N. Destouches, translated by Frank J. Morlock - "The Triple Marriage"

Fay Inchfawn - "The Verse Book Of A Homely Woman"

Voltaire - "Zadig"

Various - "Stories by English Authors: England"

The Sea Fairies

L >> L. Frank Baum >> The Sea Fairies




Zog was part man, part beast, part fish, part fowl, and part
reptile. His undulating body was broad and thin and like the body of
an eel. It was as repulsive as one could well imagine, and no wonder
Zog hated it and kept it covered with his robe. Now, with his horned
head and its glowing eyes thrust forward, wings flapping from his
shoulders and his eely body--ending in a fish's tail--wriggling far
behind him, this strange and evil creature was a thing of terror
even to the sea dwellers, who were accustomed to remarkable sights.

The mermaids, the sailor and the child, one after another looking
back as they swam toward liberty and safety, saw the monster coming
and shuddered with uncontrollable fear. They were drawing nearer to
the dome by this time, yet it was still some distance away. The four
redoubled their speed, darting through the water with the swiftness
of skyrockets. But fast as they swam, Zog swam faster, and the good
queen's heart began to throb as she realized she would be forced to
fight her loathesome foe.

Presently Zog's long body was circling around them like a whirlwind,
lashing the water into foam and gradually drawing nearer and nearer
to his victims. His eyes were no longer glowing coals, they were
balls of flame, and as he circled around them, he laughed aloud that
horrible laugh which was far more terrifying than any cry of rage
could be. The queen struck out with her golden sword, but Zog
wrapped a coil of his thin body around it and, wrestling it from her
hand, crushed the weapon into a shapeless mass. Then Aquareine waved
her fairy wand, but in a flash the monster sent it flying away
through the water.

Cap'n Bill now decided that they were lost. He drew Trot closer to
his side and placed one arm around her. "I can't save you, dear
little mate," he said sadly, "but we've lived a long time together,
an' now we'll die together. I knew, Trot, when first we sawr them
mermaids, as we'd--we'd--"

"Never live to tell the tale," said the child. "But never mind,
Cap'n Bill, we've done the best we could, and we've had a fine
time."

"Forgive me! Oh, forgive me!" cried Aquareine despairingly. "I tried
to save you, my poor friends, but--"

"What's that?" exclaimed the Princess, pointing upward. They all
looked past Zog's whirling body, which was slowly enveloping them in
its folds, toward the round opening in the dome. A dark object had
appeared there, sliding downward like a huge rope and descending
toward them with lightning rapidly. They gave a great gasp as they
recognized the countenance of King Anko, the sea serpent, its gray
hair and whiskers bristling like those of an angry cat, and the
usually mild blue eyes glowing with a ferocity even more terrifying
than the orbs of Zog.

The magician gave a shrill scream at sight of his dreaded enemy, and
abandoning his intended victims, Zog made a quick dash to escape.
But nothing in the sea could equal the strength and quickness of
King Anko when he was roused. In a flash the sea serpent had caught
Zog fast in his coils, and his mighty body swept round the monster
and imprisoned him tightly. The four, so suddenly rescued, swam away
to a safer distance from the struggle, and then they turned to watch
the encounter between the two great opposing powers of the ocean's
depths. Yet there was no desperate fight to observe, for the
combatants were unequal. The end came before they were aware of it.
Zog had been taken by surprise, and his great fear of Anko destroyed
all of his magic power. When the sea serpent slowly released those
awful coils, a mass of jelly-like pulp floated downward through the
water with no remnant of life remaining in it, no form to show it
had once been Zog, the Magician.

Then Anko shook his body that the water might cleanse it, and
advanced his head toward the group of four whom he had so
opportunely rescued. "It is all over, friends," said he in his
gentle tones, while a mild expression once more reigned on his
comical features. "You may go home at any time you please, for the
way through the dome will be open as soon as I get my own body
through it."

Indeed, so amazing was the length of the great sea serpent that only
a part of him had descended through the hole into the dome. Without
waiting for the thanks of those he had rescued, he swiftly retreated
to the ocean above, and with grateful hearts they followed him, glad
to leave the cavern where they had endured so much anxiety and
danger.






THE HOME OF THE OCEAN MONARCH

CHAPTER 20





Trot sobbed quietly with her head on Cap'n Bill's shoulder. She had
been a brave little girl during the trying times they had
experienced and never once had she given way to tears, however
desperate their fate had seemed to be. But now that the one enemy in
all the sea to be dreaded was utterly destroyed and all dangers were
past, the reaction was so great that she could not help having "just
one good cry," as she naively expressed it.

Cap'n Bill was a big sailor man hardened by age and many adventures,
but even he felt a "Lump in his throat" that he could not swallow,
try as hard as he might. Cap'n Bill was glad. He was mostly glad on
Trot's account, for he loved his sweet, childish companion very
dearly, and did not want any harm to befall her.

They were now in the wide, open sea, with liberty to go wherever
they wished, and if Cap'n Bill could have "had his way," he would
have gone straight home and carried Trot to her mother. But the
mermaids must be considered. Aquareine and Clia had been true and
faithful friends to their earth guests while dangers were
threatening, and it would not be very gracious to leave them at
once. Moreover, King Anko was now with them, his big head keeping
pace with the mermaids as they swam, and this mighty preserver had a
distinct claim upon Trot and Cap'n Bill. The sailor felt that it
would not be polite to ask to go home so soon.

"If you people had come to visit me as I invited you to do," said
the Sea Serpent, "all this bother and trouble would have been saved.
I had my palace put in order to receive the earth dwellers and sat
in my den waiting patiently to receive you. Yet you never came at
all."

"That reminds me," said Trot, drying her eyes, "you never told us
about that third pain you once had."

"Finally," continued Anko, "I sent to inquire as to what had become
of you, and Merla said you had been gone from the palace a long time
and she was getting anxious about you. Then I made inquiries.
Everyone in the sea loves to serve me--except those sea devils and
their cousins, the octopi--and it wasn't long before I heard you had
been captured by Zog."

"Was the third pain as bad as the other two?" asked Trot.

"Naturally this news disturbed me and made me unhappy," said Anko,
"for I well knew, my Aquareine, that the magician's evil powers were
greater than your own fairy accomplishments. But I had never been
able to find Zog's enchanted castle, and so I was at a loss to know
how to save you from your dreadful fate. After I had wasted a good
deal of time thinking it over, I decided that if the sea devils were
slaves of Zog, the prince of the sea devils must know where the
enchanted castle was located.

"I knew this prince and where to find him, for he always lay on a
hollow rock on the bottom of the sea and never moved from that
position. His people brought food to him and took his commands. So I
had no trouble in finding this evil prince, and I went to him and
asked the way to Zog's castle. Of course, he would not tell me. He
was even cross and disrespectful, just as I had expected him to be,
so I allowed myself to become angry and killed him, thinking he was
much better dead than alive. But after the sea devil was destroyed,
what was my surprise to find that all these years he had been lying
over a round hole in the rock and covering it with his scarlet body!

"A light shone through this hole, so I thrust my head in and found a
great domed cave underneath with a splendid silver castle built at
the bottom. You, my friends, were at that moment swimming toward me
as fast as you could come, and the monster Zog, my enemy for
centuries past, was close behind you. Well, the rest of the story
you know. I would be angry with all of you for so carelessly getting
captured, had the incident not led to the destruction of the one
evil genius in all my ocean. I shall rest easier and be much happier
now that Zog is dead. He has defied me for hundreds of years."

"But about that third pain," said Trot. "If you don't tell us now,
I'm afraid that I'll forget to ask you."

"If you should happen to forget, just remind me of it," said Anko,
"and I'll be sure to tell you."

While Trot was thinking this over, the swimmers drew near to a
great, circular palace made all of solid alabaster polished as
smooth as ivory. Its roof was a vast dome, for domes seemed to be
fashionable in the ocean houses. There were no doors or windows, but
instead of these, several round holes appeared in different parts of
the dome, some being high up and some low down and some in between.
Out of one of these holes, which it just fitted, stretched the long,
brown body of the sea serpent. Trot, being astonished at this sight,
asked, "Didn't you take all of you when you went to the cavern,
Anko?"

"Nearly all, my dear," was the reply, accompanied by a cheerful
smile, for Anko was proud of his great length. "But not quite all.
Some of me remained, as usual, to keep house while my head was away.
But I've been coiling up ever since we started back, and you will
soon be able to see every inch of me all together."

Even as he spoke, his head slid into the round hole, and at a signal
from Aquareine they all paused outside and waited. Presently there
came to them four beautiful winged fishes with faces like doll
babies. Their long hair and eyelashes were of a purple color, and
their cheeks had rosy spots that looked as if they had been painted
upon them. "His Majesty bids you welcome," said one of the doll
fishes in a sweet voice. "Be kind enough to enter the royal palace,
and our ocean monarch will graciously receive you."

"Seems to me," said Trot to the queen, "these things are putting on
airs. Perhaps they don't know we're friends of Anko."

"The king insists on certain formalities when anyone visits him,"
was Aquareine's reply. "It is right that his dignity should be
maintained."

They followed their winged conductors to one of the upper openings,
and as they entered it Aquareine said in a clear voice, "May the
glory and power of the ocean king continue forever!" Then she
touched the palm of her hand to her forehead in token of allegiance,
and Clia did the same, so Cap'n Bill and Trot followed suit. The
brief ceremony being ended, the child looked curiously around to see
what the palace of the mighty Anko was like.

An extensive hall lined with alabaster was before them. In the floor
were five of the round holes. Upon the walls were engraved many
interesting scenes of ocean life, all chiseled very artistically by
the tusks of walruses who, Trot was afterward informed, are greatly
skilled in such work. A few handsome rugs of woven sea grasses were
spread upon the floor, but otherwise the vast hall was bare of
furniture. The doll-faced fishes escorted them to an upper room
where a table was set, and here the revelers were invited to refresh
themselves. As all four were exceedingly hungry, they welcomed the
repast, which was served by an army of lobsters in royal purple
aprons and caps.

The meal being finished, they again descended to the hall, which
seemed to occupy all the middle of the building. And now their
conductors said, "His Majesty is ready to receive you in his den."

They swam downward through one of the round holes in the floor and
found themselves in a brilliantly lighted chamber which appeared
bigger than all the rest of the palace put together. In the center
was the quaint head of King Anko, and around it was spread a great
coverlet of purple and gold woven together. This concealed all of
his body and stretched from wall to wall of the circular room.
"Welcome, friends!" said Anko pleasantly. "How do you like my home?"

"It's very grand," replied Trot.

"Just the place for a sea serpent, seems to me," said Cap'n Bill.

"I'm glad you admire it," said the King. "Perhaps I ought to tell
you that from this day you four belong to me."

"How's that?" asked the girl, surprised.

"It is a law of the ocean," declared Anko, "that whoever saves any
living creature from violent death owns that creature forever
afterward, while life lasts. You will realize how just this law is
when you remember that had I not saved you from Zog, you would now
be dead. The law was suggested by Captain Kid Glove, when he once
visited me."

"Do you mean Captain Kidd?" asked Trot. "Because if you do--"

"Give him his full name," said Anko. "Captain Kid Glove was--"

"There's no glove to it," protested Trot. "I ought to know, 'cause
I've read about him."

"Didn't it say anything about a glove?" asked Anko.

"Nothing at all. It jus' called him Cap'n Kidd," replied Trot.

"She's right, ol' man," added Cap'n Bill.

"Books," said the Sea Serpent, "are good enough as far as they go,
but it seems to me your earth books don't go far enough. Captain Kid
Glove was a gentleman pirate, a kid-glove pirate. To leave off the
glove and call him just Kidd is very disrespectful."

"Oh! You told me to remind you of that third pain," said the little
girl.

"Which proves my friendship for you," returned the Sea Serpent,
blinking his blue eyes thoughtfully. "No one likes to be reminded of
a pain, and that third pain was--was--"

"What was it?" asked Trot.

"It was a stomach ache," replied the King with a sigh.

"What made it?" she inquired.

"Just my carelessness," said Anko. "I'd been away to foreign parts,
seeing how the earth people were getting along. I found the Germans
dancing the german and the Dutch making dutch cheese and the
Belgians combing their belgian hares and the Turks eating turkey and
the Sardinians sardonically pickling sardines. Then I called on the
Prince of Whales, and--"

"You mean the Prince of Wales," corrected Trot.

"I mean what I say, my dear. I saw the battlefield where the Bull
Run but the Americans didn't, and when I got to France I paid a
napoleon to see Napoleon with his boney apart. He was--"

"Of course you mean--" Trot was beginning, but the king would not
give her a chance to correct him this time.

"He was very hungry for Hungary," he continued, "and was Russian so
fast toward the Poles that I thought he'd discover them. So as I was
not accorded a royal welcome, I took French leave and came home
again."

"But the pain--"

"On the way home," continued Anko calmly, "I was a little
absent-minded and ate an anchor. There was a long chain attached to
it, and as I continued to swallow the anchor I continued to eat the
chain. I never realized what I had done until I found a ship on the
other end of the chain. Then I bit it off."

"The ship?" asked Trot.

"No, the chain. I didn't care for the ship, as I saw it contained
some skippers. On the way home the chain and anchor began to lie
heavily on my stomach. I didn't seem to digest them properly, and by
the time I got to my palace, where you will notice there is no
throne, I was thrown into throes of severe pain. So I at once sent
for Dr. Shark--"

"Are all your doctors sharks?" asked the child.

"Yes, aren't your doctors sharks?" he replied.

"Not all of them," said Trot.

"That is true," remarked Cap'n Bill. "But when you talk of
lawyers--"

"I'm not talking of lawyers," said Anko reprovingly. "I'm talking
about my pain. I don't imagine anyone could suffer more than I did
with that stomach ache."

"Did you suffer long?" inquired Trot.

"Why, about seven thousand four hundred and eighty-two feet and--"

"I mean a long time."

"It seemed like a long time," answered the King. "Dr. Shark said I
ought to put a mustard poultice on my stomach, so I uncoiled myself
and summoned my servants, and they began putting on the mustard
plaster. It had to be bound all around me so it wouldn't slip off,
and I began to look like an express package. In about four weeks
fully one-half of the pain had been covered by the mustard poultice,
which got so hot that it hurt me worse than the stomach ache did."

"I know," said Trot. "I had one, once."

"One what?" asked Anko.

"A mustard plaster. They smart pretty bad, but I guess they're a
good thing."

"I got myself unwrapped as soon as I could," continued the King,
"and then I hunted for the doctor, who hid himself until my anger
had subsided. He has never sent in a bill, so I think he must be
terribly ashamed of himself."

"You're lucky, sir, to have escaped so easy," said Cap'n Bill. "But
you seem pretty well now."

"Yes, I'm more careful of what I eat," replied the Sea Serpent. "But
I was saying when Trot interrupted me, that you all belong to me,
because I have saved your lives. By the law of the ocean, you must
obey me in everything."

The sailor scowled a little at hearing this, but Trot laughed and
said, "The law of the ocean isn't OUR law, 'cause we live on land."

"Just now you are living in the ocean," declared Anko, "and as long
as you live here, you must obey my commands."

"What are your commands?" inquired the child.

"Ah, that's the point I was coming to," returned the King with his
comical smile. "The ocean is a beautiful place, and we who belong
here love it dearly. In many ways it's a nicer place for a home than
the earth, for we have no sunstroke, mosquitoes, earthquakes or
candy ships to bother us. But I am convinced that the ocean is no
proper dwelling place for earth people, and I believe the mermaids
did an unwise thing when they invited you to visit them."

"I don't," protested the girl. "We've had a fine time, haven't we,
Cap'n Bill?"

"Well, it's been diff'rent from what I expected," admitted the
sailor.

"Our only thought was to give the earth people pleasure, your
Majesty," pleaded Aquareine.

"I know, I know, my dear Queen, and it was very good of you,"
replied Anko. "But still it was an unwise act, for earth people are
as constantly in danger under water as we would be upon the land. So
having won the right to command you all, I order you to take little
Mayre and Cap'n Bill straight home, and there restore them to their
natural forms. It's a dreadful condition, I know, and they must each
have two stumbling legs instead of a strong, beautiful fish tail,
but it is the fate of earth dwellers, and they cannot escape it."

"In my case, your Majesty, make it ONE leg," suggested Cap'n Bill.

"Ah yes, I remember. One leg and a wooden stick to keep it company.
I issue this order, dear friends, not because I am not fond of your
society, but to keep you from getting into more trouble in a country
where all is strange and unnatural to you. Am I right, or do you
think I am wrong?"

"You're quite correct, sir," said Cap'n Bill, nodding his head in
approval.

"Well, I'm ready to go home," said Trot. "But in spite of Zog, I've
enjoyed my visit, and I shall always love the mermaids for being so
good to me." That speech pleased Aquareine and Clia, who smiled upon
the child and kissed her affectionately.

"We shall escort you home at once," announced the Queen.

"But before you go," said King Anko, "I will give you a rare treat.
It is one you will remember as long as you live. You shall see every
inch of the mightiest sea serpent in the world, all at one time!"

As he spoke, the purple and gold cloth was lifted by unseen hands
and disappeared from view. And now Cap'n Bill and Trot looked down
upon thousands and thousands of coils of the sea serpent's body,
which filled all of the space at the bottom of the immense circular
room. It reminded them of a great coil of garden hose, only it was
so much bigger around and very much longer.

Except for the astonishing size of the Ocean King, the sight was not
an especially interesting one, but they told old Anko that they were
pleased to see him, because it was evident he was very fond of his
figure. Then the cloth descended again and covered all but the head,
after which they bade the king goodbye and thanked him for all his
kindness to them.

"I used to think sea serpents were horrid creatures," said Trot,
"but now I know they are good and--and--and--"

"And big," added Cap'n Bill, realizing his little friend could not
find another word that was complimentary.






KING JOE

CHAPTER 21





As they swam out of Anko's palace and the doll-faced fishes left
them, Aquareine asked:

"Would you rather go back to our mermaid home for a time and rest
yourselves or would you prefer to start for Giant's Cave at once?"

"I guess we'd better go back home," decided Trot. "To our own home,
I mean. We've been away quite a while, and King Anko seemed to think
it was best."

"Very well," replied the Queen. "Let us turn in this direction,
then."

"You can say goodbye to Merla for us," continued Trot. "She was very
nice to us, an' 'specially to Cap'n Bill."

"So she was, mate," agreed the sailor, "an' a prettier lady I never
knew, even if she is a mermaid, beggin' your pardon, ma'am."

"Are we going anywhere near Zog's castle?" asked the girl.

"Our way leads directly past the opening in the dome," said
Aquareine.

"Then let's stop and see what Sacho and the others are doing,"
suggested Trot. "They can't be slaves any longer, you know, 'cause
they haven't any master. I wonder if they're any happier than they
were before?"

"They seemed to be pretty happy as it was," remarked Cap'n Bill.

"It will do no harm to pay them a brief visit," said Princess Clia.
"All danger disappeared from the cavern with the destruction of
Zog."

"I really ought to say goodbye to Brother Joe," observed the sailor
man. "I won't see him again, you know, and I don't want to seem
unbrotherly."

"Very well," said the Queen, "we will reenter the cavern, for I,
too, am anxious to know what will be the fate of the poor slaves of
the magician."

When they came to the hole in the top of the dome, they dropped
through it and swam leisurely down toward the castle. The water was
clear and undisturbed and the silver castle looked very quiet and
peaceful under the radiant light that still filled the cavern. They
met no one at all, and passing around to the front of the building,
they reached the broad entrance and passed into the golden hall.

Here a strange scene met their eyes. All the slaves of Zog, hundreds
in number, were assembled in the room, while standing before the
throne formerly occupied by the wicked magician was the boy Sacho,
who was just beginning to make a speech to his fellow slaves. "At
one time or another," he said, "all of us were born upon the earth
and lived in the thin air, but now we are all living as the fishes
live, and our home is in the water of the ocean. One by one we have
come to this place, having been saved from drowning by Zog, the
Magician, and by him given power to exist in comfort under water.
The powerful master who made us his slaves has now passed away
forever, but we continue to live, and are unable to return to our
native land, where we would quickly perish. There is no one but us
to inherit Zog's possessions, and so it will be best for us to
remain in this fine castle and occupy ourselves as we have done
before, in providing for the comforts of the community. Only in
labor is happiness to be found, and we may as well labor for
ourselves as for others.

"But we must have a king. Not an evil, cruel master like Zog, but
one who will maintain order and issue laws for the benefit of all.
We will govern ourselves most happily by having a ruler, or head,
selected from among ourselves by popular vote. Therefore I ask you
to decide who shall be our king, for only one who is accepted by all
can sit in Zog's throne."

The slaves applauded this speech, but they seemed puzzled to make
the choice of a ruler. Finally the chief cook came forward and said,
"We all have our duties to perform and so cannot spend the time to
be king. But you, Sacho, who were Zog's own attendant, have now no
duties at all. So it will be best for you to rule us. What say you,
comrades? Shall we make Sacho king?"

"Yes, yes!" they all cried.

"But I do not wish to be king," replied Sacho. "A king is a useless
sort of person who merely issues orders for others to carry out. I
want to be busy and useful. Whoever is king will need a good
attendant as well as an officer who will see that his commands are
obeyed. I am used to such duties, having served Zog in this same
way."

"Who, then, has the time to rule over us?" asked Agga-Groo, the
goldsmith.

"It seems to me that Cap'n Joe is the proper person for king,"
replied Sacho. "His former duty was to sew buttons on Zog's
garments, so now he is out of a job and has plenty of time to be
king, for he can sew on his own buttons. What do you say, Cap'n
Joe?"

"Oh, I don't mind," agreed Cap'n Joe. "That is, if you all want me
to rule you."

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