Pinocchio Under The Sea

CHAPTER II

While the two were talking, Pinocchio kept thinking and thinking of his dear father. He looked so sad that the dolphin finally said to him:

“If you grieve so much for the loss of your father, you must be a good son. We dolphins are very fond of good children, and I more than others. To prove this to you, I shall only say that the dolphin of which Pliny speaks was my great-grandfather.”

“Pliny?” said Pinocchio. And he wrinkled his nose, because the name was not very well known to him.

“Yes, Pliny the Elder, the famous author of a natural history. He was a Roman, who was born about one thousand nine hundred years ago. He was killed in a terrific eruption of Vesuvius, the one that destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii.”

Vesuvius, Herculaneum, and Pompeii were as familiar to the marionette as was Pliny. To speak plainly, he knew nothing whatever about them. But, making believe he understood everything, he said, “Yes, yes! These things I know. But of what does Pliny speak?”

“He tells us that in the suburbs of Naples a dolphin became very fond of a boy. Every morning he would wait near shore for the boy. When the child came, the dolphin would make the youngster climb on his back. Then the dolphin would swim to Pozzuoli, where was the boy’s school. Here the boy would go ashore, attend to his school duties, and when they were over, return to Naples on the dolphin’s back. A few years later the boy died suddenly. The dolphin, after waiting in vain for him for many days, grieved himself to death.”

“Is this little story really true?” asked Pinocchio.

“Pliny tells it. Some believe, some do not. But this matters little. To me, then, as to my parents and their parents, good children have always been pets. Now listen carefully. Among dolphins, it is the custom for the young ones to travel with the older ones. I am a tutor, and I am about to start on a long journey with a young dolphin. If you wish to come with us to look for your father, you are more than welcome.”

“My dear Mr. Dolphin, I shall be delighted. May I ask where we are to go?”

“We are to go on a journey around our world.”

“Around the world!” exclaimed the marionette. “It must be amusing to see two dolphins walking arm in arm around the streets.”

“Yes,” continued the dolphin, “this young pupil of mine, who belongs to the Marsoon family, wishes to educate himself. And how can he better educate himself than by travel?”

“To educate himself!” exclaimed Pinocchio, opening wide his eyes. That word had always been hard for him to swallow. “Educate! Oh! Oh! That word I never did like.”

“What are you saying?” asked the dolphin.

“Oh, nothing, nothing! I was just thinking that my teeth are aching.”

“Then it might hurt you to go into the water, and ...” began the dolphin, kindly.

Pinocchio was perplexed. The idea of looking for his father he liked very much. Still, when he thought of that word educate, he shivered. He had always hated school as he hated fire. And you remember, he once lost his feet through playing with fire.

“What a nuisance it will be,” he kept mumbling, thinking of the sleepy time it would mean for him.

“Tell me, my dear sir,” he then said, just to gain time, “shall we travel by train?”

“Of course not! How could we? I told you that we are to travel in our world. That means that we are not to move out of the water.”

“So much the worse,” again thought Master Pinocchio. “Still, I don’t see what kind of education there can be in seeing only sea and sky! Good Mr. Dolphin, do you think that, if I go with you, I shall ever find my father?”

“Perhaps. We may come upon him on some desert island. Who knows? In any case, it is your sacred duty to look for him. Will you come?”

“Yes!” answered Pinocchio, firmly. “I will go.”

“Are you afraid?”

“Afraid,” laughed Pinocchio, with scorn. “Why, I don’t know what fear is. Just listen. Once, while traveling, I came face to face with a lion. Instead of taking to my heels as many would have done, I took a large stone and threw it into his mouth. It lodged in his throat. The poor beast looked at me so sadly, that instead of dispatching him, I took the stone out of his throat, and he went quietly away.”

“Oh, if that is the case,” replied the dolphin, who could swallow the story almost as well as the lion had swallowed the stone, “if that is the case, I beg your pardon.”

“Very well. When shall we start?”

“To-night, just after sunset.”

“How can we travel in the dark?” asked Pinocchio. He and darkness had never been great friends.

“Do not be afraid. We are to travel by the light of the sun.”

“Of the sun? Why, we are to travel by night.”

“Nevertheless,” answered the dolphin, smiling, as dolphins are wont to smile, “nevertheless, we shall travel by the light not only of one sun, but of many suns.”

Pinocchio looked at him with his mouth wide open. The dolphin calmly went on: “I promise to show you the sun in the sea.”

Pinocchio wrinkled his nose, as was his habit when puzzled. “I wonder if the dolphin is making fun of me,” he thought.

“Now I shall leave you, as I have many things to do before starting. Remember, this evening,” said the dolphin as he went off.

“Do not be afraid. I will be here,” was Pinocchio’s reply.

“Very well. Good-by, Pinocchio.”

“Until to-night, Mr. Fish.”

The dolphin, who had gone a short distance, returned and said proudly, “Just to enlighten you a little, I am not a fish.”

Again Pinocchio’s eyes opened wide.

“What then? A horse?”

“Pinocchio, I am surprised at you. No, neither horse nor fish.”

“I never knew of there being anything but fish in the sea.”

“Who told you so? There are many animals, my dear boy, who live in the sea, but who are not fish.”

“What then? Birds? Elephants? Dogs?”

“Yes, sir, just so. Still, you people who live on the earth and read books, you ought to know all these things.”

“Well ... yes ... I do read books. In fact, I have read every book that has ever been written.”

“All of them? Nothing less? Why, I didn’t think a man could do that if he had a hundred lives to live,” murmured the good old dolphin.

“Well, Pinocchio,” he went on, “remember to-night, and do not forget that I am not a fish.” With this remark he disappeared in the blue waters.

Pinocchio looked after him for a long time.

“The sun in the sea? Dolphins not fish? I don’t know why, but I’m very much afraid I’m being made fun of.”

CHAPTER III

When he was alone, Pinocchio began to think of looking for something to eat. After trying here and there in vain, he had to be satisfied with looking at a few empty oyster shells. The best he could do was to make believe that he had already had a good meal out of them.

This, of course, was not very easily done, because the pangs of hunger kept making themselves felt more and more. At last, to forget them, he decided to make a tour of the island. This he did, and after that he took a nap.

When he awoke, it was near sunset. He had all he could do to get to the meeting place in time.

Off he hastened, and reached the spot just in time, for there was the dolphin, head out of water, looking for Pinocchio.

A small dolphin, about a yard long, was in the wake of the larger dolphin.

Pinocchio had made up his mind that even though he might be a dunce on the earth, still he knew more than a common dolphin. So he looked at the little fellow as much as to say, “Be very careful how you speak to me, young man. Remember, I am far above you.”

The old dolphin was very busy with the preparations for their journey. He came and went and gave orders to his servant.

You may laugh, children, but it is true. The dolphin had a servant, who was also a dolphin, but of the family of the Globiceps. These are so called because of their round heads, which look like the globes used in the electric lighting of streets.

The young dolphin was playing in the water. He tried to attract Pinocchio’s attention in many ways. He spouted water through the hole which every dolphin has at the top of his head. He called to the marionette. He smiled at the youngster. It was of no use. Pinocchio, with his wooden nose in the air and his dough cap on one ear, would not even turn his head.

“I wonder if he is deaf or blind?” the dolphin finally said, loudly enough to be heard.

Pinocchio turned with a start.

“For your own benefit, I just wish to say that I am not now and never have been deaf,” he said as haughtily as he could.

“Then why do you look at me in that fashion? And why don’t you answer me?” was the reply.

“I am acting just as a gentleman should toward those who are beneath him,” said Pinocchio.

“I don’t know which of us is the better of the two. All I do know is, that my father was the richest inhabitant of the sea and that the other dolphins considered him their king.”

“King?” mumbled Pinocchio, who knew himself to be the son of a poor carpenter, earning so little that he never had a penny in his pocket.

“But king or not, what does it matter? In this world we are all equal, for we have all been created by God. Listen, my dear marionette. Come here. As we are to travel such a long distance together, we should be friends. Are you willing to be my friend?”

These pleasing words made Pinocchio see how stupid and how rude he had been.

“Think of it! A fish (oh, no, I mean a sea animal) giving me lessons in politeness!” Then turning to the dolphin, he said, “Yes, we shall be friends. What is your name?”

“Marsovino. And yours?”

“Pinocchio.”

“A beautiful name. Come, shake hands.”

“Very willingly,” replied Pinocchio.

The good little animal stuck one of his fore fins out of the water for Pinocchio to shake.

“And what is the tutor’s name?” said the boy of wood to the boy of the sea.

“The tutor is a dolphin of the Tursio family, but I call him father. Is it true that you are coming with us on our travels?”

“Yes,” said the marionette, proudly. “And I am able to teach you.”

“Teach me! That’s strange. How do you expect to teach me?”

“You will soon find out. You talk rather disrespectfully to me. I have been in all the schools of the kingdom. And you? You probably have never been on land for twenty-four hours.”

Marsovino looked at the marionette smilingly, but made no reply.

Pinocchio walked up and down with his hands in his pockets and his hat at an angle of forty-five degrees, ruffling his feathers at the brilliant remark he had made.

As soon as Tursio came near, Marsovino asked him if he were ready.

“Yes. Everything is finished,” was the reply. “Are you ready, Pinocchio?”

“Yes. I am ready. Let us start.”

“Start? How? Do you mean to say that you are coming under the sea with that suit?”

“Of course. It’s the only one I have.”

“A suit of paper! The very idea! Luckily I have prepared for this. Here, Globicephalous,” he said to his servant, “give me that little suit of ray leather,—the one I had you make this morning.”

“Splendid,” cried Pinocchio, clapping his hands. “Now I have a new suit.”

Putting it on, he looked at himself in the water. Seeing how dark and unbecoming it appeared, he turned to Tursio and said excitedly:

“I don’t want this. It is too ugly. I like my pretty flowered-paper one better.”

“Your paper one Globicephalous will carry in his satchel for you. Should you wear it in the water, it would be spoiled.”

“I want my pretty suit,” insisted Pinocchio. “If any one saw me in this thing, he would ask me if I had been through the coal-hole.”

“But yours will be ruined if you wear it in the water, I tell you.”

“I want mine. I want mine,” wailed Pinocchio.

“Very well. Globicephalous, take the paper suit out of the traveling bag and give it to the boy.”

The marionette turned, expecting to see an ordinary traveling bag. Instead, he saw Globicephalous take an enormous oyster out of the water.

“Isn’t that strange! Oyster shells for a traveling bag!”

“Strange? Why, what is strange about that?” asked Tursio.

“What is its name?” asked Pinocchio.

“That is the giant Tridacna. They are the largest oyster shells known.”

“How large the animal inside must be,” observed Pinocchio, with a yawn.

“Yes. It is very large, and also very beautiful. The center of the body is a violet color dotted with black. Around this is a green border. At the extreme edge the colors change from deepest to lightest blue. Yes, indeed. It is very beautiful.”

“What a good meal it would make,” thought Pinocchio. His only wish was for a good dinner, but in order to be polite he said, “Who would ever think that there are such things under the sea!”

“Why, you have been in every school in the kingdom and don’t know that?”

“Books on the subject you can find everywhere.”

Pinocchio bit his lips, but did not say a word. Quickly he dressed himself again in his paper suit and declared himself ready to start.

“All right! Come along!” said the dolphin, stretching a fin out to help Pinocchio along.

The marionette started to walk into the water. He had not gone far, however, before his paper suit began to leave him. Hastening back to the shore, he very meekly put on the ray-leather suit which Globicephalous handed to him.

“Remember, my boy,” said Tursio, “that in this world of ours we must think not only of the beauty but also of the usefulness of things. Also, do not forget that a boy who never learns anything will never be anything.”

“But I have learned much,” answered Pinocchio. “To prove this to you, I can now tell you of what material this suit is made.”

“I have told you already. It is of ray leather. Do you know what a ray is?”

“Surely I know. You may give it another name. Still, it must be that white animal on four legs. You know. The one the shepherds shear during some month or other.”

“Mercy!” cried Tursio. “You are talking about sheep. They give wool to man.”

Pinocchio, without moving an eyelid, went on:

“Yes, that’s true. I have made a mistake. I should have said it is that plant that bears round fruit, that when it opens....”

“Worse and worse,” interrupted the old dolphin. “What are you talking of, anyway? That is the cotton plant. Marsovino, please explain to this boy, who has read all the books in the world, what a ray is.”

So Marsovino went on: “A ray is a fish, in shape like a large fan. It has a very long tail, which it uses as a weapon.”

“To what class of fishes does it belong?” asked Pinocchio.

“It belongs to the same class as the lampreys, which look like snakes, the torpedo,—”

“Be careful never to touch that fellow,” here interrupted Tursio.

“—the sawfish and the squaloids,—that is, the common shark and the hammerhead.”

“The saw? The hammer?” observed Pinocchio. “If I find them, I must keep them for my father. He is a carpenter, but so poor that he seldom has money with which to buy tools.”

“Let us hope that you will never meet the saw, the terrible hammerhead, or even the common shark,” said Tursio.

Pinocchio made no answer, but in his heart he kept thinking, “I am very much afraid that the dolphins are teaching me, not I the dolphins.”

Tursio then handed Pinocchio a small shell of very strange shape. It looked like a helmet.

“Wear this, Pinocchio,” he said. “It will make a pretty cap for you.”

“It is very pretty. What is it?”

“It is a very rare shell.”

“But it is only one shell. Where is its mate?”

“It has none. It is a univalve. That means it has only one shell. The tellines have two shells, and are therefore called bivalve. Another kind looks like a box with a cover.”

“But does an animal live in there?”

“Of course. Every shell has its mollusk.”

“Mollusk?” repeated Pinocchio.

“Yes. The small animals that live in shells are called by that name.”

“They have a very soft body. By means of a member, called a foot, they get such a strong hold on rocks that it is very hard to tear them off.”

“Some mollusks have a strong golden-colored thread by which they also hang to rocks. Why, people have even made cloth out of these threads.”

Pinocchio cared little for all this explanation. He looked at himself in the water, and was, after all, very much pleased with himself.

“This cap seems made for me,” he said. “Too bad I have no feather for it.”

“Perhaps we shall find one on our journey,” laughed Tursio.

“Where will you get it? In the sea?”

“Yes, in the sea,” answered Tursio, in a tone which made the impudent marionette almost believe him.

CHAPTER IV

“Well, children, let us hasten. If we talk so much, the sun will rise and find us here. Come, Pinocchio! Jump on my back and let us start.”

There was no need for Tursio to repeat his command. In the twinkling of an eye, Pinocchio was riding on the dolphin’s back, holding on tightly to the dorsal fin.

So sang Pinocchio gleefully.

Tursio and his swimming companions, with a few shakes of their strong tails, were soon far away from shore. This is not to be wondered at, for dolphins are known to be very swift. Very soon Pinocchio saw nothing but sea and sky. Always holding on tightly to Tursio’s fin, he looked to the right and to the left; but nothing could he see of his dear father.

“Hold fast, Pinocchio,” suddenly cried Tursio.

“All right, Mr. Tursio,” replied Pinocchio, but he could say no more. For suddenly, with a great jump, the dolphin was under water.

What a moment for our poor wooden hero!

“Now I understand it all,” he thought. “This dolphin wants to get me into the sea that he may eat me at his leisure. Oh, poor me! I shall never again see the light of day.”

But marvel of marvels! He suddenly awoke to the fact that, instead of drowning, he was breathing easily. Not only that, but he could actually talk!

“This is strange,” said he. “I have always thought that people would drown in the water.”

“And it is true,” answered the dolphin, “that men usually drown in the sea. But I have given you the power to live under water. You see, then, you have become a real amphibian.”

“A real what? What am I now?”

“An amphibian. That is, you have the power to live both in the air and in the water.”

“But are there such animals?”

“Why, of course, child. Frogs, for example, which belong to the Batrachia family. In the water they breathe with branchiæ, or gills, and in the air with lungs. Usually, however, the name is given only to those mammals that live in the water and move only with great difficulty on the earth. To this class belong the seals and the sea lions.”

“Well, then, I shall never drown.”

“No; and you will have a wonderful journey under the sea. Just hold on to me, and I will carry you. Do not be afraid.”

“Afraid? Of course not. But I don’t like the darkness very much.”

“That is too bad. But the darkness will not last very long. You know, I promised that we should make our journey by the light of the sun. Wait awhile.”

Through the water Tursio went like an arrow, followed by Marsovino and the servant.

Pinocchio, to gain courage, shut his eyes. When he opened them again, wonder of wonders! Very near to him a large sun was moving back and forth. It looked as if it were alive.

“The sun at the bottom of the sea!” yelled Pinocchio, frightened almost to death. “Do you want me to believe that? You must be a wizard playing tricks on me.”

“I am not a wizard, Pinocchio, and the sun is not a trick. It is nothing more nor less than a fish.”

“I never heard of such a thing.”

“And you have been in all the schools of the kingdom! Marsovino, please explain to this boy what a sunfish is.”

“The sunfish is so called because of the bright light that comes from its body. When several of these fish are together, the sea looks as if it were full of little, shining suns.”

As usual, Pinocchio was silent. He was beginning to think that even dolphins knew more than he did.

Stretching out his hand, he touched a small fish that was passing by. Another surprise! As soon as he touched it, it began to swell and swell, until it was as round as a ball. And from this ball, countless points began to stick out.

“Oh!” yelled Pinocchio again. “What is it this time?”

“It is only a globefish, my marionette. It is harmless, if you don’t touch it.”

“But why should it turn into a balloon?”

“It does that to protect itself,” answered Tursio. “It is possible for the globefish to do that, because it can take in a large quantity of air. With bristles ready, it can then meet the attacks of other fish, as each point is as sharp as a needle.”

“I never knew that before,” exclaimed Pinocchio, forgetting his previous boast.

Tursio and Marsovino looked at each other and laughed.

CHAPTER V

The night passed without further adventure.

As soon as morning dawned, the four friends rose to the surface. Our marionette was delighted to see the sun again. The pure morning air, though, reminded him that he was hungry. The day before, if you remember, he had eaten very little.

“I should like something to eat,” he said in a weak voice.

“Let us go to breakfast,” answered the dolphin. Gayly he dove into the water, and led the party deep into the sea. After a short swim, he stopped. But, unfortunately, the four friends found themselves in a place where there were very few herring and salmon. These, you know, are the dolphin’s favorite food.

The salmon is a fish that lives both in rivers and in seas. Like the swallow, he looks for warm places in which to pass the winter. So, in large numbers he migrates to the sea at that time of the year, and in the spring he returns to the rivers.

“This morning our breakfast will be light,” observed Tursio, swallowing three herring at once.

“I shall not eat anything. I don’t feel very well. Besides, salmon is the only thing I can eat,” said Marsovino.

Tursio, wishing to please his pupil, started to swim toward two very high rocks. They were so high that their tops stuck out of the water. Very probably they were the base of an island in the middle of the sea. But although he looked here, there, and everywhere, he could find no salmon.

Globicephalous satisfied his hunger with three dozen herring and half a bushel of smelts.

And Pinocchio? Pinocchio this time certainly did not suffer from lack of food.

Tursio had shown him a large rock, attached to which were hundreds of oysters. Some were of the size of a pinhead. Others were as large as a boy’s cap, and these were two years old.

“Go and have your breakfast,” said Tursio.

“Must I eat those horrible-looking things?” asked Pinocchio.

“Open them and see what is inside,” was the reply.

After Pinocchio had opened and eaten one, he no longer thought of the looks of the oyster shells. He opened and ate so many, that it was a wonder to Marsovino that so small a person could hold so much.

Suddenly Pinocchio noticed numberless tiny, tiny white specks coming out of some oysters. To him they looked like grains of sand. But when he saw the specks moving and trying hard to attach themselves to rocks, he could not help crying out, “O look at the live sand, Tursio.”

“Who told you it is live sand?” asked Tursio. “Those are the newborn oysters, looking for a place on which to spend their lives. Where those small grains hang, there the oysters will live, grow, and die.”

“If no one gets them before that,” added Globicephalous.

“And are all those little dots oysters?”

“Yes. All of them. And many of them come from a single oyster, for an oyster gives forth almost two millions of eggs at a time. These little things have so many enemies, however, that very seldom do more than ten of the millions grow old.”

“Two millions! Then I may eat all I want to,” continued Pinocchio, unmercifully tearing away the poor oysters, young and old.

“Look, Pinocchio,” here called Tursio, pointing to a small fish, colored with brilliant blues and reds. “That is the stickleback. You may have heard that this fish makes a nest, as do birds. Also that the male, not the female, takes care of the eggs.”

“Surely I have,” answered Pinocchio, seriously.

The stickleback seemed to be very much excited. He moved around the nest he had made and watched it anxiously. The cause for this was soon evident. A second stickleback made its appearance from behind the rocks. At once the two engaged in a terrific struggle. They bit each other, used their tails as weapons, and charged each other viciously. During the battle they changed color—to a beautiful blue mottled with silver.

Pinocchio was struck with wonder. “Look! Look! One is wounded.... He falls.... He dies!” he cried. “And look at the other. How quickly he returns to the nest to guard the eggs!”

“But how is it,” here asked Marsovino, “that once I saw a stickleback swallow one of his little ones?”

“If you had followed him, you would later have seen the small fish come safely out of the large one’s mouth,” answered Tursio.

“But why did the large one swallow the small one?” asked Pinocchio.

“Because the little one probably wanted to run away from the nest. It was too soon, the little one was too young to take care of himself; so the father took the only means he had to save the youngster from an enemy,” patiently explained Tursio.

Just then a small fish attracted the dolphin’s attention.

“Boys,” he said, “do you see that tiny fish? It is called the pilot fish. It is the shark’s most faithful friend. Wherever goes the shark, there goes the pilot fish.”

“Now, Pinocchio,” he continued after a pause, “I shall leave you with Globicephalous. Marsovino and I are going to pay a visit to the dolphin Beluga, who is a great friend of mine. He usually lives in the polar seas, but on account of his health, he has come to warmer waters. We shall return this evening, if all be well. Meet us near those two mountains which are so close together that they form a gorge. You may take a walk with Globicephalous, but be sure to be at that spot to-night.”

“I am ashamed to be seen with a servant,” began Pinocchio.

“You are a fine fellow,” answered Tursio, with sarcasm. “Do you know what you should do? Buy a cloak of ignorance and a throne of stupidity, and proclaim yourself King of False Pride of the Old and the New World!”

With this remark Tursio turned to his pupil, and the two swam away.

CHAPTER VI

“Illustrious Mr. Pinocchio,” began Globicephalous, “if you do not wish to stay with me, I can walk by myself. We can meet to-night.”

“No, Globicephalous, do not leave me,” begged the brave son of Mr. Geppetto, the carpenter. The idea of being alone with all those fish gave him the shivers.

“But you may be ashamed,” began Globicephalous.

“Please forget that. Now listen to me. You are a servant, and you can’t have studied much. Still you may know this: Mr. Tursio does not want me to call him a fish. What is he, if not a fish?”

“Do you think Mr. Tursio would dare tell a lie to such an important personage as you are?” said Globicephalous, who was having some fun all by himself. “Neither Mr. Tursio nor Master Marsovino should be called fish. Nor I either, for that matter.”

“What are you, then? Birds? You have about their shape, and you live in the water. I know that in the sea there are only fish.”

“But you are mistaken. To many animals that live in the sea you cannot give the name fish,” continued Globicephalous. “Fish have a flat body, wedge-shaped fore and aft, as the sailors say, so that they may move rapidly both forward and backward. They are each provided with fins and a tail. These fins and the tail enable the fish to swim about in the water. Some fish have only a few fins, others have more. Then the fish has no lungs. It breathes in the water by means of gills. These are the chief characteristics of fish. But in the sea are many animals which do not possess them.”

“Please explain yourself,” said Pinocchio, who had understood little.

“Very well. Listen. There are the cetaceans, to which belong the whales, the narwhals, and the dolphins; the amphibians, to which belong the frogs and the seals; the mollusks, which is what the little animals that live in shells are called; the crustaceans, which is the correct name for the lobsters, crayfishes, and crabs; and the zoöphytes, among which are the corals, sponges, and the many varieties of polyps. All these, you must know, are not fish.”

“What hard names!” said Pinocchio, to whose wooden head these big names meant but little. “What are you, then?”

“My masters and I are all cetaceans. We cannot stay in the water all the time. We must often come to the surface, because we need air. We have no scales like fishes nor fur like seals, but we have a smooth thick skin under which is a layer of fat.”

“Thank you. But why, if you and your masters are all dolphins, are you so unlike?”

“For the simple reason that there are different kinds of dolphins, just as on the earth there are different kinds of dogs. As you have noticed, we are of different shapes and sizes. We have different names, too. I am a globiceps, my master is a tursian, and the young master is a marsouin.”

“Who would ever think the sea is full of so many wonderful things!”

“Still you have not seen anything of what there is to see! On all sides there are new things. Look at this,” continued Globicephalous, picking up a shell and showing it to Pinocchio.

“Well, what is it? A lobster with a flower riding on its back?”

“Almost that. It is a small crustacean called the hermit crab.”

“Hermit?”

“Yes. It is called that because it shuts itself up in a shell as a hermit does in his cell. This crab’s cell is the empty shell of a mollusk. And do you know why it shuts itself up?”

“No. Please tell me.”

“Because the back part of its body has no hard covering. So the crab, to protect itself, uses the shell as a house and thus goes about safely.”

“He must be a clever little fellow to think of that! But this flower on the top—is that a part of the crab’s body?”

“That is not a flower; it is an animal.”

“An animal! But don’t you see that it has leaves all around?”

“Yes, and in fact it has the name of a flower. It is called a sea anemone. But if you look closely you will see the little leaves, as you called them, moving busily.”

“It is really true!”

“They are tiny arms which the anemone uses to get its food. Throw a piece of meat near them, and you will see them gather themselves together. In a second the meat will disappear into the body of the animal.”

“It seems hardly possible,” said Pinocchio again and again, as he watched the anemone closely.

“This anemone,” continued Globicephalous, “is a great friend of the hermit crab. Whenever you find one of these crabs you will find an anemone on its back. When the crab grows and has to move to a larger shell, do you think, my illustrious Mr. Pinocchio, that he abandons his tenant? Never! The anemone has no legs, so the crab takes her very carefully in his claws and carries her to his new home.”

“It sounds like a fairy story!” Pinocchio exclaimed, wonderstruck.

“Still these things are real, Your Honor, and are seen here every day.”

Pinocchio, who had liked the idea of being called “Illustrious” was delighted to hear himself addressed as “Your Honor.”

“So this servant thinks me a great man,” he thought proudly to himself. He strutted round as if the whole world belonged to him. While he was walking with his head in the air and his hands in his pockets, he struck a round, flat object with his foot. Picking it up, he looked it over carefully.

“Does Your Honor know what that is?” the cetacean asked him mockingly.

“Of course. It is the bellows my cook lost a few weeks ago, and this,” he continued, picking up another object, “is the crumb brush our maid lost last Sunday and looked all over the house for. I wonder how they came to be here?”

Globicephalous turned a somersault, the better to hide his laughing face.

Pinocchio, thinking that the dolphin believed all his tales, continued his proud walk.

Lying on top of a rock not far off was a transparent object of beautiful colors. It was closely woven like a net work, and looked like a fan.

Pinocchio, having started on the road of story-telling, did not feel like turning back.

“Just see how careless that maid was,” he began again. “Last summer I gave her this beautiful lace fan, and now see where I find it! Good care she takes of my gifts!”

Globicephalous continued his somersaults.

“Look again! These are surely the plants that were stolen from my conservatories last winter,—”

Globicephalous had had too much. He interrupted Pinocchio with: “And this, if it weren’t so small, might be used to whip boys who sell tinsel for gold.”

Globicephalous was holding up a small object, which really looked like a whip.

“What do you mean?” haughtily asked Pinocchio. “Do you dare to doubt my word?”

“I don’t doubt it. I know there is not a word of truth in anything you have said.”

“How do you know? Isn’t it possible for me to have a palace and servants?”

“You might have, but you haven’t.”

“Who told you so?”

“I know it without being told.”

“How?”

“Listen. Do you want to know what these two things are,—the bellows and the brush?”

“The bellows is a horseshoe crab. If you turn it over you will see it has ten legs like a lobster. The brush is a sea fan. The little plants, which were stolen from your conservatories, are simply coral polyps. All except the crab are zoöphytes.”

“Now do you see, my great Mr. Pinocchio, why I cannot very well believe all your tales?”

Pinocchio was simply breathless. “Zoöphyte! Zoöphyte!” he exclaimed. “What does that big word mean?”

“Oh,” replied Globicephalous, with a learned air. “That word means an animal that looks like a plant.”

“By the way, I remember you asked Mr. Tursio for a feather to put in your cap. Here it is.” And Globicephalous gave the marionette a long, delicate, feathery object of a bright yellow color.

“And what is this?”

“Another beautiful zoöphyte. And to finish the trimming of your cap you might use this five-pointed starfish.”

“What? Is this a fish, also? Surely you are mistaken!”

“Oh, no, Mr. Pinocchio, I am perfectly sure that I am not mistaken. The starfish is just as much an animal as the coral is.”

“It was a long time before people learned that coral is made by tiny living animals. But now everybody knows that there are hundreds of the little coral animals living and working together on the same branch.”

“These little animals grow and multiply very quickly. In a short time they even make mountains under the sea.”

“You know how to tell fanciful tales better than I, Globicephalous.”

“But my tales happen to be true ones, though they do seem fanciful. That mountain you see there is made by coral polyps. If you should climb to the top of it, you would find yourself on an island.”

“Very well. I’ll try it. I might find my father.”

“Yes, or you might meet some one, and ask whether he has been seen.”

“Ask! Do people live on islands in the middle of the sea? What are you talking about?”

“Let me explain. After the islands are made, little by little they are covered with earth. Then plants begin to appear from seed blown by the wind or dropped by the birds. Then man may come. Why not, my boy?”

“I have enough to think over just now. Good-by for a time.”

“Good-by. I will stay here. Do not lose your way.”

Without answering, Pinocchio began to climb. He was as agile as a monkey, and was soon far up.

“I do hope I shall not lose my way,” he thought. “What a joke it would be to be lost at the bottom of the sea!”

CHAPTER VII

Pinocchio climbed and climbed. The poor boy was getting very tired. Still he wanted to be sure the dolphin was right. So he went on bravely.

At last the water began to grow lighter, and even his wooden head could understand that he must be near the surface.

“It must be the light of the sun which I see,” he thought. “On, my brave Pinocchio, and the top will soon be reached. Hurrah! Here I am!”

With a bound he was—yes, the dolphin was right—on the shore of a real island.

Shaking the water out of his clothes, he looked around. Those little beings, the corals, had certainly worked wonders.

The island was rather bare of trees and grass, but there was a cave near the shore which soon attracted Pinocchio’s attention. He went into it. It was not very large, but one could easily see that a man had been there.

“People must certainly be living here. From now on I shall have to believe Globicephalous,” thought the marionette.

When he came out, he walked around and started to explore the island. He came to a small pond. In it lived not only frogs, but also thousands of other tiny animals.

Pinocchio stopped to look at the water. It looked as green as grass. He certainly would have had another shock if some one had told him that the tiny animals that lived in it made it green. Yet that was really the case.

These animals are not visible to the naked eye. Still they are present in such great numbers that water sometimes looks green, sometimes red, and at other times even black, on account of them and their color.

This was not what interested Pinocchio most, however. He saw other animals swimming around very quickly. Some were very tiny, very long, and had no legs.

Others, a little larger, had two legs. Others had four legs, and still larger ones had a short bit of a tail.

Perhaps you have guessed, children, what Pinocchio was looking at. The small black animals were tadpoles.

When he was tired of looking at the pond, Pinocchio turned toward the sea. He thought he might see his father, but he was disappointed. Suddenly he gave a great shout of surprise.

And no wonder! As if by magic a fleet of tiny boats had appeared on the surface of the water. They were no larger than an egg shell. Nor was this all. From each little skiff rose two little rose-colored sails, and each tiny boat put out three pairs of oars as long as knitting needles.

“I wonder where the little boats came from,” cried Pinocchio. “Surely this must be fairyland.”

“No, my boy, you are not in fairyland,” he heard a voice behind him saying. “Those are simply shells.”

Turning quickly, Pinocchio saw a little fat man standing before him, looking him over.

“Shells!” repeated the marionette, too surprised to think of anything else to say.

“Yes, shells.”

“And are they also animals?” Pinocchio had asked this question so many times that it came from him unconsciously.

“Yes, they are. They are small mollusks of strange form. When they come to the surface of the sea, they turn the opening of their shells upwards. Then they raise their sails, put out their oars, and float away. They are called argonauts. Aren’t they pretty?”

“How beautiful they are! But see! They are disappearing!”

“Yes, because clouds are gathering. It looks as if a storm were coming up, and these little animals don’t like storms. So they are taking refuge under the water.”

“By the way,” began Pinocchio, “will you please tell me whether or not you have met a little old man looking for his son?”

“No, I have not.”

“Well, then, good-by. It is getting late, and I must meet some friends of mine.”

But the little man did not wish him to go, so he held him by the arm.

“Listen here, my little man, where did you come from?”

“From the sea.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I am taking a trip under the sea with three dolphin friends of mine.”

“Under the sea! How can you live there?”

“One of the dolphins made me an antibian.”

“You mean amphibian, my boy. What a wonderful experience you must be having.”

“Yes, but please let me go now. I must meet my friends, or they will go without me.”

“In a minute. But first tell me where you got that beautiful shell you have on your head.”

“The dolphin Tursio gave it to me. He called it a long name, and said it was very rare.”

“I know it. Will you give it to me?”

“No, I like it too much myself.”

“You won’t? Well, then, I shall have to take it,” and the man quickly put out a hand for it.

But Pinocchio was quicker still. He gave a great jump, but oh! poor fellow, he did not know how near the edge of the rock he was. Before he could realize it, he fell headfirst into the water.

CHAPTER VIII

Down—down—Pinocchio sank, straight to the bottom of the sea.

And here we must remember that we are to think of Pinocchio as a real boy of flesh and blood. Only the shell was of wood. Otherwise he would have floated away on the surface of the water.

When he finally touched sand he felt half dead. It was not a very pleasant experience to fall through so much water.

After a while, feeling better, he got up and looked around. He was in a strange place, a place he had never seen before. Of Globicephalous there was no sign.

The poor boy was frightened almost to death. He thought a trick had been played upon him. But if he had had his wits about him, he would not have been so puzzled.

Poor thoughtless marionette! He did not remember how he had walked around in his explorations. He had fallen into the sea on the eastern side of the island, and Globicephalous was waiting for him on the southern side. But Pinocchio’s wooden mind knew nothing of east or south.

“Oh! poor me,” he could not help crying, “and now what shall I do? I cannot climb this steep rock. If I remain here, I shall be eaten in no time by some of these fish I see swimming around.”

In fact, immense tunnies were passing near him. Enormous rays, looking like giant fans, dashed by. Over him glided horrible uranoscopes, or stargazers.

These fish, like the halibut, have both eyes on the tops of their heads, and so can only see above them. Luckily, Pinocchio was under them, otherwise—

“I am afraid I am not very safe here,” observed Pinocchio, whose knees were beginning to feel weak. “If these fish notice me, I shall disappear. I do wish I could find dear old Globicephalous.”

Thoroughly frightened, he started to run madly along. Of course he ran in the wrong direction.

“I wonder what this is,” he grumbled. He had stepped on something large and hard.

He pushed the thick seaweeds aside. In their midst he found a large turtle. For a wonder Pinocchio knew what it was.

“How fortunate you are!” sighed the marionette. “At least you have a house. In that armor of yours you are safe from anybody.”

But such did not seem to be the case. The harmless reptile was lying quietly in the weeds trying to sleep. But even though Pinocchio was in such a plight as to be lost in the sea, still the love of mischief had not left him. Taking the poor animal by its hind legs he turned it over on its back.

The poor thing struggled and tried to right itself, but all in vain. When a turtle is on its back, it has to stay there.

This is so well known that when fishermen catch them they turn them over, sure of finding them in the same position even a day later.

Seeing another shell near by, Pinocchio was about to treat it in the same manner. But as it felt very light he examined it closely. It was empty. The animal had probably been dead a long time, and the shell alone was left. It was almost a yard long.

As he was looking at it, he chanced to turn his head upward. Horrors! What did he see? An enormous animal was about to throw itself upon him!

No one had ever told Pinocchio what this fish was. Still, even he could easily guess its name. Its strange shape is so much like that of a large hammer that it is unmistakable. It was the terrible hammer that Tursio had spoken about.

“I am lost,” breathed Pinocchio, closing his eyes and throwing himself flat amongst the seaweed.

Who could have blamed the poor boy for being frightened? He had seen that large gray mass coming nearer and nearer with wide-open mouth. He had seen the large black and gold eyes at the ends of the head, gleaming brightly with thinking of the coming feast. Poor fellow!

But just as he was imagining himself in the shark’s mouth Pinocchio realized that the minutes were passing and that he was still alive.

“He may have changed his mind about committing a marionetticide,” he reflected with eyes still closed.

Time passed, and thinking that the shark had not courage enough to attack him, Pinocchio had the courage to—open his eyes. He could hardly believe what he saw. The shark was moving away. Still, he could see that the fish was going because he had to, not because he wanted to. Looking more carefully then, he saw a strange sight. Three small fish were sticking to the sides of the hammerhead, and were pulling him away. Our hero had never seen such strange-looking animals as those three fishes. They were small and narrow, and on their heads each had a large flat object, which looked just like a dish.

If the dolphins had been there, they would have told Pinocchio that these dark-colored fish are called remora. With the flat disk they can attach themselves to other fish. Sometimes they let themselves be carried. At other times, when they feel in the mood for mischief, they pull others along wherever they wish. This is what happened to the shark.

“Those fish certainly saved my life,” thought Pinocchio. “But I hope the shark won’t do to them what he wanted to do to me.”

Feeling in need of a place of safety, he tried to hide himself in a large hole in a rock. But he had hardly put one foot in, when he felt his shoe being pulled off by a large claw. Two eyes at the ends of two long sticks glared ferociously at him. It was a large lobster. Pinocchio had disturbed Mr. Lobster while he was looking for dinner, and so had been punished. Happily for Pinocchio the lobster was satisfied with the shoe! If the claw had taken hold of the foot also, it might even have gone through the wood, and then, poor Pinocchio!

In disturbing the lobster our hero must certainly have offended its whole family. Before he could realize it, the sand before him was full of horrible crustaceans. Frightened out of his wits, he could just look and wonder when they would stop coming. From every hole in the rock they came, little ones, big ones, flat ones, round ones.

And ready to fight they certainly were! With claws in the air and eyes roving madly they approached. Very carefully they looked the boy over. A lobster or a crab never begins to fight unless he knows what he has to deal with.

And still they kept coming! Wherever Pinocchio turned, there was a horrible creature. To the right the large mouth of a common lobster threatened him. To the left an ugly spiny lobster shook his claws at him. Behind and before him the sand was covered with them, large green crabs, common crabs, porcelain crabs, common lobster, spider crabs, glass crabs, tiny fiddlers, and others.

As if these were not enough, out of a hole came a crab larger than any of the others. He was rapidly coming nearer, but before long one of his claws was grasped by one lobster, the other by another. Without the least movement to fight, the crab just pulled off his claws, and quickly went back to his hole.

Pinocchio was thunderstruck. How could the crab do this so calmly? For the simple reason that the crab preferred losing his claws to being killed and eaten up. In a few months he would grow another set of claws as good as those he had lost. Yes, a crab can do that, children. Think of it!

“Oh, dear me!” thought Pinocchio, who was getting rather nervous by this time. “What is going to become of me? If only I had a shell as has a turtle I could hide away and be safe.”

“Oh! what a splendid idea!” he suddenly burst out. “Why didn’t I think of it before? I shall have a shell to hide in!”

And without another word he slipped into the shell he had been looking at. In a moment nothing could be seen of him, not even his nose.

The crustaceans did not understand with what kind of a being they had to deal. So after examining the shell all over, they slowly disappeared into their holes.

With a great sigh of relief Pinocchio dared to stick his head out of the shell. Seeing his shoe lying on the ground, he quickly put his foot in it. It was not very pleasant to walk on the sand without a shoe.

“If I do not hurry and find Globicephalous, this house of safety may become a house of death,” Pinocchio began to think after lying still a long time. “Perhaps if I try I may be able to walk around like a hermit crab. Let me see.”

Slowly the marionette stuck out first one leg, then another; then his arms came out, and lastly his head appeared. Holding the shell with both hands he tried to walk around.... Impossible. After a few steps he was exhausted.

“Too bad! It is so comfortable here! If only I had a horse! ’Twould be like riding in a carriage!”

While he was thinking thus, he saw not far away four fish like the ones he had seen under the hammerhead. An idea flashed through his head.

“Oh, if I only could!... The horses!...” he whispered.

Trying very hard, he succeeded in dragging himself near them. The fish were very busy. They were looking for small crabs to eat, and paid no attention to him. Trembling in every limb, Pinocchio went on.

As soon as he was near them, he bent over slowly. How kind the little fish were! As soon as they felt the shell on their heads they stuck to it. Just what Pinocchio wanted! In a moment he felt himself rising in the air, or rather in the water. The remoras were strong and pulled him along swiftly.

“Hurrah! Here I am in a flying machine!” screamed Pinocchio, clapping his hands. “I feel like a prince, and not even a king has a carriage like mine! Hurrah!”

CHAPTER IX

Pinocchio forgot all his troubles, and was full of fun and mischief. Grasping a long thin seaweed and using it as a whip, he went gaily along.

“Up, up, my little horses! Trot, trot,—gallop, gallop,” he sang at the top of his voice.

The fishes obeyed him well and in a short time they had gone a long way. Pinocchio soon became so bold that he whipped a dory which was passing by, pulled a horrible bullhead by the tail, and slapped a red mullet that was studying him with interest.

Meanwhile the horses ran and ran, wherever they wished. Soon Pinocchio saw that they were near the surface of the water.

“When I reach the top, I shall be able to see where I am. I will then swim to the coral reef and find Globicephalous,” he thought.

But on the surface of the water such a surprise was awaiting him that he forgot all about coral reefs or dolphins.

All around him mushrooms were hanging. They were of all shapes and sizes, and of a hundred beautiful colors. Some had round heads, which looked like soap bubbles. Some looked like inverted glass bells; others like brightly colored umbrellas. Still others seemed to be made of emeralds and sapphires. From all of them, long beautiful silvery threads hung down into the water. The waves moved them about, and the sun playing with them made them look like so many rainbows.

Pinocchio was amazed at so much beauty. As far as eye could reach he could see only these beautiful objects. It was a sight to arouse wonder in any one.

“I wish some one were here to tell me what those wonderful things are!” he thought.

What so attracted Pinocchio were medusæ. They also are animals belonging to the zoöphytes.

These medusæ have no solid parts and cannot live out of the water. If taken out and left in the sun they dry up and soon nothing is left of them. Some of them are as small as a penny, and others are very large.

“If I could only take one,” sighed Pinocchio, hanging way out of his shell in his efforts to touch them.

His four horses, as if to satisfy him, came near to the medusæ in order to eat a few. The marionette tried to imitate them, but he had no sooner touched them than he let go very quickly.

“Oh, oh!” he cried, shaking his hands, “they prick like so many nettles.”

He did not know it, but he had used the right words. In fact, fishermen often call medusæ sea nettles.

“My dear mushroom rainbows,” he said, bowing low, “you may be very beautiful, but you are not for me. Good-by.”

Just then the fishes reached the surface of the water. But they did not stay there long. A fearful storm was rising. Great black clouds hung low, almost touching the water.

The waves were white and ragged and lashed angrily. The medusæ had disappeared. Very gladly Pinocchio cuddled in his shell, and very happy he was when he found himself again at the bottom of the sea.

There all was calm. For, strange to say, even though the most terrible tempest may rage on the sea, deep down in it the water is always calm.

“How lucky it is that I did not start to swim,” thought Pinocchio. “I should have been killed surely.”

On and on the fishes went. But finally they became tired and stopped near a rock. Here were some of the most beautiful shells imaginable.

After resting awhile the fish continued their journey. Pinocchio went along happily.

For a time he seemed to have forgotten what danger he was in. He let himself be carried along without a thought of the future.

The party was now passing through the midst of a great number of eels. Who does not know an eel? Even Pinocchio knew them.

He might, however, have very easily mistaken a common eel for a conger eel, or for a burbot, sometimes called ling. It was this ignorance of his which led him into trouble.

To him the eels were all alike. So he pulled the tail of one, pinched another’s round body, or shook a third one by the nose. The poor things turned and struggled. But this only afforded greater fun for Pinocchio.

But, oh! He had no sooner touched a large red eel’s tail, than he gave a scream of pain. His shouts of laughter were changed to moans, and in his struggles the marionette fell out of the shell and tumbled on the sand.

“Help! Help! I am dying! Some one has killed me!” howled Pinocchio, so loudly that he could have been heard a mile away.

“Who is howling so? What is happening down there?” a deep voice called.

Pinocchio heard nothing. He could only think of his pain, and scream. He made such a noise that even the deaf could hear him.

“Well, may I know what has happened?” called the same voice, nearer now. “Why, it is Mr. Pinocchio!”

The words were uttered by a large dolphin with a head as round as an electric light globe. That dolphin was Globicephalous.

“You mean I was Pinocchio. Now I am dead, so I am no longer Pinocchio.”

“Why, what has happened to you?”

All Pinocchio could do was to struggle on the sand.

“Well, will you tell me what the matter is?”

“I can’t.... I don’t know.... I’m dead.”

“Who has hurt you?”

“Some one has killed me.”

“Who?”

“Fire ants! Oh! Oh!” screamed Pinocchio.

But by this time the marionette was beginning to feel better. He opened his eyes and looked at the dolphin.

Well! did you ever see a jumping jack come suddenly out of his box when the box is opened? In just the same way did Pinocchio jump to his feet when he recognized Tursio’s servant. His pain was forgotten.

“Globicephalous! Oh, Globicephalous! How glad I am to see you!” he cried, and running up to the dolphin, he hugged him wildly. Or, at least, he tried to do so, for his wooden arms did not go very far around the dolphin’s neck.

“What happiness it is to find you once more!” Pinocchio kept saying. “I had almost lost hope of ever being with you again.”

“But will you tell me what was the matter with you?”

“Oh, have I not told you? I have been killed!”

“But by whom, pray?”

“By fire ants! Will you see if you can take them off? Oh, they are beginning again. There must be a million of them!”

“I don’t see any on you!”

“Then you must be blind! Hundreds of ants or mosquitoes must be on me. They have heated their stingers red hot, and now they are enjoying themselves by sticking them into me on all sides. Oh! Oh!”

Globicephalous turned the boy around. “I see nothing!” he said finally.

“But I feel everything! I am being bitten, cut, torn to pieces.”

“That’s queer! How did this pain begin?”

“Why, I was playing with some eels, and just as I touched a red one’s tail, why....”

“Oh, now I understand,” interrupted Globicephalous. “You touched an electric eel. Still, I don’t see how an electric eel comes to be around here. Usually they are found only in rivers. It must have been a lost one. All you can do is just to bear it. In an hour or so it will stop. You have had an electric shock, that’s all.”

“And that eel did it all?”

“Yes; that eel did it all, and the torpedoes can do it, too.”

“But I only touched the eel with a stick.”

“It doesn’t matter. The shock is very strong, so strong that sometimes it may even kill a fish.”

“You are right! The shock is strong!”

“Well, you will be all right. Now jump on my tail. We must return to the rock. Soon Mr. Tursio and Marsovino will be at the meeting place.”

“But are we not far away from that meeting place? I looked all over for it this morning.”

“Oh, no, we shall soon be there.”

Little by little the pain stopped, and Pinocchio thought no more of the eel. Or if he thought of it, it was only to resolve never to touch it again, not even with a stick.

CHAPTER X

“Good evening, Messrs. Cetaceans,” said Pinocchio, bowing low to Tursio and Marsovino as soon as he saw them coming.

“Why, where did you learn our family name? You called us fish once upon a time.”

“Globicephalous told me. I know now the difference between a fish and a cetacean.”

“You have taken lessons from a servant? Why, I thought you were ashamed even to be seen walking with one.”

Pinocchio was silent. He was beginning to learn manners.

“Well, Pinocchio, to-morrow morning you are to come with us to visit my friend Beluga. You may walk around a little now with Marsovino; but after your walk you are to go to sleep. I want you up early to-morrow.”

While the marionette was listening to Tursio he had noticed a bright red eel lying quietly among some weeds. The mood for mischief again seized him. He smiled to himself. Approaching Marsovino, he pulled him gently by the fin, and said to him smilingly:

“Come with me. I want to show you something. Look in those weeds. There is a beautiful electrical machine there.”

“An electrical machine!” Marsovino was full of interest. “Where is it?”

“Stick your nose among the weeds and you will see it.”

The dolphin did as he was told. Pinocchio laughed up his sleeve, and very quietly hid himself behind some friendly rocks.

“Oh!” suddenly screamed Marsovino, leaping backward. “An electrical machine! Why, it is an electric eel, you mean boy! That was an unkind joke, Pinocchio.”

Yes, that mischief maker, seeing the eel again, thought he would play a trick on the poor dolphin.

Tursio, hearing the screams, had come nearer.

“The electric eel! You poor boy! How you must suffer!”

“Luckily the eel was asleep, so I had no great shock.”

“Yes, luckily. When it is asleep, it does not hurt much.”

“But how did you ever get near him?”

“Why, Pinocchio—” and then he stopped. Why should he tell? But he was too late.

“Oh, that Pinocchio. Well, remember, marionette, usually one gets paid in his own coin. Now you look tired. Stop stretching yourself and go to sleep.”

“Very well, Mr. Tursio,” came meekly from Pinocchio. “But may I ask a favor of you?”

“What is it?”

“Seeing that we are near the island, may I sleep there to-night? I found a small cave there this morning, and it looked comfortable. May I, Mr. Tursio?”

“Why, surely, my boy.”

“Thank you. But will you please sleep near? I should feel better if I knew you were near.”

“Very well, my lion tamer.”

Globicephalous then took Pinocchio on his back and rose with him to the surface.

“I wonder what those two dolphins are talking about,” he thought, seeing Tursio and Marsovino whispering together.

Tursio seemed little pleased. Marsovino was begging for something. Finally the good old dolphin smiled an unwilling “yes” to his pupil.

“It may teach him a lesson,” Pinocchio heard Tursio say, and he wondered at the words. Soon he forgot all about them.

“Good-night,” he called, jumping on land and disappearing into the cave.

He gathered some seaweed and made a soft bed.

“This is very good,” he said, lying down. But soon he found out that he could not sleep.

He could not understand why. He was so tired, after two nights of sleeplessness, but still his eyes would not close. Everything around him was so quiet that he began to be frightened. He got up and looked out on the sea. It was as black as ink, oh! pitch-black.

“How horrible the sea is at night,” grumbled the marionette.

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he wished them in again. As if the waves had taken offense at his remark, they were suddenly turned into fire. It seemed as if millions of stars had fallen into the sea.

Pinocchio ran out of the cave. As far as eye could reach there was nothing but this fiery sea. The bright, shiny water rose and fell in silvery waves. Millions of sparks were thrown up into the air and fell back again.

“Oh! the sea is on fire,” shouted Pinocchio, and that O-o-o-o-h was the longest that had as yet come from his mouth. “And then Mr. Tursio tells me he is not a wizard.”

He could hardly be blamed, poor ignorant little marionette. That scene certainly belonged more to fairyland than to real life.

It was the phosphorescence of the sea that attracted Pinocchio’s attention. Sometimes this is so wonderfully beautiful that seen once, it can never be forgotten.

Our wooden hero was so awe-struck at first that he could only stand and gaze at it. Finally he gathered courage, and went nearer and nearer the water. And when a wave touched his feet, he jumped back for fear of being burned. But he found the water was just as cool as before.

“Why, this fire does not burn! How queer! What can it be?”

In his ignorance he could not answer, but I shall answer for him.

The phosphorescence of the sea is produced by millions of very tiny zoöphytes, so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. These minute zoöphytes have a sheen like fireflies. When they light up all together, they make the ocean look like a sea of molten gold.

While Pinocchio was still gazing, the fire went out just as quickly as it had come. The night was again as dark as ink. This was not much to the marionette’s taste, so he started back to his cave. Glancing toward the sea again, it seemed to him that the dolphins were not in the same place.

“I hope I’ll be able to sleep now,” he thought. “I am so tired.”

But he had hardly reached the mouth of the cave when, with a shriek, he turned and fled. Why?

An awful, a horrible monster was hanging at the mouth of the cave. It was more than a yard long, and with a mouth like an oven. On its head were two long horns; and its body was shining in the night, frightful in its shape and color. Can you imagine Pinocchio’s fright?

“A dragon!” he shrieked. “A dragon in my cave! Help! Help!”

Running madly toward the sea, he never stopped until he reached the dolphins.

“Globicephalous, for pity’s sake! Tursio! Marsovino! Help! Wake up! A demon is in my cave! Yes, come and see—his mouth wide open, ready to eat me up. If only you could see the size of his horns!”

But when the dolphins awoke and realized what was happening, they only laughed and laughed. Pinocchio could not understand. He looked from one to the other. Finally he said, “Well, I don’t see anything so funny. What is it?”

“Look at the brave boy! Look! Look!” called Marsovino, bursting with laughter.

“I thought you threw stones into a lion’s mouth,” shouted Globicephalous, making fun of the poor fellow.

“Lions are one thing, demons another,” explained Pinocchio, almost crying with shame.

“But what demons are you talking about, anyway?” asked Tursio.

“Come, and you will see.”

When they reached the cave, there was the dragon still hanging. His eyes were still glaring, his mouth still wide, his body still shining in the night.

“B-r-r-r-!” came from our shivering hero.

“Look at it well, you foolish boy. What do you think of it? A demon? Where are its eyes? Doesn’t it look more like a mere fish?”

“Yes, well?” asked Pinocchio, who didn’t know what to think.

“Well, it is a fish. Sometimes it is called fishing frog, sometimes goosefish, and sometimes sea devil from its horrible looks.”

“Marsovino has just paid you back for your joke. He took the dry skin of this fish, filled it with water, and inside of it put two sunfishes. When you thought he was asleep, he was hanging it up. It has given you a chance to show us how brave you are.”

Pinocchio felt very small. Slowly he approached the monster and looked it over. How foolish he had been!

“What a horrible mouth you have, my fish,” he said. “And what is this horn doing at the top of your head?”

“That helps him to get his dinner,” explained Tursio. “Other fish are caught on the horns, and the frog has nothing to do but eat them.”

“Well, I was frightened,” admitted the marionette, soberly.

“We have lost enough sleep by this time. To bed, all of you,” ordered Tursio.

This time Pinocchio did not have to wait long for sleep to come. He was soon dreaming about sharks, flying machines, sea devils, and electric eels.

CHAPTER XI

“Pinocchio, Pinocchio, make haste! make haste!” called Marsovino the next morning.

“Very well,” sleepily came the answer. “But why must I get up so early?”

“Do you call ten o’clock early, you lazy boy?”

“Ten o’clock!” Pinocchio could hardly believe his ears.

“Yes, and in one hour we must be with the white whale. He is expecting us for dinner. So make haste, as we have no time to lose.”

Pinocchio, hearing about dinner, was ready in no time. He was soon on Tursio’s back, waiting for the dolphin to start. Before long they were on their way.

After a short trip around the island they came to a beautiful little nook in the rocks. Here lived Beluga, the white whale.

Dinner was ready, and all sat down around the table. And what do you think the table was? An immense flounder! Yes, don’t laugh; it is true.

The flounder is of the same family as the sole. All these fish have a thin flat body.

As they have to lie on the mud most of the time, they can only look upwards. So they have both eyes on the upper side of the head.

On Beluga’s table were all kinds of fish: large ones, small ones, flat ones, and round ones.

Pinocchio ate of everything. When he had finished, nothing was left on his plate but a couple of eyes and a few tails. Afterward, noticing that his plate was also a fish, he thought it would be a good idea to eat that too. He had eaten so much, though, that he couldn’t; so he put it into his pocket. “It will do for my breakfast,” he thought.

Poor Tursio was much ashamed of the marionette, and Marsovino was not less so. If they had only known that Pinocchio was so rude as to take things from the table and put them into his pocket, they would never have invited him to dinner. Still they did not say a word.

“Run along, now, children. Mr. Beluga and I must talk about business, and we cannot have you around.”

The two boys left the dolphins together and went off. While enjoying themselves looking around, Marsovino picked up something which looked like a chain. It was made of small round balls all alike, and transparent. He handed it to Pinocchio.

“Tell me,” he said, “do you know what this is?”

“Why, yes, it is a bead chain. It is easy enough to know that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, of course. I have seen them many times around little girls’ necks.”

“And if I told you that they are eggs—”

“Eggs?” murmured Pinocchio. “Eggs? This thing?”

“Yes, sir, that is what they really are; the eggs of a halibut. It is a bad habit, Pinocchio, to make believe you know a thing when you do not. I am afraid I am not going to be your friend.”

“Not my friend?” came from the poor shamefaced marionette.

“No. Mr. Tursio has always told me to keep away from boys who—”

“Tell lies, I suppose you want to say,” finished Pinocchio.

“I was told to go with boys who are polite,” continued Marsovino.

“And instead I even take the plates away with me when I am invited to dinner,” said Pinocchio.

“I was told to make friends with educated children.”

“And I—yes, I might as well confess it—I have hardly ever seen the inside of a classroom in my life. Well, Marsovino, I will try to make myself your friend. Will you try me again?”

“Very well, I will. Now let us return.”

The dolphins were still talking busily when the boys came up to them. They seemed very much in earnest.

“Here we are, father,” called Marsovino.

“At last! Where have you been? We have important things to say to you. Come here, both of you!”

“What is it? We are all ears.”

“My friend Beluga has been telling me that while I have been away from home I have lost much money. He has told me of a great treasure that is to be found in an old ship far away from here. As I need it very much just now, I do wish I could get hold of it.”

“Well,” answered Marsovino, “why can’t we go for it?”

“Because it is miles and miles away. Not only that, but we should have to travel as far up as the polar seas, and into the great oceans. We could never do it. You see, I am getting old. I could hardly attempt to cross those icy waters. Still, I need the money so much that I am afraid I shall have to try the journey.”

“Why couldn’t Globicephalous and I go instead of you, father?” asked Marsovino.

“And I also,” timidly added Pinocchio.

“Globicephalous is too old. And as for you two, my dear boys, you do not know what you are saying. Do you know that for months and months the polar seas are in darkness? That the sun is seen only in the spring and summer?”

“I know, but it is now winter, and we should reach those seas just at the right time. We should be back before the fall.”

“And are you not afraid of the cold?”

“It will not be cold. I will swim deep in the water, and there the water will be warm. I will come to the surface only long enough to breathe.”

“What about the ice? What about those monsters of the seas, the whales, the sharks, the narwhals?”

“You need the treasure. I have made up my mind to go,” answered Marsovino, firmly.

“You might escape all the dangers I mention, my boy, and reach the ship. But how could you ever get hold of the gold inside?”

“I might tear a hole in the ship with my strong tail,” began Marsovino.

“A ship a block long, and all made of iron? It is of no use, my boy.”

The young dolphin was silent. How could he get into the ship? He thought and thought, but he could find no answer.

“May I go, too?” here began Pinocchio.

“You?” asked Tursio and Marsovino, at the same time.

“Yes, I. Why not? If Marsovino cannot get into the ship because he is too big, I am so small I can get into any hole,” continued the marionette.

“That isn’t a bad idea, is it, father?”

“No, but do you really feel courageous enough, you two, to undertake such a journey?”

“We’ll do our best,” answered Marsovino.

“Well, then, all right. Let us return to Globicephalous, and then you will get ready to start. Beluga, I will be with you again soon. I might as well wait here with you for Marsovino and Pinocchio to return.”

After saying good-by to Beluga the young dolphin followed Tursio, who seemed in haste to get to Globicephalous.

Sitting on the dolphin’s back, Pinocchio was thinking how good he had been in offering to go with Marsovino. But he soon forgot this in another surprise. In front of him, not far away, he saw a number of animals rise out of the sea.

They rose, shook their colored wings gaily, and then fell back again into the water. No sooner had they disappeared than others came, and then again others. How beautiful they were! Red, blue, and green, and shining brightly in the sun.

“Birds in the sea! Oh, they will drown!” screamed Pinocchio.

“Oh, no, these birds will not drown. They live in the sea, my boy. They are called flying fish,” explained Tursio.

“When shall I stop hearing news?” wondered Pinocchio. “So there are also birds in the sea!”

“Almost birds, but not quite. These fish have very strong fins and with them they can leap very high. As you see, they even leap out of the water. Why do they do this, do you think? Because they want to escape from the large fish, which follow them to eat them.”

Pinocchio had nothing to say. Meanwhile, the three friends had reached the place where Globicephalous was waiting. Tursio told him in a few words what Marsovino and Pinocchio had planned to do to help him.

Very soon the two boys were ready to start.

“Well, good-by, boys,” said Tursio, after telling them how to reach the ship. “I will no longer try to stop you from going. Only be careful. Keep to yourselves, and you will meet with little trouble. Do not stop on your way. Hasten back, or I shall be worried. Above all, never get out of the water. The tide might go out, and you, Marsovino, would be in great danger.”

Marsovino and Pinocchio listened carefully; and then, with a cheerful good-by, they were off.

A few hours later Tursio and Globicephalous were with Beluga, and Marsovino and Pinocchio were speeding away towards the great oceans, treasure hunting.

CHAPTER XII

Marsovino and Pinocchio traveled swiftly. They passed a strait, crossed a canal, left beautiful lands behind them, and at last came out fearlessly into the great ocean. They never stopped.

When the moon shone they traveled on the surface of the water. If the sky was dark and gloomy, the dolphin plunged deep into the sea. There the two friends had plenty of light. Great medusæ and sun fishes made the water light and bright. Very often, too, the wonderful phosphorescence of the sea aided them in seeing their way. Pinocchio felt satisfied when Marsovino explained the cause of this phosphorescence to him. At first, though, he could hardly believe his ears.

The journey was very peaceful, and nothing came to trouble the two little heroes.

“What is that dark blue streak there, Marsovino?” asked Pinocchio, one day. He was pointing out a wide band of dark blue water, which stood out distinctly from the lighter green of the ocean.

“That? Oh, that is the Gulf Stream,” answered Marsovino.

“The Gulf Stream? What are you talking about? A stream running in the ocean! Water running in water!”

“Yes, of course it is all water. But there is a difference between ocean water and Gulf Stream water. The first, in general, is quiet, the second is moving. That stream is just like a river flowing between two valleys. The waters of the two never mix. If you try, you will find that the ocean is much the colder of the two.”

“But what is the use of it?”

“Why, it is of great use. This stream carries warmth to the cold regions of the north. It cools the hot countries of the tropics. Without this saving current, life would not be pleasant in many countries.”

“Hurrah for the river in the middle of the sea, then!” shouted Pinocchio. He had understood little, so he thought it better not to speak further on the subject.

Towards noon of the same day the sea began to be filled with herrings. They were on all sides. Our two travelers were surrounded. Pinocchio enjoyed being with the silvery animals.

Soon, however, there were so many that Marsovino found it hard to move. Still, the kind little fellow, seeing that Pinocchio was enjoying himself, did not try to get away. After a while, however, the herrings became so numerous that the ocean looked like a sea of silver, not of water. Pinocchio and the dolphin were being pushed and shoved around without mercy.

“I am being killed, stifled,” whispered Pinocchio. Yes, he whispered. If he had opened his mouth a herring could easily have slipped into it. This might not have been very pleasant.

Marsovino finally saw that the herring had become as thick as a stone wall. So with a few strong strokes of his tail, he made his way to the surface of the water.

“Ah! now I can breathe!” exclaimed Pinocchio. “In that fishy world I thought I should die.”

As night had come, and as it was very dark, our friends began to think of sleep. Anyway, even if they had tried to move, they could hardly have passed through that multitude.

Just as the sun rose, Pinocchio opened his eyes. He had had a very good sleep on the back of his swimming horse. Looking around, he could not help crying out in surprise.

“Marsovino! Wake up!” he called. “Just look! Yesterday we were swimming in a sea of silver. To-day we are floating in milk.”

It was really the truth. No sign of herrings was left. But as far as eye could reach one could see only a thick heavy liquid as white as milk.

“Oh, how splendid!” cried Pinocchio. “Now I can have as much milk as I want. It looks good.”

Marsovino had awakened, but he never said a word. He wanted to see what Pinocchio would do. The marionette, thinking himself right, bent over and took a long drink of milk, as he thought. But he had no sooner had a taste than he made a wry face.

“Why, it is salty.”

“Of course it is. Is this the first time you have heard of the sea being salt?”

“But this is not water. Look how white it is. It looks like milk.”

“Do you know why it is so? The water looks white because of the eggs left in it by the herrings of yesterday.”

“Eggs? But there must be thousands of them?”

“Yes, and millions.”

“But the sea will soon be full of herrings, then.”

“No fear of that, Pinocchio. Think of the many large fish that are in the sea. They live on these eggs and on small fishes. Why, they can and they do swallow hundreds of eggs at a time. The sea is big enough to hold all its fish and more. You don’t think we are crowded, do you?”

“Last night we certainly were.”

“One night is not every night. You see, herrings travel in great numbers, and we happened to meet a school of them.”

“Oh, they go to school, do they? Well, I never before thought a fish had to go to school, too!” mumbled Pinocchio to himself.

After traveling a long time through the milky sea, the two travelers at last came out of it.

Soon after a long, sharp, flat blade rose suddenly out of the water. It looked like a sword, and Pinocchio, of course, thought it was one.

“What have we here?” he asked. “A soldier battling in the sea? And is that thing his sword?”

“You can hardly be blamed for thinking it a sword. It looks very much like one,” said Marsovino. “It is the long upper jaw of a fish, and from this it receives its name, swordfish. With this weapon, as it is very strong, the fish can defend himself against much larger animals. I hope he won’t come near us.”

Luckily for the two friends, he did not. The sword disappeared into the sea, and the travelers continued their journey.

“I must dive now, to see where we are,” said Marsovino; and soon Pinocchio found himself at the bottom of the sea. Curious as ever, the marionette looked around, peering here and peering there.

Seeing some cuplike objects hanging on the rocks, he put out his hands for them. They looked very soft and were full of holes. But as soon as Pinocchio touched them, the holes disappeared, and the cups clung tightly to the rocks.

“Oh, excuse me,” begged Pinocchio, “I thought you were sponges.”

“And what are they, if not that?” laughingly asked Marsovino.

“But they move just as if they were alive!”

“And is not the sponge an animal?”

“Really? Do you mean it?”

“Why, yes. The sponge is not only one animal, but a number of animals living together. And what do you think hides in that cuplike sponge you see there, to live a quiet happy life in it?”

“What?”

“The pearl oyster.”

“Honestly? Oh! Do you think I could get some? I know how precious pearls are. Why, I could make myself rich! I could buy houses and horses and automobiles and—Oh! Oh!” and Pinocchio started to dance a jig on the sandy floor.

Marsovino was laughing.

“You may try. You may have luck.”

Pinocchio did not have to be told twice. He searched and searched every sponge he could lay his hands on. As a result, he found a great many shells.

“And what now?” he asked.

“Now you must open them, to see if any pearls are inside.”

“What is the use of opening them? You said these were all pearl oysters. I’ll carry them and open them later.”

“But many of them may have no pearls at all. You see,” continued Marsovino, opening a shell, “this one has none. But do you see this coating of many colors on the inside of the shell? That is a substance which comes from the body of the mollusk. It is called mother of pearl. When the oyster opens its shell, a grain of sand may get into it. The oyster does not like this, as the stone hurts her, but she can’t throw it out. So she covers it up with this substance from her body. When the little stone is all covered up, we have a lovely pearl.”

“Who would ever have thought such a thing possible!” thought Pinocchio, getting to work. He soon had a large number of oysters; but when he opened them he found only a few small balls.

“Come here, Pinocchio. You may have better luck in this corner,” and Marsovino led the way to a nook in the rocks. “Look in there.”

Again Pinocchio searched, and soon a great many shells lay at his feet ready to be opened. Without mercy, he went at them, tearing and pulling the poor little creatures from their homes. His search finished, he threw them aside. The sand was soon covered with the dead and the dying.

“Poor little beings!” observed Marsovino. “After they have given you their pearls, is that the way to treat them? Could you not be more careful?”

Pinocchio had a kind soul. He was only thoughtless. So he went to work and tried to undo the wrong he had done. Those oysters which were only slightly hurt he put back into their shells; while he ate the others, and so ended their sufferings.

This work finished, he went on with his search for pearls. In a short time he had a small pile of beautiful pearls. Some were large, some small, some globular, and others shaped like drops of water.

In color, too, they were different. Almost all were white, some faintly pink, a few grayish, and one was all black.

“Well, Pinocchio, you have enough. With them you will be as rich as the king of China. Come now. We must go on with our journey.”

“But these pearls, where shall I put them? I wish I had a bag or a box.”

“It will not be so hard to find that. Let’s look around.”

The dolphin swam around. He did not stay away long. Soon he came back, holding a small object out to Pinocchio. It was a little cubical body, and seemed like a strange-looking box.

“Here is the box, my friend,” he called.

“Well, what is this?” asked Pinocchio, looking at the object. It was hard and dark, and reminded him of the shell which had saved his life.

“That was a fish.”

“A fish? That box?”

“Exactly. This is only its shell, but once a fish lived in it. It is called the sea urchin. That box you have there helps him to defend himself. Do you notice how hard it is?”

“Well, the sea is certainly a wonderful place. Once upon a time I hated it. Now I should like to be a fish, so as to live in it always.”

CHAPTER XIII

The journey was progressing rapidly. Blue skies and green countries had disappeared. Gone were the many-colored fish. Sea and sky were of a dark gray color. Why all this? Because our two friends had reached the cold north, where for so many months no sun shines.

Luckily, though, spring had begun. The sun showed itself for a while every day. And every day it showed itself a little longer. In the summer it would be there even at midnight.

The cold was very great. Pinocchio had a fur suit which Tursio had given him, but still he was almost freezing. Marsovino also suffered.

“It will be better for us if we dive deep into the sea,” he observed. “We shall find it warmer there.”

“Please wait awhile,” begged Pinocchio. “I want to see that island first,” and with his hand Pinocchio pointed to a high mountain still far away. It was as white as snow, and seemed almost to touch the sky.

“Oh, you want to see that island,” repeated Marsovino, chuckling to himself. “Very well.”

“Yes, it does look queer, doesn’t it? I wonder if there are people on it?”

“Perhaps. We shall see.”

It seemed as if the island had heard Pinocchio speak. Strange to say, it was coming to meet the dolphin and his friend. And with it were two others.

“Look! look!” shouted Pinocchio. “The islands at the pole walk! This is fun!”

“Yes, they are taking a walk, as you see,” answered Marsovino, who was enjoying himself, too. “But if they come nearer, our journey will end right here.”

He had not finished speaking when a terrific noise was heard. The sound was deafening. Pinocchio found himself thrown from his horse into the water. When he opened his eyes—he always closed them when he was frightened—no islands were to be seen.

“Marsovino! Marsovino! Help! Help!” he cried, fearing he had lost his friend.

“Here I am! Come!”

Swiftly the marionette swam to the dolphin, and again climbed on his back.

“Will you please tell me what happened to those islands? Or are we in fairyland? I never knew lands could disappear in a minute like that!”

“Those were not islands, my dear Pinocchio. They were icebergs. These great mountains of ice, when they come against each other, are broken into bits. See, all that is left of them are pieces of ice;” and Marsovino pointed to ice which was floating on the sea.

The next day Pinocchio had another surprise. In front of him, as far as he could see, was a city of ice. Everything was flat, everything was white.

Immense landscapes, snowy white, met his eye wherever he turned.

Mountains of ice could be seen in the distance. And, wonderful to see, the ice was so clear and transparent that it looked like glass. When the sun shone on it, it sparkled and showed all the colors of the rainbow.

Pinocchio thought himself in fairyland. But as he was looking, a strong wind rose suddenly; and then the icebergs fell and broke with deafening noise.

Finally, Marsovino thought it best to swim far under water. He was afraid of losing his life in the midst of all those icebergs.

Two days later the two boys rounded the southern point of Greenland. On the sandy shore of this island continent could be seen a large number of animals. They had round clumsy bodies, each having a small head with two small bright eyes. Where we have arms, they had what looked like very strong fins.

These animals were seals. Their bodies were covered with reddish-brown fur. Lying on the sand, they were enjoying the warmth of the sun. The young ones were playing with one another and enjoying themselves, too.

Pinocchio paid little attention to them. But suddenly out of the water came another band. The newcomers were somewhat different from the seals, but they belonged to the same family.

Their fur was almost black, not brown, and their heads were larger. They were walruses. From their mouths two long, thick ivory teeth protruded. They looked very fierce, and soon they showed their fierceness.

Seeing that the beach was occupied, and wanting it for themselves, they started to fight for it. The seals fought very bravely, but what could they do against those terrible teeth? The poor wounded beasts struggled and kept up cries of “pa—pa—pa—pa.”

“Listen to that. They are calling ‘papa.’ I never thought fish could talk,” said Pinocchio.

“First of all, seals are not fish, but mammals. And then there are some fish which do produce sounds. Tunnies, when out of the water, cry like children. Some poulpes, when caught, groan. Others make a sound like a whistle.”

“I am ready to believe anything,” Pinocchio said very weakly. “But what is a poulpe?”

“Oh, that is another name for the octopus or devilfish,” was the reply.

The fight continued, but the seals were soon conquered. The victorious walruses were not to enjoy their victory, however.

While the fight was still waging, some fishermen had quietly come up to the field of battle. Before long many of the combatants lay dead, and were carried away into boats. The few that were left forgot the fight, and were happy enough to escape into the water.

CHAPTER XIV

The boys traveled two weeks longer, and at last Marsovino thought himself near his destination. So he dived into the water to a great depth.

After a while, as he sank deeper and deeper into the sea, Pinocchio became frightened. They were down so far that no light from the sun could reach them.

“Where are you carrying me to, my dear?” he asked. “If we go any farther, we cannot possibly live. How could we, with this immense amount of water over us?”

“We’ll be all right, my boy, never fear. If little fish like that can live here, why, so can we.”

Marsovino was pointing to many horrible dark objects which were swimming around him. They had a round head, great black bodies, no eyes, and from their heads a long thread moved about in the water. At the end of the threads were small lights.

“What ugly things!” said Pinocchio. “What are they, and why do they have those small lights on their heads?”

“If you look closely, you will see that those little beings have no eyes. So they depend on these lights for their food. Other animals are drawn to the lights. When they are near enough these animals feel them. Then they are seized and eaten.”

“The sea is wonderful,” nodded Pinocchio, drowsily, “but don’t you think that we might take some sleep? I am very tired.”

“Very well,” said Marsovino.

Pinocchio threw himself on the sand, and in a few minutes both friends were asleep.

The next morning, bright and early, they were again ready to start. The dolphin, who knew now where he was, began to rise to the surface. A few hours later he had reached the place Tursio had spoken about.

“Here we are at last!” he cried.

“Here? Why, where is the ship?”

“There,” answered Marsovino, pointing to a great black mass which showed through the water.

“That! Why look how it is trimmed!” And he was indeed right. The inhabitants of the sea had taken possession of everything. The keel of the ship was overgrown with beautiful slender seaweeds. The decks were covered with sponges. The stairs had disappeared under the work of polyps.

On the lookout bridge hundreds of anemones raised their brightly colored corollas. The needles of sea urchins threatened passers-by from the portholes. Silvery fishes and starfishes were seen all over. Everything was living on the dead ship.

“Now let us hasten,” said Marsovino.

“Very well,” answered Pinocchio.

“We have been so long in coming that now we must be quick,” continued the dolphin.

“Father must be worried. Let us look for the treasure, and then we can begin our return journey to-night.”

“Very well,” again assented Pinocchio.

“Make haste, then. Get into that ship. Don’t lose any more time.”

“Come, let us go.”

“Let us go! How can I go? Don’t you see how small the doors are? You must go alone!”

Pinocchio did not like the idea. He stood still and thought. His courage utterly failed him. To go alone into that great black ship! Why, how could he do such a thing?

“Well, what are you thinking of?” asked Marsovino, who had dropped Pinocchio at the door of the stairs.

“I haven’t made up my mind yet. I don’t like the idea of going in there very much.”

“But you must. I can’t go, and we must have the gold. Will you decide? I thought you had offered to help Mr. Tursio.”

When he heard that, Pinocchio finally made up his mind. He opened the door and went down a few steps. Then he stopped.

“Must I really go?” he asked.

Marsovino began to lose his patience.

“If you do not make haste getting into that ship, I shall return without you,” he could not help saying.

“Very well. Here I go.”

“You remember Tursio’s instructions, don’t you? At the bottom of the stairs there is a large room. At one end a door leads into the captain’s room. In a corner of the captain’s room, you will find two boxes. They contain the treasure. Good-by and good luck.”

Very slowly Pinocchio went down. Luckily for him a few sunfishes were floating around, giving some light.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw in front of him a large square room. In the walls were long narrow holes, like the shelves of a pantry. These had probably been the sailors’ bunks. But to Pinocchio they were puzzles.

The roof, which was very high, was of glass. This made the room lighter than the stairs, and so Pinocchio took courage.

At one end of the room there was a small narrow door. Pinocchio walked to it and tried to open it. Still, though the door was not locked, it would not open. It seemed as if some one were holding it closed from the inside. The marionette pushed it, kicked it, struggled with it, and finally he succeeded in opening it. He was able to put just the tip of his nose in the crack.

He had no sooner done this, though, than it was held as in a vise. Pinocchio felt something pulling and pulling.

“My nose will surely come off,” he thought; but after trying and trying he was at last free again.

“I wonder what that was? What can be behind that door? In any case it may be better to have some weapon of defense,” and thinking this, Pinocchio looked around.

“Those shelves may hold something useful.”

But when he came near them, what did he see? A mattress, pillows, sheets!

“What could this have been? A hospital?”

Poor Pinocchio! He was most certainly a dunce!

On the floor in a corner he found a pair of large boots.

“These will do,” he thought.

Again he pushed the door. This time he was able to open it wide. As soon as he had done so, he threw a large boot in blindly. Had he never done so, it would have been better! In a second the room became as black as pitch.

“Marsovino! Oh! Oh! Oh! Marsovino!” screamed the poor boy, thinking himself blinded.

The dolphin, waiting for Pinocchio at the head of the stairs, became frightened at this appeal. He thought something serious had happened. He swam to the top of the deck and broke several panes of glass. Looking into the room he called: “What is the matter? I am here.”

Pinocchio felt a little better when he saw Marsovino.

“Oh, Marsovino!” he cried.

“What has happened, my poor Pinocchio?”

“I have found a bottle of ink.”

“A bottle of what?”

“Of ink. I threw a boot at something, and now the room is full of ink.”

“Oh, now I understand. You have to deal with an octopus.”

“What’s that?”

“A mollusk.”

“Oh, if that’s what it is, I’m not afraid. I know them well.”

“Yes, but not this one. This is the greatest mollusk known. It is a near relation of the calamary, but much larger. There are some even five or six yards long.”

“Oh!” shivered Pinocchio, looking around.

“The one in the captain’s room must be a small one, though. If I were with you, I should free you in a second. There is nothing a dolphin likes better than an octopus or a calamary.”

“But the ink?”

“The ink is the means of defense of these mollusks. When pursued or in danger, this animal ejects this inky liquid. In that way, it forms a cloud in the water and is able to escape.”

“Shall I be killed?”

“If you keep out of reach of its long arms, you will be all right.”

“Oh, now I see what got hold of my poor nose. It is aching yet. Now tell me, Marsovino, if this animal is guarding the treasure, how shall I possibly get at it? We might as well give it up,” and Pinocchio started towards the stairs.

“How very courageous you are! After trying so hard, are you going to give up at the last minute?”

Pinocchio did not answer, but very slowly he retraced his steps. Going over to the bunks, he took a large mattress. Holding it in front of him, he moved toward the door, which was still ajar.

The water from the captain’s room had mixed with the water of the large room, and now it was not so dark. Very cautiously, the marionette peeked over the mattress.

In a corner of the room lay the poulpe or octopus. As Marsovino had said, it was not very large. Still it was very ugly.

Think of a large head, soft and jellylike, with two great eyes staring at you. Think of that head and eight long thick arms around it. No wonder Pinocchio felt like turning back.

The monster moved restlessly about, stretching and twisting its arms. In one of them it held Pinocchio’s boot. Every minute its huge body changed color. At first it was white, then gray, then brown, then spotted with purple. Pinocchio hardly knew what to think of it.

“You are certainly very ugly, my dear bottle of ink,” he thought.

“Well, why am I standing here? I might as well try to kill him. Hurrah! Here comes the brave marionette!”

Very slowly Pinocchio walked up to the octopus, but not near enough to be in reach of those arms. Then with a quick move he threw the mattress over the struggling mass. Pressing it down tightly, he held it there.

For a long time the arms twitched nervously about, but at last they stopped moving. The boy waited a few minutes longer, and then, thinking the creature dead, he stood up.

The mattress, however, he left on top of the poulpe. Not only that, but running back, he took another and put it on top of the first. He wanted to be sure the octopus would not move. At last he breathed easily and set to work to get the boxes.

Yes, think of it! That lazy marionette really set to work. He dragged the boxes one after the other into the large room, and then he called Marsovino.

“Here is the treasure, Marsovino. Now how am I to carry these heavy boxes upstairs?”

Marsovino then lowered a stout rope which he had carried with him. Pinocchio tied the boxes to it, one after the other, and the dolphin pulled them up.

“Throw the rope down again, Marsovino!”

“What for? Are there three treasure boxes?”

“You will see.”

As soon as the end of the rope touched the floor of the room, Pinocchio tied it around his waist. “Now pull!” he called.

Marsovino pulled, and in a second Pinocchio stood on the bridge.

“I really had no wish to return by those dark dusty stairs,” he laughed, seeing Marsovino’s look of wonder.

CHAPTER XV

At last the two had done their duty. The treasure was theirs. All that remained now was to go back to Tursio with it.

“Let us start this minute,” said Marsovino, who was anxious to see his father again.

“Yes, but first please give me something to eat.”

“Should you like to have some grapes?” said Marsovino, kindly.

“I don’t see the use of making my mouth water needlessly,” answered Pinocchio.

“But I mean what I’m saying. Should you like some grapes?”

“Show them to me first. Then I’ll answer you.”

“Come here then, unbeliever.” As he spoke, Marsovino led Pinocchio to a mast, which, strange to say, had not been touched by the polyps. Hanging from a slender thread was a bunch of what looked like red grapes.

“What are they?” Pinocchio could only ask.

“Don’t you see? They are sea grapes. Eat them.”

“But first I want you to tell me what they are.”

“They are the eggs of the calamary, a near relation of the octopus you had to deal with to-day.”

“Very well, then. I’m willing to destroy all sign of those horrible beings.” In a short time Pinocchio had made a good luncheon out of them.

Luncheon finished, Marsovino gave Pinocchio the box of pearls which he was holding for the marionette. Then the dolphin tied the treasure boxes on his back, and the two friends were ready to start.

They again passed the beach where the seals had had their battle. Now it was full of men. Some were skinning the poor animals. Others were pressing out the oil from their bodies. Still others were spreading the skins out on the sand to dry.

Again the two travelers came into the polar seas. Here they found a great change. Icebergs had melted, and the sea was full of floating ice.

At last, without meeting any mishaps, the two again entered the warmer ocean. They had gone only a few miles when Pinocchio heard a great noise behind him. Both friends turned. On the calm surface of the sea rose two high columns of water.

“The whale!” exclaimed Marsovino.

“Nonsense, whale!” answered Pinocchio, who now and then still forgot how little he knew. “Don’t you see it’s a fountain? How could an animal send the water so high?”

“Still it is the whale. You are just seeing a cetacean breathe.”

“You are a cetacean, too. But I see only one hole in your head, and the jet of water you throw is very low.”

“Yes, we are cetaceans, but we are not whales. The whale proper has two breathing holes.”

“Mercy! what a noise that monster does make!” breathed Pinocchio. “Now, if she comes near us, we’ll disappear.”

“Have no fear, Pinocchio. The whale, although such a large animal, is quiet and harmless if you let her alone. She is even timid. And don’t think that because her mouth is large she can eat large animals.”

“Her mouth may be large, but her throat is so small that she can swallow only very small fishes. If we had met the cachalot, or sperm whale, we should have reason to be frightened.”

“And what is that?”

“It’s an immense cetacean. You can tell it from the common whale, not only by its one breathing hole, but also by its size. The head alone is enormous, and its mouth is frightful with its many large sharp teeth.”

“Hasn’t this whale teeth?”

“No. But instead of teeth, its upper jaw is lined with at least seven hundred plates of a thick horny substance. These plates are often twelve and fifteen feet long.”

“When the whale wants to eat it opens its huge mouth, and then closes it full of water. This water is then strained through the plates, and hundreds of small fishes are caught in them. The whale can then swallow her dinner at her leisure.”

“What a dinner!” exclaimed Pinocchio. “Now tell me this. Why is it that so many whales are captured by whalers? You say that they are harmless. Why, then, should they be killed?”

“They are caught because of their value. Those horny plates I spoke of are what is called whalebone. The large tongue of the whale contains many barrels of oil. From the body of the whale great quantities of fat may be had. All these things are of great use in the world.”

“What about that other whale you spoke of? The one with the terrible teeth.”

“The sperm whale? Oh! that one is a dreadful being. With its great mouth and sharp teeth it can eat anything. Seals, dolphins, and even the terrible squaloids are lost, if they come near him. He is very ferocious.”

While Marsovino and Pinocchio were talking, the whale had come nearer. The marionette saw a small dark object climb on her back.

“What is that?” he asked.

“That’s a baby whale. Whales are very affectionate mothers. The baby whale is tired, so the mother is going to carry it.”

Suddenly a dark head and body rose out of the water. Like an arrow it threw itself on the poor whale. With its large mouth it tore a great piece of flesh from the cetacean’s side and then disappeared into the waves.

“Mercy! The sea wolf!” cried Marsovino, looking around for some place to hide.

“What is the sea wolf? The name does not sound terrible.”

“It is the most dangerous and fierce squaloid. It is even worse than the hammer! Let us run!” said Marsovino, breathlessly.

“But if we run the wolf will run after us.”

“You are right. Where shall we hide? Oh, here! Let us try to get among these weeds.”

Near them was a large plant. Its leaves would make a very safe hiding place. Pinocchio stood on Marsovino’s back and pushed the leaves aside. In a short time the two were so well hidden that no eyes could see them.

“Here we are safe,” and the dolphin gave a sigh of relief.

“And how well we can see.” Pinocchio, like the boy he was, wanted to see the fight.

In fact, a short distance away, a terrific fight was in progress. The wolf had now attacked the baby whale. This made the mother furious. She tried to hit the shark with her tail, but he was too quick for her. The poor cetacean was getting the worst of it. The wolf’s mouth, provided with four hundred sharp teeth, was tearing the whale’s side to pieces. Blood was pouring from them both, and it seemed as if the whale could not hold out much longer.

A second dark body now made its appearance. It was as long as the whale, but much larger. Its head was enormous, and from the top of it rose a single high column of water.

“The sperm whale! The cachalot!” breathed Marsovino, and it seemed to Pinocchio that the dolphin turned pale.

It was not to be mistaken! It was the terrible whale! And he seemed not at all frightened by the sight of the fighters. Instead, opening wide his mouth—and such a mouth—he threw himself on them. With a snap of the great jaws the sea wolf’s tail disappeared.

And then, as if the battle were not fierce enough, a long bladelike object appeared on the scene. The sides of the blade were provided with sharp teeth. Behind the blade was a dark head. The new arrival was the sawfish, coming to see what the matter was. Without much ado it started to deal blows, first on this side, then on that.

Not even the sperm whale escaped the terrible saw. Long ragged tears were soon seen on its body. Cries of pain were heard on all sides. The sea was a sea of blood.

Finally the whale, seeing that she was lost if she stayed there long, tried to escape. As swiftly as she could, she swam away with her baby.

Though the whale was gone, the fight still raged. The wolf and the saw, although both of the same family, are sworn enemies. Not paying much attention to the sperm whale, they started to battle with each other. But the wolf was so exhausted by the loss of blood that it could not do much. The cachalot, seeing himself overlooked, threw himself on the sawfish. But as quick as a flash the sawfish dived and came up on the other side of the giant. Angrier than ever, the whale now turned to the wolf and in an instant snapped his head off.

The whale was satisfied. Pouring blood from twenty wounds, he left the field of battle. The sawfish was left alone in all his glory. He was hurt but little. Very calmly he started to make a dinner of the sea wolf, or at least of what was left of him.

The dolphin now thought it safe to try to escape. Once out of the weeds, he fled as fast as he could.

Poor Pinocchio could only sit still and look around. He feared any minute to see a hammerhead or a wolf or a whale appear before him.

“Oh! how horrible, how awful is the sea!” he thought.

CHAPTER XVI

After racing along madly for a while, Marsovino became so tired that he had to stop.

“I must rest,” he said to Pinocchio.

“Very well, I’m willing,” answered the marionette.

In front of them the two friends could see a dark mass. Seen from the sea, it looked like a strip of land. But on approaching, one could see that it was nothing but a high rock.

This strip was separated from the shore of a small island by a long narrow channel of water. Marsovino swam a few yards up the channel, and then stopped to let Pinocchio jump on land.

“That battle in the sea has upset me greatly,” said Pinocchio to his friend. “I must strengthen myself with some food. But I don’t see anything around. What shall I eat?”

The last words were interrupted by a soft whistle from the channel. A second whistle was heard, then a third, then a fourth. Our two friends turned. Large, clumsy, black bodies were coming out of the water. They were trying very hard to get to shore.

Pinocchio knew them at once. They were sea tortoises, and it was they who had made those strange sounds. After dragging themselves to the shore, they stood on the sand, moving their heads and blinking up at the sun.

“You said you wanted something to eat, Pinocchio. Well, do you see those large holes on the sand there? Look in them. You will surely find some tortoise eggs in them. They will make a delicious dinner for you.”

Pinocchio did not have to be told twice. In a moment he was gone. In a short time he returned with two large eggs in his hands.

“Make haste, now, eat them. We must continue our journey, and we have no time to lose.”

“You are going to wait, my dear Marsovino. I really do not see why you should be in such a hurry.”

“Because father told me never to stop needlessly. That’s why.”

“Yes, I know; but you shall wait now. Since I have been with you I have eaten nothing but raw fish. Fish and mollusks, mollusks and fish, and I’m getting tired of it. To-day I am going to eat boiled eggs.”

“Boiled eggs! How, pray, and in what are you going to boil them?”

“Ha, ha! That’s my secret. That day in the ship I found an iron box with the word matches written on it. I kept it, but I never opened it. Here it is.” And Pinocchio showed the dolphin a small black box firmly closed.

“Now I’m going to use the matches. Do you want to see me build a fire and cook my eggs?”

“Very well, have your own way. But make haste, you disobedient boy.”

In no time Pinocchio had a good fire started.

“Now in what shall I put the water to boil?” he thought.

He looked around, and not very far away he saw a huge empty tortoise shell.

“Marsovino!” he called. “Come here! Will you please blow on this fire for me? I don’t want it to go out, and I want to get that tortoise shell and some water.”

“But I can’t move out of the water,” answered Marsovino.

“Oh, yes, you can. Come! Drag yourself as near as possible to the water. You amphibians can live out of the water for a while. So make haste!”

“But Mr. Tursio told me never to leave the water.”

“Well, just for once.”

Marsovino finally gave in. There was no great harm in just one little disobedience, he thought.

Pinocchio hastened away, and soon he was back with the shell full of fresh water.

“Oh, how good that spring water was,” he said to his friend, who was busily blowing the fire. “Now for a good dinner!”

The eggs were soon cooked, and Pinocchio certainly enjoyed them.

“I feel so well after that dinner I could travel to the end of the world,” he said when he had finished.

The two travelers then turned toward the sea. But Marsovino gave a cry of horror. In the channel hardly any water was left. The pebbly bottom could be seen, and beyond that the steep rock.

“The tide!” cried Marsovino. “I forgot the tide! Poor me! I am lost!”

“What is the matter?”

“Don’t you see the water is gone? The tide has gone out, and now how am I to get back to the sea? Before the tide comes in again I shall be dead. Oh, oh, I shall never see dear father again.” And as he talked poor Marsovino was beginning to breathe with difficulty, and to suffer greatly.

Pinocchio understood little about tides, but he knew what Marsovino meant by dying.

“And it is all my fault,” he cried, pulling at his hair. “If he dies, poor me, what shall happen to me? I must find some way of saving him.”

Marsovino was now giving little sign of life. He lay on the sand, with eyes closed, and breathing heavily.

With two bounds, Pinocchio was on top of the rocky ledge. Before him was the sea.

“If only it were possible to break a hole in this rock,” he thought.

As if in answer, a strange object made its appearance in front of him. It was a white spiral pole about two yards long. Behind the pole Pinocchio saw a round gray head spotted with black. Against the rocks the animal came with such force that they trembled. Suddenly an idea struck our hero.

“Pardon me,” he called, “but will you allow me to speak with you a moment?”

The immense animal, about six yards long, looked the boy over.

“What do you want, you small piece of humanity?” he asked proudly.

Pinocchio very humbly and very quickly told him the story of the poor dolphin.

“And as it is my fault that he is in this condition, I want to try to save him!” he exclaimed. “You seem so strong, will you please give this rock a few knocks with that tooth of yours? I know you’ll be able to break it.”

At this earnest supplication the narwhal, for that is what the animal was, was highly pleased. He looked at Pinocchio in a tolerant way.

“First of all,” he answered, “before I do anything for you, let me ask you a question.”

“Yes, sir, but please make haste, or Marsovino will die.”

“Do not interrupt me again, boy. First of all, what are you willing to give me in return for this favor?”

“I have nothing, sir. I would give you anything I have—I wish I had something—but I have nothing.”

“I do nothing for nothing. Good-by, then,” the narwhal replied. “But answer me this. What have you in that box in your hands? That box you are trying to hide.”

“This box? Oh, do not ask me for this. This will make my father rich and happy. Oh, no, not this! It is full of beautiful pearls.”

“Pearls! Well, then, give them to me. For them, and for them only, shall I grant your request. No?” he asked, as Pinocchio shook his head. “Very well, then. Good-by.”

“Come back! Come back!” cried Pinocchio. “Only hasten to save Marsovino!”

Without a word more he handed his precious pearls to the narwhal, and then quick as a flash was back at Marsovino’s side.

“Marsovino! Marsovino! Open your eyes, dear friend! You are saved!”

He had not finished speaking when with a crash a great piece of rock fell. Another crash, and the hole widened; another, and the hole was wide enough for Marsovino to pass through. The water from the sea flowed in. Marsovino opened his eyes at the great noise. He was so surprised that he felt almost entirely well.

“What is it?” he asked feebly.

“Come, Marsovino, come! Try to drag yourself this short space, and you’ll be in the water again. Come!”

Pinocchio helped him all he could. He lifted the heavy treasure boxes off the poor dolphin’s back. He smoothed the sand. He cleared away the stones. Still poor Marsovino’s body was all torn and bleeding before the short trip was finished.

Finally, with a great sigh of relief, Marsovino was again in the cool water. Pinocchio was as happy as a boy can be. When he saw Marsovino safely in the water again he ran back to get the boxes. He dragged and dragged and pulled, and at last he had them both on Marsovino’s back again.

“It was lucky he didn’t know anything about these, otherwise—” said Pinocchio to himself.

“He? Whom are you talking about?” asked Marsovino, who was now well again.

“Yes, he, the one who helped me save you. He had a long white tooth, and he made a hole in the rock with it.”

“A narwhal! You must be talking about a narwhal! Do you mean to tell me that you asked a narwhal to help you and that he did?”

“I suppose so.”

“But how did you ever get him to do it?”

“That’s my secret. Now that you are rested, let us go home to Tursio.”

“Very well. But still I should like to know why that narwhal was so very obliging.”

With a laugh Pinocchio jumped on the dolphin’s back, and they were off.

Without stopping anywhere, the two friends traveled straight to the coral island. And as soon as they reached it, they turned straight to the place where Beluga lived. They found every one healthy and happy and overjoyed to see them.

Tursio asked Pinocchio to tell him all his adventures, and the boy was only too happy to please him. He told of the seals, of the old ship, of the meeting with the octopus, of the battle on the high seas. But of his last adventure and of the loss of his pearls he said never a word.

“And then? Is that all?” asked Tursio.

“Yes; what else should there be?”

“You had a very pleasant voyage, then, after all.”

“Yes, a splendid voyage.”

“With no very unpleasant adventures?”

“No, none—well, yes, one; but it has been forgotten long ago.” Pinocchio was beginning to learn the value of truth.

“And what was that?”

“But it has been forgotten.”

“I want to know about it,” said Tursio, in a voice that had to be obeyed.

“Very well,” and Pinocchio told him.

“And if it had not been for a kind narwhal passing by just then, Marsovino would now be dead,” he finished.

“A kind narwhal? What did he do?”

“I asked him to help me, and he did.”

“But what did you give him in return for his kindness? A narwhal is not kind for nothing.”

“I just gave him something, that’s all.”

Pinocchio finally told him.

“Well done, my boy. You were certainly courageous, and you deserve to be forgiven for your disobedience. And, remember, Pinocchio, you shall be rewarded for your act of kindness.”

The next day the four friends traveled far, and by sunset they came to a strange land.

“Well, good-by, my boy,” said Tursio, turning to Pinocchio. “Our journey is finished. I hope you have learned something. You must go back to the world now.”

“Are you going to leave me here alone?”

“You shall not be alone very long. Do not be afraid. Walk a short distance inland. You’ll come to a little house. There you will find some one waiting for you.”

“My father!” cried Pinocchio, overjoyed. “At last! Hurrah!”

The marionette then thanked his kind friends and jumped on land.

The dolphins shook their fins in good-by, and then swam away.

“Good-by, Tursio! Good-by, Marsovino! Good-by, Globicephalous!” screamed Pinocchio, watching the sea until the three had disappeared.

“Well, now for my father!” and turning toward the land, he started to run.

All happened as Tursio had told him.

Not only did he find his father, but he also found a beautiful little home, and a comfortable happy life waiting for him.

He remembered then Tursio’s words, “You will be rewarded.”

Deering of Deal

By LATTA GRISWOLD. With illustrations by George C. Harper.

Cloth, 12mo, $1.25 net

This is the kind of a story which keeps boys up late at night to finish. Tony Deering, the hero, is just good enough and just bad enough to appeal to every lad from twelve to twenty—and to make some of the lads’ fathers brighten up a bit, too. Tony goes to Deal School; the reader meets him upon his entrance to the first form and he follows him for three or four years through hazing episodes, football games and other school contests, debates and secret organization fights, forbidden spreads and temporary disgraces, to his graduation as one of the most popular fellows the school has ever produced.

Don’t Give Up the Ship

By C. S. Wood. Frontispiece in colors and half-tone plates by Frank Merrill.

Decorated cloth, 12mo, $1.25 net

With Perry’s famous victory on Lake Erie as the center of interest Mr. Wood has written a stirring story of the War of 1812. Beginning just before the outbreak of hostilities, he follows the career of a vigorous young fellow who attaches himself to Perry and renders no little service to the government in the campaign. Incidentally a splendid pen picture of the Commander of the Lakes is given. The book is one which should strike home to the hearts of the American youth to-day, one hundred years after the events so vividly described.

Peggy Stewart at Home

By Gabrielle E. Jackson. New edition with frontispiece.

Cloth, 12mo. $1.25 net.

An interesting companion story to Mrs. Jackson’s Peggy Stewart at School is this new edition, with frontispiece, of a book published last year under the title of Peggy Stewart. Those who read the later chronicles of Peggy will most certainly want to see their adorable heroine at Severndale, the broad green fields of which the reader catches but few glimpses of in Peggy Stewart at School. Though the content of the tale is of necessity far different from its sequel, there is in Peggy Stewart at Home a fascinating wealth of adventure and a circle of young people quite as pleasing as those who flutter around Peggy away from home. Moreover, while a reading of Peggy Stewart at Home isn’t necessary to an understanding of Peggy Stewart at School, it will be found a distinctly pleasant introduction to it.

Peggy Stewart at School

By Gabrielle E. Jackson, author of “Peggy Stewart at Home.” With illustrations by Alice Beard.

Decorated cloth, 12mo. $1.25 net.

In this book Peggy leaves the broad expanses of Severndale, the estate which has been her home all her life, and goes away to Columbia Heights boarding school. Of course Polly goes with her, for any chronicle of Peggy would be incomplete without her companion. The new friends which the two girls make, the pranks which they indulge in, and more, the good times which Polly’s lively aunt, Mrs. Harold, gives them, comprise a book which is fully as interesting and perhaps even more entertaining than Peggy Stewart at Home—which is saying a good deal. As in that former book a not inconsiderable part of the interest was supplied by Peggy’s animal friends, so in this, Shashai and Star, the horses which Peggy and Polly bring with them to the school, and Tzaritza, Peggy’s dog, play parts of some importance in the development of the plot.

Imagine four girls of fifteen or thereabouts, a delightful grandmother with whom they live and who believes that young people should have some secrets and do things their own way, a governess who knows how to dance and how to get up amateur plays, an uncle who wants to appear gruff, but in reality loves the “imps,” as he calls his nieces, and you have the fundamentals out of which Miss Brown’s wholly absorbing story is built. The secret which the girls have and to which, following the custom of their improvised Indian tribe, they do not admit their grandmother, is the cause of all the trouble and it threatens to be serious trouble for a time. But it comes out happily in the end for every one concerned, particularly for Uncle Terry and the governess.

“Alice Brown has written a decidedly original story of girl life in ‘The Secret of the Clan’ for it is perhaps the first time that any one has recognized that side of healthy girl character which delights in making believe on a large scale.”—Town Talk, San Francisco.

“It is a bright story delightfully told.”—Chicago News.

“A story with unfailing vivacity and much literary charm.”—Pittsburgh Post.

“The author shows an unfailing understanding of the heart of girlhood.”—Christian Advocate.

“Alice Brown has endeared herself to every girl of high school age by many a charming little story of girl life and friendships, but ‘The Secret of the Clan,’ her new book, comes pretty near to being the best ever.”—Boston Globe.

“One of the best stories for girls we have seen for years.”—Outlook.

Decorated cloth, 12mo, illustrated, each 75 cents

• Adventures of Dorothy, The. By Jocelyn Lewis.
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. By Lewis Carroll.
• Aunt Jimmy’s Will. By Mabel Osgood Wright.
• Bears of Blue River, The. By Charles Major.
• Bennett Twins, The. By G. M. Hurd.
• Bible Stories Retold. By W. F. Adeney and W. H. Bennett.
• Boy Life on the Prairie. By Hamlin Garland.
• Carrots. By Mrs. Molesworth.
• Children of the Tenements. By Jacob Riis.
• Children Who Ran Away, The. By E. Sharp.
• Cuckoo Clock, The. By Mrs. Molesworth.
• Dogtown. By Mabel Osgood Wright.
• Dwarf’s Spectacles, The. By Max Nordau.
• Eight Secrets. By Ernest Ingersoll.
• General Manager’s Story, The. By H. E. Hamblen.
• Little Captive Lad, A. By Beulah Marie Dix.
• Little Lame Prince, The. By Dinah Mulock Craik.
• Merry Anne, The. By Samuel Merwin.
• Merrylips. By Beulah Marie Dix.
• Phœnix and the Carpet, The. By E. Nesbit.
• Pickett’s Gap. By Homer Greene.
• Railway Children, The. By E. Nesbit.
• Story of a Red Deer, The. By J. W. Fortescue.
• Tales of the Fish Patrol. By Jack London.
• Through the Looking Glass. By Lewis Carroll.
• Tom Benton’s Luck. By H. E. Hamblen.
• Tom Brown’s School Days. By Thomas Hughes.
• Trapper Jim. By Edwyn Sandys.
• Us. By Mrs. Molesworth.
• Wonder Children, The. By Charles Bellamy.
• Youngest Girl in the School, The. By E. Sharp.

The volumes included in the series:—