside but smooth andglossy as glass inside. 

What is a shell? You know the word "marine, " called ma-_reen_, meansbelonging to the sea, so shells are marine curiosities, for they arealways found in or near the sea. And they are really the hard, outercovering of some sea-animal or other. 

But how can I describe shells such as I have looked upon a thousandtimes? You have seen some kinds, I know, but they would not even pass assamples of the splendid shapes and tints that lie scattered around myfloor. A few Folks have made a study of the different kinds of shellsthat have floated or been carried to the shore, and have been able totell the class of sea-animals to which they have belonged. They oncewere the coats or outside garment of a swimmer or a clinger of the sea. 

One day a mother-Dolphin missed her boy-Dolphin, and as he was quite ayoung fellow, she felt much distressed. Away she sailed, peering amidstthe many objects covering the sea-floor. 

Do you suppose it is an easy matter to find a fish that has got lost? Icaught the flying-fish because he never got far away from me. But herewas a young rascal that had gone off roaming, almost before he knew howto feed himself, and search as she might, nowhere could his mother findthe rogue of a runaway. 

If you will believe it, he was gone a week, then back he came, his eyesas big as saucers. You see, I know how to say some things that Folks do;by and by you will find out how I learned them. 

Master Dolphy had a story to tell. He made us understand infish-language that he had found a wonderful, wonderful cave, where aparty of mermaids had collected a lot of shells, oh, enough to fill agreat house!

Now, I can't tell a thing as to the truth about mermaids. But "theysay, " that is, Folks and fishes say, that they are strange, fascinatingcreatures, with the head, shoulders, arms, and breast of a beautifulwoman, and part of the body and the tail of a fish. Sometimes they arecalled sea-nymphs; others call them sirens. 

Have you ever lived by the sea? And on stormy evenings, when rain wasrattling on the window-pane, and the wind went screaming around thehouse, have you ever imagined there were queer calls, and have you seenstrange shapes thrown up by the waves?

Or have you ever heard an old sailor or an old fisherman tell stories ofthe deep? If not, you cannot take in the kind of spell or enchantmentthat lingers about the sea after listening to these sounds or hearingthese stories. They are all mixed up with the "myth" stories you heardof a little way back. 

But these stories have been told ever since the world was young. And themermaids are said to be daughters of the river-god that have lived everin the deep and sounding ocean. 

And they were strange and weird--that is, wild, unnatural, and witching. They would appear in both calm and stormy weather. 

Sirens were sometimes thought to be different from mermaids, but wefishes know them to be one and the same thing--that is, if they exist atall. It used to be said that a mermaid murmured, but that a siren sang, with dangerous sweetness. Both murmur and both sing, one as much as theother. 

They will all at once be seen poised on perilous rocks, their long andsplendid hair floating back in the wild wind, their eyes shining likestars, their faces bright and glorious, their white arms and gleamingshoulders rising like snow from midst the dark and stormy waves. 

Ah! the singing, the beckoning, and the coaxing of a mermaid! Let metell you how they work. 

They have a sly, four-legged creature on land, all dressed in fur, andsporting a fine, thick tail, and they say that when this Madame Pusswants to catch a bird that is wheeling in the air, she will manage tofirst catch its eye. Then the little creature will not be able to lookaway, but will wheel and circle, and circle and wheel, all the timecoming nearer, until, if no one frightens Madame Puss away, she willkeep her yellow eye fixed on the eye that she has caught, until the birdflies close to her and is caught. 

This is called "charming a bird. " And the truth must be that poorbirdie, after catching sight of that great, shining eye, does not seeMadame Puss herself, but only the bright eye, and being unable to lookaway, flies nearer and nearer the strange, glittering light, untilMadame Puss makes a spring, and all is over. 

[Illustration: "WHITE FACES SEEMED TO RISE AND RIDE ATOP OF THE FOAMINGBILLOWS"]

Just so, it is said, the sailors cannot look away from the fair, wonderful creatures tossing their rich hair, beckoning wildly, singingand singing with a sweetness that is not natural or earthly, until, whatwith the beauty and luring, and voices of honey, the poor sailormen areclose against the rocks, and do not seem to know that they are charmedor harmed when the waters close softly over them. 

I do not know whether I have ever seen a mermaid or not. But when I tookthat dangerous voyage up into the storm circle, I saw strange shapesthat I never saw before, and heard sounds that were new to my ear. Twoor three times I thought I saw streaming hair, and white faces seemed torise and ride atop of the foaming billows. 

But when one is very much excited, will not imagination produce almostany kind of an object that happens to come into the mind? Ah, I amafraid so. Still, there are both Folks and fishes that believe in themermaids and their songs, and what am I that I should dare dispute them!

Yet--let me whisper--I have heard that Folks who do not know so verymuch, will tell about "goblins, " "spooks, " and "catch-ums, " and wheneverthere is talk about the mermaids and the sirens, I think of those Folkswho believe in creatures that "never were. "

But it would not do to talk in my watery home as if I had no belief inmermaids, because, you see, as most fishes have never been with Folks, and learned a thing or two from them, they do not know any better thanto believe in these sweet, dangerous creatures. 

So, now, here came Dolphy, with flapping fins, wild eye, and his storyof a mermaid's cave. Then a party was made up to go and see the rare andamazing place. 

Well, it did look as if some creatures of surprising taste and skill hadbrought together a collection of shells such as are never seen above thesurface of the sea, and formed, indeed, a cave fit for a mermaid's home. 

I know little about time, but it must have been days and nights I stayedin the enchanting place, roving hither and thither, rubbing my finsagainst the soft, smooth shells, and half wondering how they really cameto be grouped together in such shining rows. 

And the colors! And the shapes! Some were well-opened on the inside, andlooked as if entirely covered with pink enamel. They were of clear, ivory white, pinkish white, pale rose, deep rose, pale yellow, or strawcolor, orange yellow, blue and green mixed in glossy sheen, shades ofpink running into rich reds, purples and grayish pinks, making the fair, sweet mother-o'-pearl. 

Some were cup-shaped, having deep hollows. Should you hold your earfairly shut into one of these, it is said you would hear always as oftenas you so held it, the roaring of the ocean. And a roaring sound youwould hear, in very truth. Yet, let me tell you! Take a common chinacup, shut your ear into it, and the same roaring will be heard. 

Is that old ocean? No, it is simply the sound of your own blood coursingthrough your veins. 

A wide-awake Frenchman once wrote that, could you look within your ownbody and see the engines pumping, the valves opening and shutting, thepipes working, and the whole machinery in action, it would surprise andperhaps scare you into the bargain. 

We have got a little off the track, but it is well to know the factsabout these things. Now we will return to the shells. 

Look at that splendid one shaped like a bowl, but with pink lips rolledback, through which can be seen changing tints of pink and white. Hereis one that is oblong, lined with rose enamel, but having strange hornspointing out at one side. 

See that beauty, wide open and shaped like a saucer. Dear me, hold it alittle toward the light, and there gleams every color of the rainbow onthe polished surface. Here is another, striped with hair-like lines inred, yellow, blue, and brown. There is a fan, wide open, beautifullypolished; it has no handle, but its coloring is in nearly all tints, andchangeable in the light. What a lovely thing is this heart-shaped shell, with a line along the centre, and beautifully blending colors on eitherside. There are many of these scattered around. 

Now, how can I describe these singular yet perfect shapes banked upagainst rocks that are completely hidden on the inside of the cave?

Over there is a funny, snarly head, with fine shreds of hair laced overa smooth shell. Ah, what gleams of colored light shoot through the hair!Here is a bird's nest on a bar, lying side of a wide fan, shaped like apalm leaf; in the plaitings are curled all colors, pink, blue, yellow, and green. 

This shell is like a foot with eighteen or twenty toes, smooth, shining, and of flesh-like tints. This is like a bat's wing, with lines and websfinely tinted. Look at that enamelled jug with a pipe at the top. Nearby is a perfect leaf on a small branch. 

Do see this worm, ringed around with dark purple stripes. Isn't itqueer? In that corner is a trumpet, splendidly colored inside. Thatshape over there must be a fool's cap, one mass of sheeny tints inside. Here are beautifully rounded little bowls, all scalloped around the top;ah, see them glisten and change shades as the light strikes them!

See the beetle-bugs, with horns sticking out in every direction. And ifhere isn't a perfect shape of a lady's slipper! The lady should wear itinside out, so all could see its exquisite mother-o'-pearl. 

Here are shells exactly like the feathery wing of a bird, and how birdiewould enjoy snuggling his soft head against the exquisite smoothness ofthese shells!

Is that a large carrot split lengthwise? It looks like it, but no carrotsplit along its length ever brought to light such rainbows as glintalong these. Those shells looking so much like rattles would amuse a lotof babies if they could play in the mermaid's cave. They would try tocatch the fine colors, and might cry when they changed and changed, andthen appeared to dance away. 

Those serpents, some half uncoiled, some out straight, will not bite. Those flashes are not from dangerous eyes, but are only fine shelltints. 

Here are a lot of squat jars for holding small ornaments. They areornaments themselves. Are they not? And what queer combs with threeshining rows of teeth, each tooth a point of color. 

Really, I might as well stop. There would be no use in trying todescribe a third of these shapes, and as to coloring, with all I havesaid, you can have but a faint idea of the soft, brilliant, everchanging hues and gleams in the mermaid's cave. 

CHAPTER V. 

MY GARDENS

Long as I have talked of shells, I must say a word or two more aboutshells that are used as stones. 

When I was on land a little while, I noticed in front of a few houses, walks, that I knew at a glance were made from clam-shells. So I knewthat Folks must have machines for pounding up shells. Such a beautiful, clean, white walk as they make!

Then, before some fine-looking houses were great conch-shells, oblongand twisted in shape, but pink and smooth inside. Many of them wereplaced around lovely fountains, or urns of flowers. 

But I want to tell of one very beautiful and costly kind of ornamentthat is made from some conch-shells, pronounced "konk. "

Romans and Greeks, but especially the Greeks, used to cut "cameos" fromthe onyx-stone. And men skilled in cutting fine stones and jewels havecut most exquisite cameos, or faces, from the kind of conch-shell thathas two layers, one dark, the other light. 

The word "cameo" is said to mean one stone upon another. The "queenconch" is a splendid shell, with two distinct layers, one white, theother pink. Out of the white layer is carved perhaps the face of awoman, with a crown of flowers on her head, or it may be the head of aknight, with a helmet on. 

But think of the fineness of the tools that must be used, the tiny filesand chisels in carving the lovely, delicate shells. The shell cameoswith the pink lower stone and white upper figure, are most expensive ofall; other shells have brown or black lower layers, and these are not aschoice. 

But when you see your grandma or great-auntie wearing a lovelyold-fashioned breastpin, bound around with gold, and holding a pinkstone, shining like crystal, with a white carved head or other figurestanding out from the lower stone, you may know it is a very valuableornament, and was probably made from one of the finest shells found inthe sea. Imitations are made from porcelain, but very likely grandma'sor great-auntie's will be the real conch-shell. 

Perhaps you did not know that there are fair and beautiful gardens inmy watery home. You may have picked up sprays or bunches of seaweed whenrunning along the beach, and some were perhaps quite pretty, whileothers had turned brown and looked much like leather. 

Would you like to come with Lord Dolphin and take a swim through anocean garden? You would doubtless see such a sight as you had neverdreamed could be seen down in the blue water. 

All right, I'll turn into a fairy godfather, clap you on to my back, give you the lungs of a mermaid, to prevent your choking in the water, and then, come on! Or, rather, I should say, come down!

"Why, why! A fairylike scene indeed!" you cry. 

Now you have not taken on "the evil eye" in coming to the bottom of thesea, but you have taken a "fish eye. " Folks usually hate fishy eyes, butno matter, you couldn't see the first thing down here with your ownnatural peepers, so be thankful that for a time you can see with eyeslike mine. 

Now, this is not a coral grove, it is a garden of flowers, and when youexclaim again, "Oh, but I had no idea of this!" I should have to reply, "Of course you hadn't; no more had I of the strange and beautifulthings on the land, until I had to live there a little while. "

Folks call these flowers, such as they have seen of them, weeds, seaweeds. And I suppose they have to come under that name, as they arenot planted from seeds, but are a wild growth. Ah, but some greatPlanter or Gardener surely put all these wonderful shapes and splendidtints in the soft earth of a sea-garden. And it is all so blithe andgay!

Here are nearly all the shapes in bushes and almost trees that you havein your garden on land. And as to flowers, there are leaves, spires, cups, bells, tassels, very much such as you see in your garden at home. 

See these beautiful crimson leaves, as large as the top of a smalltable, and cut in such fine, even scallops around the edges, and here isone with a great pad of yellow right on the crimson. My! My! is it notcolored richly?

Here are leaves shooting out like rafts, thick, like the leaves of arubber-tree, but larger and of a deep red. You might take a sail on oneof them. And here is a bush, shooting upright from its muddy bed, allcovered with pink sprays, on which are pink blossoms. Doesn't it makeyou think of a syringa bush? Only these flowers are pink. 

Next comes this plant with a large olive green stem covered thicklywith branches, bearing flowers resembling pink roses. Were this planttaken to the church some Sunday morning and placed on the pulpit-stand, you may believe that after the service Folks would go crowding about thealtar, eager to find out its name and whence it came. 

What a clucking of surprise there would be when it was told that notfrom any hothouse whatever, but from the depths of the ocean came thefull, lovely sea-roses. 

Are these sprays of pink coral? No, they are sea-rods and branches. Ifyou pinch the thick stems, water will ooze out, for they are partlyhollow, like the pond-lily stem. 

I do not wonder you look with questioning surprise at that next plant. It is like a mass of purple bushes, a very sweet growth rather hard todescribe. All through the delicate branches are what look like smalldark berries, seen through a mist of pinkish, hairy spires. 

Don't start. These merry fishes darting through the next clump of busheshave only come to smell of the carnation pinks the bushes bear. Are theynot strangely like your garden carnations?

See the fishes nip at those singular pink flowers with a thick fringehanging from the edges. It is a shame to spoil them, but some fishesalways seem to think that graceful fringe droops down on purpose forthem to peck at. 

Now if the baby were only here, you could seat him on these broad, flatleaves, with delicate spires all along the edges, and all of so deep acrimson they surely would attract any child. 

What a queer flower! like the backbone of a fish with all the littlebones at the side standing out stiff and pointed, and all in pinks andpurples. 

Right in the midst of another plot of thick, flat leaves rises a mass ofpink sea-lilies, and they are beautiful; but do examine the next bed ofleaves. Are they not curious? A thick, hollow-looking stem goes throughthe middle of them, and on one side of the stem they are a deep pink, onthe other side, yellow. 

Here are flowers shaped like horns and trumpets. What a forest of pinks, greens, and yellows! And here are the greens. Such greens as you havenever seen before. 

Now suppose you were going to have a party. What decorations you couldhave if only the ocean blooms would keep fresh for you to use. Therewould be masses of fine furze that would be perfectly beautiful to crowdover the pictures; silky threads that, placed on creeping green plants, would look lovely carried along the table; yellow flowers in the midstof masses of fine sea-mosses, and sea-ferns would make your little mateswonder where the fresh, strange things grew. 

And there could he yards and yards of ribbons. Ribbons? Yes, long, longsprays of yellowish green sea-ribbon, four or five inches wide, goingdown to narrower ones not more than an inch in width. 

Perhaps you would like some sea-thistles. Here they are, in thickbunches, fine and hairy, in faint, fair shades of green. And what canthis be that looks so much like a sponge? Ah, it is a tuft of moss withgreen spires shooting up in the middle. 

Take care! Here are bunches of cactus with prickly leaves. Look out!don't catch your toe in those sea-ferns. Even that sweet greenmaiden-hair fern might pin down your foot so firmly that it would take afish's sharp tooth to set you free. 

You may ask, why are not these beautifully colored and curiously shapedthings brought on shore and sold, as they might be, for much money? Andwhy are they not at least put where Folks can see, learn about them, andadmire them?

But wait a moment; what would be the effect if any one took a bunch ofyour garden roses, pinks, or lilies, put them under water, and kept themthere? They would very soon be a drooping, shapeless mass. They areformed for a different element, and could not nourish under water, especially salt water. 

Just so ocean-flowers, and sea-tints can only live in their own element, which is not air, but water. And the faces on our water-pansies--for wehave them--would soon fade in what to them would be lifeless air, justas the garden pansies would lose their bright faces in the salt sea. 

Great quantities of seaweeds float ashore and are often dried and usedas fuel, or perhaps are put around garden plants to make them grow. 

But nothing that grows on the land, or in the water, can exchange placesone with the other and keep alive. It is all very curious, and more thanI can understand. Yet every creature and every plant is fitted to theplace it grows in, and is natural to it. The food, the flowers, and theland for the use of Folks, and the food, the plants, and the water forthe use of fishes, are just what the nature of each requires. Whatwisdom!

CHAPTER VI. 

MY TREASURE GROUNDS

Are you tired? No? Well, that is no great wonder. It is ever so mucheasier to glide through the water on the broad back of a great fish thanto ride horseback, or in a car. 

My sails or fins flap quietly to and fro, the water parts readily tomake us a path, no rough winds blow away your hat, there is no dangerway down here that a boat will bang against us, and roll you off into acavern or a cave. 

Now I am taking you into deeper water, which still is not so very deep, but I want to show you some other strange things in the world I live in. 

Here we go sailing in and out of rocks, but do not be alarmed, I knowthem all. Perhaps you wonder what it is that we keep pressing against, something soft and smooth that sends extra sprays of water over us. Whatcan it be?

Well, now, put on your thinking-cap. What does your mother wash thebaby with? What does Michael wash the carriage with? And what is thatobject in the wire holder in the bath-tub?

"Ah, a sponge!" you exclaim. Yes, and here is where they grow. "What, sponges grow?" you ask. Certainly. And just as with the coral, it tookFolks a long time to find out whether sponges were plants, shrubs, orinsects. 

Now it is decided that the sponge is an animal growth. And the same aswith coral, the tiny creature that it starts from dies, and out from theskeleton, or frame, branches the sponge that sometimes grows very large, and sometimes is of a kind that remains small. One may be as big as amop, others no larger than an egg. 

Down in the blue Mediterranean Sea are found the best sponges that grow. They are called "horny sponges, " and grow in great masses, fine, yettough and durable. A sponge from the Mediterranean, called the "Turkeysponge, " will cost three times as much as a coarser, more brittle onefrom other waters. They are porous, or full of little holes and hollows. 

We fishes like to bang against the sponges and feel the sudden spraydash over us. Water we have all around and about us, but a shower-bathis not as common a thing. 

When you buy a sponge, it is round, flat, or cone-shaped. Now see whatthey look like under water. Here is a little tree, you say. Oh, no, itis only a mass of sponges piled together and branching out as they grow. 

Here are fans, arches, tiny caves, and many different shapes forming asponge-garden. Queer, isn't it? Oh, lots of things are queer until youlearn about them. 

Would you like to see how I wash myself? Don't laugh so loud, you mightscare the fishes. I know very well that it seems to you as if I waswashing or bathing all the time, but there! Some kind of a water-bug hasplumped right down onto my head, and left a lot of sticky sand on it, that the water does not wash away. 

Now don't be alarmed. I won't let you be swept from my back. I am onlygoing to wash my head. See me swim directly under this mass of sponge, swaying out from a rock. There will be no bits of sand clinging to meafter I have been sponged a few moments. 

Here is a sponge that looks as if almost as large as your sun when itrises out of the water, but if you squeeze that fellow dry--the sponge, not the sun--it will not begin to be the size it is now. You could pressit into a bowl of moderate size when dry, but then take it to the pumpor the faucet, fill it with water, and my, what a balloon!

Sponges were once called "worm-nests, " and were thought to be a merekind of seaweed. But looked at under the sea, it would be known at oncethat they are neither nest nor weed. 

Once in awhile sponges seem to spring directly up from the mud withoutanything to cling to, but generally they are fastened to rocks or largestones, and spread out and out from them. Here they look so much like akind of herb, that Folks who make a study of things in nature, and arecalled naturalists, for a long time took them to be a kind of sea-plant, and for years it was a puzzle as to just what they were. 

All are full of pores or layers of small cells, and some are quitepretty from having a fringe about the cells like eyelashes. There areothers curiously shaped, looking like coral sprays, and here and therethey look like helmets; then there is another form that seems to havelong fingers running out, and is called "mermaid's gloves. "

The form called "Venus flower-basket, " large and basket-shaped, mightanswer for a mermaid's work-basket, and hold her thimble, scissors, andthread. You had better take care! A mermaid may be near this verymoment, and hear you laughing. And remember, she could spin you roundfrom one end of the sea to another, then leave you high and dry on a bigrock in the middle of the ocean. 

Now, on what do sponges feed? Dear sakes, as if they fed on anything!Yet they do. Although they branch and bunch out in the forms described, yet they do not roam about, but only float or swim out as far as theycan stretch themselves while firmly fastened to a rock. Here they takein specks or particles that float through the water; they pass throughthe open pores of the body, and answer for food. The water constantlypassing through them serves to refresh and keep them round and healthy. 

Here we come to a perfect thicket of sponges, and see the fishes playing"tag" all around and about them. There! that sly little fish, like asalt water pickerel, nipped the tail of that great clumsyporpoise--porpus--so hard, I heard the big fish grunt. The teeth of apickerel are fearfully long and sharp. 

Oh! Oh! What is that most beautiful thing we see shining with a faint, sweet glow, down at the bottom of the sea? It is in plain sight, nestledin the heart of a conch-shell. It is round, has a milk-like murkiness, yet pinky, changing lights like tiny stars, that glint and gleam as youlook upon it. 

Now believe me! Of all the treasures of the sea I have told you of orshown you, this is far and away the most precious. 

It is a pearl. Only once in a great while will so perfect and sovaluable a gem be found near my deep water home. And although we are notso very far east, yet it would be called an "Orient, " or an "Easternpearl. "

Perhaps it has floated in its polished pink bed from a far eastern sea. I told you a little while ago that I must explain what an oyster had todo with Folks that sported too many jewels, and why it might be amusedat the sight. 

Did you know that inside of an oyster-shell grew the lovely, costlypearls that Folks will give a great deal of money for? Why, QueenVictoria of England had a Scotch pearl that cost two hundred dollars. Queens and princes, rich Folks, jewellers, and dealers in preciousstones, will give great sums of money for necklaces, brooches, or ringsthat have in them the precious Oriental pearls. 

I had to listen very hard to find out what I did about pearls. But Ifound that they have been known, talked of, and written about, almostever since the beginning of the world. 

Oyster-beds are generally much nearer the shore than most kinds ofshells. It is said to be when an oyster gets restless or uneasy that astrange substance enters the edge of the shell, and after a time a pearlis formed. And while many pearls are found in oyster-shells, they alsoare often found fastened to the pink bosom of a conch-shell. 

There are black pearls of much value, but though rare, they are neverhalf as beautiful as a white or pink one. Some pink pearls are verylovely, and when large-sized, are also very expensive. 

The pearl we see lying here is a splendid white one, and my! the moneyit would bring! Pick up that shell, carry it with you to a jeweller, andsee the dollars the fair round gem will bring to your purse. You couldbuy yourself beautiful clothes, or a pony, or could have with it a fineparty, flowers, favors, treat and all. 

What? Don't dare to? Oh, me, me, what a little coward! I can't pick itup very well. If I took it in my mouth, down my throat it would go. If Itried to catch it up with a fin, over into the water it would bounce. 

Never mind. Look at the sweetly beautiful conch-shell, with thesplendid gem resting so softly on its pink, polished side. And let metell you what I think. 

The opinion of a fish, even a great lordly one, may not be worth much, but to me that exquisitely lovely stone, reposing on that exquisitelylovely shell, is a far more beautiful thing to look upon than the jewelever could be when fitted into the costliest setting of gold. 

Now it is just as it was made, and I think that Whoever formed and setthat pearl knew more about real beauty and fitness, and what is simple, natural, and very beautiful, than all the Folks and jewellers in theworld. 

Look at that white splendor. Don't you agree with me?

CHAPTER VII. 

WHAT I SAW ONE DAY

Now I do not know how brave an English lord may be or how much it maytake to scare him, but I, Lord Dolphin, inhabitant of the greatMediterranean Sea, was scared nearly out of my wits and skin by thesight I saw one day. 

But there is this to comfort me: if I was a coward at the sight, therewere plenty of other creatures in the sea to keep me company. Mercy onus! Such a scuttling and rushing, such a whisking and a whacking, flyingand plunging, I for one never saw before. There was actually a chorus offlapping fins and thumping tails as we raced for our lives. 

Was it a steam-engine or a monster boiler that was coming right downfrom upper regions into our midst? Or, had some new sea-monster fallenfrom the skies to drive us from our hunting and fishing grounds?

We knew something about sea-lions, the huge creature that you may haveseen at the Zoo, or in a tank at the park, lifting itself like anenormous sea-horse, and roaring like the animal whose name it bears. Buta sea-lion would not have cut through the water from way above. It wouldhave come steering along like a great black vessel, puffing and blowing, while all the time it would have been a creature of the sea, and weshould have known it, and not have been so terrified. 

Or, had a whale come bearing down from upper waters, as they sometimesdo, there would have been a disturbance first, made by the spouting andslashing that our instinct at once would have told us came from somemonster of the deep. 

Or, again, had it been the hulk of a vessel that could not stand someviolent storm, oh, yes, we should have known what that was, too. Butnow, off tore the fishes, mad with terror, big fishes, little fishes, fat fellows, lean fellows, pleasant ones, and grumblers. 

I laughed, yes, with all my fright I had to laugh at such a funny sight. I was behind what Folks call "whole schools of fishes, " only they speakof "a school of fish, " meaning many of one kind, but the madcap crowd Ilooked upon was made up of almost every size and sort. 

[Illustration: "OFF TORE THE FISHES, MAD WITH TERROR"]

I saw a porpoise--porpus--my enormous cousin, all of fifteen feetlong, crowd in midst a multitude of swift little swimmers, as if hemeant to make them help in spinning him through the water faster than hecould go by himself. Then on the back of another Dolphin, I saw a crowdof little fishes that seemed so stiff with fear, they had been knowingenough to cling to the back of the great fish, making a boat of him tobear them to a place of safety. 

Paddling sideways, I caught a glimpse of the flying-fish that had beenmy tormentor. All at once I stopped short. 

Now they say that some Folks are very curious. I do not mean that theyare odd or amusing to look at. But they have curiosity, and want to peerand pry into things. It is not at all nice to want to find out all aboutother Folks' affairs. It belongs to a poor, mean nature to want to dothat. But to want to inquire into matters for the sake of getting trueknowledge is right and worthy even for a fish. 

And suddenly I had determined to see just what that amazing creaturecould be. If it caught and swallowed me alive, it might, but--it wouldtake a pretty big swallow to make away with Lord Dolphin. I confess togoing to work very much like a sneak. But it was quite easy, seeing allthe other fishes had made off and left me a clear field, to hide midst abed of tall sea-bushes. 

So, very gently back I paddled, with motion slow and noiseless, to theregion where the monster had come down. 

How shall I describe it? In the first place, I had never seen such ashape before. The time when I was borne aloft on high waves, and lookedinto a ship's cabin, I saw forms something like unto this one in somerespects, but, dear sakes, not with such hideous parts! But now, to nameat once and describe afterwards, --

It was a _diver_!

The diver belongs to the Folks family, but, bless us, his rig! Imagine, if you can, a black object, with a great bunchy machine of a head, andfor the rest, a mass of fixtures, such as would puzzle a far more stupidcreature than a Dolphin to make out. 

I have seen a diver many times since then, and am now able to tell alittle about the fantastic-looking being. Of course, there is very muchmore to be known, but if you remember what I say, it will give you someidea of a diver's outfit that may linger in your mind, to be added to asyou grow older. 

First, then, close to his skin are warm woollen garments, sometimes twoor even three sets of them. If the weather is cold, he may have on twoor three pairs of warm stockings. How would you like being bundled up inthat way? Yet that is only the beginning. 

Close to his head is a woollen cap coming down over his ears. Thickshoulder-pads keep his outside suit from grazing or hurting, and it maybe that other pads are about his body. He next goes into an outside suitof India rubber, covered both inside and outside with a tanned twillwhich is water-proof, and the rubber itself has been treated in a way tomake it very hard and lasting. There is a double collar about the neck, of tough, sheet rubber, and one is to draw well up about the neck. 

He must have assistance in getting into these rigid clothes, for it ishard working the arms into the stiff sleeves, and forcing the handsthrough cuffs which are made to expand or let out as they are drawn on, then close tight in some odd way with rubber rings and joints at thewrist, making the sleeves perfectly air tight. 

Great care is taken in dressing the diver. Everything must fitperfectly, every screw must be properly wound in, every strap and bucklemade fast, or the poor diver may be in great danger. His breastplate ofcopper is fastened on with metal clasps or bolts. A fixture at his backsteadies the weights both back and front, weighing forty pounds each. These weights, it must be, are in some way supported by the ropes withwhich they let him down. 

Such boots! Stout leather, with soles of lead, securely strapped on, andweighing at least twenty pounds each. A band fitted about his waist iskept in place by strong braces. 

Then his helmet! Tinned copper, and full of screws, pipes, and hooks. Onthe face part were three openings as in a lantern, in which were screwedplate-glasses, or bull's-eyes. These, of course, were to see through, and stood out like little telescopes, or half-tumblers, with brassframes around them called "guards" which protect the glass, that isthick and strong. 

There were also queer valves, or tubes, in the helmet for letting outbad air, yet so contrived that no water could get in. A hook was oneither side, through which ropes must pass. 

The diver can breathe while under water by means of an air-pipe, and bypulling on a life-line, can make his wants known to those above. 

When the diver is all ready to descend, a man at the pump beginssupplying him with air, and down he goes, first on an iron ladder atthe vessel's side, then on long ladders of rope, with heavy weights atthe ends. 

I peeped from midst great weed-pads, and saw the diver as he reached thebottom of the sea. Do you wonder I trembled, yet was amused at what Isaw? In his hands this time--for I saw him more than once afterthis--was a great hook and a light bag with a wide-open mouth. And whatdo you think? He had come to get sponges from the blue sea. Of coursenot at very great depth. 

He knew his work. With the long hook, sponge after sponge was torn fromits clung-to home on the slippery rocks, and quickly popped into thebag. He always moved backwards. If anything stopped him, rock, wreck, orfloating weeds, he could turn slowly and carefully around, and see whatit was. But should he meet an object suddenly at the fore, it mightbreak even his shielded glass. Then he must immediately give the signalto be raised aloft. 

Divers must begin by going down only a little way under the water, as ittakes great skill and long practice to be able to go safely into deepwater. A diver has about him a coil of line connected with the ladder, which he unwinds as he moves away; but by winding it about him again, he can find his way back to the ladder. 

If two divers go down at the same time, I notice they take great carenot to let their air-lines or life-lines cross each other's, and so getentangled. It might be a very serious affair to get them mixed. 

I see that divers may go down from either a barge, a sailing vessel, ora large yacht, but there must be a deck that can hold the necessarymachines and rigging to help them in their work. By casting down heavypieces of lead, the sailor-Folk can "sound, " or tell the distance to thebottom of the sea. The diver's line must always be twice the length ofthe distance he goes down. 

I did not find this all out at once. Oh, by no means, but by not runningaway I gradually learned a great deal. And I was so glad I saw the queerperformance! The frightened fishes were not quick to come back to theirplayground, where such a looking object had come swinging down, and whenhe came again the next day, and the next, I had the place to myself, andwatched while he pretty well cleared that region of its fine, valuablesponges. 

The next time I saw a diver it was in deeper water. I was sporting toand fro at another time when there was just such a panic among thefishes as I had seen before, and just such a scramble. 

Down, down came the fearsome looking object, while I mixed myself inwith a mass of sea-flowers, and keeping perfectly still, was notnoticed. The diver's dress was much the same as the other's had been; hewent backwards in the same cautious way, but instead of a long-handledhook, he carried only a queer bag that was let down to him by ropes. 

The bag was deep, and had a frame along the top, with a scraper fastenedto it. And what do you think again? He began scraping in all theconch-shells he could see that had what looked like a dab of mud or amilky spot on the side. 

He was after pearls!

Divers often fish for pearls midst oyster-beds, and in more shallowwater, but there are nets or dredgers also used for that purpose. But Iat once knew that very valuable pearls must often be found inconch-shells and deep-sea oyster-shells, as the diver scraped in all ofboth that he could find. 

Remember! All kinds of shell-fish are called "mollusca, " have whiteblood, and breathe not only in the water, but also in the air. 

And will you believe it? I have found out considerable about the signalsthat a diver gives to the man at the pump on deck. 

If he wants to be pulled up, be gives the life-line four sharp pulls. If he wants more air, he gives one pull at the air-pipe. Two pulls onthe life-line, and two pulls on the air-pipe, given quickly one afterthe other, mean that he is in trouble, and wants the help of anotherdiver. One pull on the life-line means "all right. "

There are many other signals I could not find out the meaning of, so cansay nothing about. My instincts, as well as what I have noticed, tell methat a diver must be in the best of health, must be rather thin, haveexcellent eyesight, sound lungs, steady nerves, and a strong heart. Thework is not easy. I wonder if work that pays well is often easy? I donot believe it is. 

There used to be a strange machine in use called the "diving-bell. " Agreat cast-iron cage, shaped something like a bell, let down by ropes, and so heavy that its own weight would sink it. Divers could sit inside, and fresh air was supplied by a force-pump. Bull's-eyes of heavy glasslet in the light. 

This must have frightened the fishes quite as much as did the diver, although it was not as frightful in appearance. 

After a time, when the diver came down, some of my mates, seeing I wasnot a bit afraid if only hidden from sight myself, stayed near me underthe broad seaweeds, but most of them fled far and wide at his approach. 

The divers themselves are not free from danger. Great sea-serpents orsharks sometimes make it hot for them, but they are watchful, spry, andbeing "Folks, " with power to think and plan, can generally look out forthemselves and their safety. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

MY STRANGE ADVENTURE

Now come the most exciting and in some respects the hardest events of mylife thus far. 

I have told of my great love of music, and have also said that theDolphin family is a very sociable one. Yes, and I could grow fond ofFolks, I know, if only they could live in the sea, or I could live onthe land. But as neither of these things can be, I must be content withliking them at a distance. 

One afternoon I was full of sport, and felt lively as a cricket. Oh, yes, I know the small, frisky fellow you call a cricket, with his littleold black legs, and have heard him sing. So on this calm and lovelyafternoon I began leaping upward instead of forward, and all at once Iheard sounds of music floating across the upper sea. You can believe Ifloundered alongside, and oh, such sweetness as trilled out into theclear air!

The truth was, a great steamer was crossing the Mediterranean with apleasure party on board. What I heard was the music of a brass band. My!My! Isn't it enough to delight the heart of any creature that has earsto hear? It actually would make a fish dance. 

Now I didn't know it, but I made such plunges upward that my great darkbody could be seen in the clear water, and some sailors began "laying"for me, half suspecting what might happen. 

Well-a-well, I got so full of music, joy, and friskiness, that all atonce I gave a tremendous jump, and flounced right on to the deck of thefine steamer. Had I not been so utterly surprised, I should immediatelyhave flounced back again to my ocean bed "quick shot, " as I afterwardheard a sailor say. But dear, deary me! I hesitated just a moment toolong, and when I made a flop intending to bounce away, lo! a stout ropewas about my body, and another about my tail, and I was a prisoner!

Then the Folks all gathered about me, and the sailors went laughing off, saying something about "making the fellow's bed. "

Oh, it was all very strange and unnatural. And in a few moments I beganpanting for breath. Just as you would gasp, if by accident you poppedover from a boat into the water. Only you would gasp for want of air, and I was gasping from too much of it. 

But it was not long before I was taken to a side of the vessel, andafter straining and tugging with my great weight, I was indeed bouncedinto water, but when I tried to swim, oh, misery! what kind of a placewas I in?

Only a tank, some twenty feet long by fifteen feet wide, filled with seawater!

Truth was, there was a man-Folk on board who had caught, and wanted tocarry to a great park in some far-distant land, a crocodile. Boo! agreat sea-reptile that I wonder any one should want to have around, evenas a curiosity. It had been taken from the river Nile in Egypt, muchfarther up the Mediterranean borders than I had ever been. 

The crocodile did not live, so I was put into its tank, and that was the"bed" the sailors had made, by filling it with salt water. Shade of myroyal grandfathers! how long I could live in such pinching quarters wasa question. 

I was given plenty of herring--so called--and other kinds of fish toeat, and "Folks" visited me about every hour of the day. There werechildren on the steamer, pretty little dears, that never tired oftalking to me, and between them all, passengers, sailors, and thechildren, I learned how Folks talked, and a great many other thingsbesides. 

One fine, manly little fellow visited me constantly. He was voyaging forhis health, and took much pleasure in sitting beside the tank, book inhand, yet watching my movements, and once he said something that made mewish I could talk in the language of Folks. Yet before I tell what itwas, I want to say that there was one thing I did not like at all, butwas not able to let the Folks know it. 

The sailors called me "Dolly!" A great name to give a lord of the sea, afellow bearing the title I owned!

The next morning after my capture, a really fine Jack--sailors are all"Jack, " you know--came rolling toward my tank, and sang out insea-breezy fashion:

"Hulloo, Dolly-me-dear, how do you find yourself to-day?"

I liked his hearty manner and cheery voice, but, dear me, I was "Dolly"to every man-Jack on board after that, and to all the others as well. 

So this dear little man once said to me:

"Oh, Dolly, how I wish you could tell me about things under the sea! Iknow if you could only talk my way, you could tell stories by the hour, and what pleasure it would be to listen. "

"Stories, indeed, my pretty, " I thought, and I did wish I could open mywide mouth and entertain the little fellow with a few sea yarns. And nowthat in some way I can make Folks understand me, I only hope that myyoung steamer friend, among others, will see and enjoy Lord Dolphin'sstory. 

Then the lady-Folks were fine, with their pretty dresses, nice manners, and soft voices. But I did so like the children! One cute little nymphof a girl was crazy to get near me, yet nearly scared to pieces if I somuch as looked at her. Oh, she was so fair to see, with her golden hairflying back in the breeze, eyes blue as the sky, and her sweet, dimpledface full of smiles!

She would come running up to the tank with a great show of courage, crying bravely: "Hi, old Mister Dolly! I'se goin' a-put your great eyeout!" But when the eye half-looked at her, off she would scud, and all Icould see was a mass of flying yellow hair, a whisking of snowy skirts, and my little nymph was gone. 

[Illustration: "ONE CUTE LITTLE NYMPH OF A GIRL WAS CRAZY TO GET NEARME"]

A dozen times a day she would appear, and as long as I remained underwater, she would hover near. There was a railing around the tank, whichwas sunk in, lower than the deck, so she could not fall in, nor could Ipossibly get out, but as soon as my head began rearing above the water, scoot! little Amy was missing. 

We had no hard storm while steaming over the bright Mediterranean. Butone day the little man, whose name was Roland, said to wee Amy:

"Clear day, isn't it?"

And Amy replied, woman-fashion, "Yes, booful day, but what sood you doif there comed a big storm, and we all went ricketty, rockerty, andcouldn't stand up single minute? Wouldn't you be 'fraid?"

"N-o, " said Roland, speaking slowly and thoughtfully, "I don't think Ishould be much afraid, but I should want to keep quiet and think. Whatshould you do?" and he smiled. 

"Oh, me would say my prayers, and keep a-sayin' them, " said the child, soberly, then she added, "and up would go my prayers into the sky, andso I needn't be frightened a bit. "

Now I don't know in the least what "prayers" mean, but I remembered atonce what that other child had done in the storm, and it made me thinkthat the Friend the other little girl trusted lives up in the sky, andcan hear when Folks tell that they need help. How lovely! Really, Folksought to be very thankful for all they know!

CHAPTER IX. 

LORD DOLPHIN ON LAND

Well, we sailed and we sailed, but it was poor sailing for me, and everyhour I longed to make a monster jump, clear the railing, and splash intothe splendid bed beneath the cooped-up tank. 

But Folks know how to make things strong and secure, and once or twice, when I tried leaping, it was only to bang my sides against the edges ofthe tank, and spatter the deck far and wide, making extra work for thesailors. 

After a time, we ran through what Jack called "the Strait of Gibraltar, "and were in the great Atlantic Ocean, and one day Jack said to me:

"Now then, me hearty, we're making a bee-line for New York City, andit's a big tub they'll be giving you at the fine park, I'm thinking. "

So I knew I was to take the place of the crocodile, and be made a showof. 

I tried to make the best of things. Folks amused me by standing nearthe tank and talking about affairs. The band played delightfully. Saltwater was freshly supplied me every day or two. I learned that my farewas much greater than any other voyager's on board, that is, it costmore to carry me. 

But think of a passenger that would have been perfectly thankful to havebeen thrown overboard! I was that same fellow. 

After about ten days, which seemed like a year to me, there was greatexcitement all around. Such a running and tramping, such a waving ofhats and handkerchiefs. Ah! we were landing. Roland came to my side andexclaimed:

"Good-by, Dolly, old boy! I may see you sometime in your new quarters. "Little Amy lisped a hurried, "By, by, Dolly, good Fishy!" and after anhour or two, all the passengers had left the boat except the man whoowned me and myself. 

Nor was I moved until the next day. Then I was made to swim into asmaller tank, not much longer than I am, in which I could not havelived, it seemed to me, a single day. 

[Illustration: "I WAS GIVEN MY FIRST RIDE ON LAND"]

But I was next boosted, tank and all, on to a great dray, drawn bycreatures called "horses. " Sailors joked, drivers laughed, a crowdpeered at me with eyes full of wonder, and I was given my first ride_on land_, yet in what to me was a mere puddle of water. 

Ah, how new and strange! The jolting and the bouncing, the noise, thewhistles, the voices, rattling of heavy wagons, booming of cars overheadand along the ground, strange calls and ringing of bells, the wholemixed racket nearly stunning me, for my hearing is very acute and sharp. I cannot tell you how distracting it all was to a poor, pent-up fish. Ifelt like anything but a "lord" then. 

And what was this unknown matter floating into my squeezed-up basin?Dust! Something I had never seen before, and--I didn't like it!

The sea for me, first, last, and forever!

At the park I must say things were fine, and could they only have beenmore natural, I should have had considerable fun. I found that a Dolphinon land, although kept in a small square pond, was indeed quite acuriosity, both to young Folks and older ones. 

I imagine that a quantity of coarse salt was thrown every little whileinto the larger space now given me, else I could scarcely have lived. But my keepers were attentive and kind, the young Folks threw me manykinds of strange food, and "Bless my lights!" as Jack would say, whatkind of things do Folks live on!

Great quantities of little oblong balls, snapped out of a shell, different from any kind of shell I had ever seen before, were thrown menearly every hour of the day. Oh, yes, they were called "peanuts. "Really, I liked them, only it took about a hundred to get enough to chewon. 

Then there were white things, making me think of some small shells, asthere were peeps of yellow inside. Ah, I remember again, they were named"popcorn. " I preferred the peanuts. 

I didn't know what to think of "taffy. " Jinks! how it stuck to afellow's jaws! Bah! the whole lot of stuff called "candy" was too sweetand sticky. 

Some jolly-looking people that came to the park for what they called a"picnic, " tossed me queer food named "doughnuts, " and "ginger-snaps. "Yes, I liked them, too, particularly the snaps. Then there was aneverlasting fruit named "banana" that I liked at first, it was so softand slipped down so easily, but I had too much of it, and grew tired ofit. 

I grew tame, would raise my great head close to the strong wire-netting, and over would come all kinds of what Folks call "treats. " Once, however, a man-Folk threw me part of a small round, dark roll or stick, such as men-Folks put in their mouths at one end, and send out smokefrom the other end. 

Boo, bumaloo, what stuff! bitter and horrid! Men-Folks must have a queertaste to enjoy tasting and smoking such black, weedy things. One tasteof a "cigar" was enough for me. 

I was sorry not to see the boy Roland or the little girl Amy again, butI think they may have gone to some other land-place, and so could notcome to the park. But although I saw so many other pleasant young Folks, I did not forget them. 

Then, to my sorrow, just as I was getting used to things, althoughalways in a homesick way, I heard the keepers talking, and learned thatI was to be moved to another great city, where there was to be an"exposition, " or a showing of strange and useful things from manydifferent lands and seas, really an "exhibition. "

I began growing flabby and thin. My spirits were at ebb-tide, very low. I felt as if pining to death. Ah, me! I would have given all the pearlsof the ocean and sea, could I have got hold of them, to be back in myown dear Mediterranean groves. 

CHAPTER X. 

HURRAH!

Then the day came when I was again made to swim into that despisedlittle tank. It was put on to a dray as before, and I was given mysecond ride on land. May it forever be my last!

The roar of the great city again filled my ears, dust troubled my eyeswhenever I raised my head. I was faint, weary, and wretched. I couldfeel that I had grown lighter from loss of flesh, because of theunnatural life that I was leading. 

How I wished I might escape! That some great and powerful Friend wouldhelp me. But I was only a fish, had only fins and tail to aid me, that Iknew of, and those were at present of but very little use. 

At length the boat was reached. There was some confusion, as they were"short of hands, " which it appears meant they had not as many men atthe dock as were wanted. But the tank was got on board, and men ran forthe railing that was to be put around the edge. 

Their backs were turned for an instant. Oh! Oh! could I give a mightylurch, bound over the deck-rail, and be free? No waiting this time! Islashed upward in a tremendous "heave-to. " Whack! I struck the rail, wriggled quick as lightning over the side, and hurrah and hurrah! I wasswimming the wide, free river!

Not my own sea. No, there must be first the shortest cut I could findinto the ocean and salt water, then there would be many days of sweet, wholesome journeying and paddling before home grounds could be reached, but reached they would be all in good time. 

Folks say that if Madame Puss, that land-creature who does not love thewater overwell, is carried miles from her home in the dark, she willfind the way back again. And I felt sure that, once out into the harbor, I could strike a bee-line for a far opposite shore, cut through thenarrows at Gibraltar, and enter like a returning monarch on my own prouddomain, the fair blue Mediterranean Sea. Oh, hurrah again!

I heard a loud and echoing shout as my great body splashed into thewater, caught the sound of rushing feet, and saw heavy ropes withstrange loops at the ends, that were flung overboard in hopes toentangle me, and bring back their great fancy fish into that tank again. 

Oh, no, Mister Sailorman, and Mister Deckhand. No, no! I had seen andfelt quite enough of being on land, thank you, to last me all the restof my life. And as the Dolphin family is very long lived, I hope thatmany years of sweet, delicious freedom, and enjoyment of my nativeelement, are yet before me. 

And if there was a great king of the Dolphins, as there must be a greatFriend of the Folks, that guides our affairs, I would send him a lettera yard long, full of thanks for my freedom. It may be there is such aking, but real knowledge of such things is way beyond me. 

I saw strange craft as I boomed along, always giving them a wide berth. And such fishes! Did you ever see an angel-fish? Don't ever wish to ifyou haven't. It ought to be called evil spirit fish. In appearance it isone of the quaintest, ugliest creatures that swims the sea. Some Folkscall it monk-fish. It is all of four feet long, has fierce, goggly eyes, and a round, wicked-looking head, that seems nearly separated from therest of its thick body by a thin, short neck. Then such avicious-looking tail! Oh, you had better keep clear of an angel-fish. 

A toad-fish looked like an enormous, swimming toad. Bless me! I caughtsight of a shark as I came well out into the ocean. He was more thantwenty feet long. Think of that! But they are thirty feet sometimes. Hisgreat, fleshy, powerful tail takes him along as he looks from side toside for his prey. I saw his pointed nose and his rows of awful teeth, one over another. 

There are sharks that can bite a man in halves. Once in awhile we see ashark in our Mediterranean, but they do not abound there. Yet now andthen Mister Diver-man has had to rush for his life to reach the friendlyladder when the disturbance under water to right and left has warned himthat one of these sea-monsters was approaching. Oh, they are dreadfulcreatures, and greedy, too. They will follow vessels for miles andmiles, expecting that cast-off food will be thrown into the sea, as itoften is. Their instinct tells them that food is likely to drop fromvessels, and it does, indeed. 

I also saw a sea-snipe, or trumpet-fish, but, oho, without a tooth! Hemade me think of a scorpion that has a poisonous, dangerous tail. 

I came upon a funny sight while still in the Atlantic Ocean. A wholeschool of whales went rushing along in a body, and pretty soon I sawwhat it meant. Then it was more funny for me than for the poor whales. Some whalers, men who go out in vessels to catch these enormous fishesfor their flesh, their oil, and their bones, were banging great heavypieces of tin of iron against stones, so frightening the whales thatthey crowded in a body into a little creek or inlet. 

This was just what the whalers wanted them to do. Because, once in thenarrow place, so many of them could not escape, and it became easy tocapture them. Men-Folks do really know a very great deal. It makes meafraid of them. 

An urchin-fish would make you laugh. Some call it a sea-hedgehog. Itlooks as if covered all over with great thorns, and a baby sea-urchinlooks as if it was all ready to burst, it is so thick and round. 

A sunfish was an odd piece. It had round eyes, and the queer little finsjust back of its neck looked like shoulder-capes. It was so fat it hadto swim with a waddle. 

The herring I so much like for food are to be found in nearly allwaters, and abundant, sweet, and inviting. Famous ramblers they are, going in great parties of thousands in number, through wide tracts ofocean and sea. I have found that a great deal of "money, " whatever thatmay be, is made by Folks out of the herring fisheries, along theAtlantic seacoast. 

And let me whisper: Do you like sardines? Well, some Folks say thatherring do not live in the Mediterranean Sea, that ancient Folks knewnothing about them, but that what we know as herring are reallysardines. These are caught in great numbers, pickled in some way, thensoaked in oil, are put in little tin boxes, tightly sealed, and sent allover the world. 

But let me whisper again, and this makes Lord Dolphin smile; it may makeyou laugh. But honestly, they _say_ that immense numbers of littleherring, or alewives, a little fish very much like a herring, are caughton western shores of the Atlantic, pickled, packed in oil, and sold forsardines. 

Isn't it all very funny? If I eat sardines and call them herring, andfolks eat herring and call them sardines, why are we not square? But asI want to be very honest in all I say, it may be that in speaking of theherring I so much prefer, I ought to say they are found oftenest at thefar western part of the Mediterranean, where the ancient Folk were notso likely to explore. 

After I had sailed for days, gliding like a streak through the deep, untroubled water, I came again to the Strait of Gibraltar. 

Oh, with what a thrill of delight I saw this time, in these far happierdays than when last I passed through it, this narrow outlet from oceanto sea. I went through first in a tank, I returned with the broad oceanfor my glorious bed. 

I know now that the strait was named for the enormous Rock of Gibraltar, and that it once was called the Strait of Hercules. 

Now "Hercules" is another "myth" you will study about in those old Greekfables called "mythology. " He was one of the gods, and famed for histremendous strength. The story goes, that, coming up to a monstrous rockin the Atlantic Ocean that entirely separated it from the MediterraneanSea, Hercules, wishing to pass through from ocean to sea, rent the greatrock into two parts, so making a passage through. And this was how thenarrow outlet came to be called the Strait of Hercules. 

Now, for many years the passage has been called the Strait of Gibraltar. But the two great rocks at the entrance of the strait are called "ThePillars of Hercules. "

Well, through the dividing narrows I darted, and was home again!

And I am thankful to know three great and precious words that Folks havetaught me: Friends! Liberty! Home! Are there any better words thanthese? Perhaps so. But I have not learned them. Yet Folks know so muchmore than a fish, even a lordly one, can understand, that it is quitelikely they may be acquainted with words having a grander meaning thanthese. 

But I, Lord Dolphin, traveller and story-teller, want to repeat, that Iam very, very grateful to any One I ought to thank, that I find myselfamong friends again, free, and in my own glorious home, the bright blueMidland Sea. 

THE END.