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had wasted a good deal of time thinking it over, I decided that if the sea devils

were slaves of Zog, the prince of the sea devils must know where the enchanted

castle was located.

"I knew this prince and where to find him, for he always lay on a hollow rock on

the bottom of the sea and never moved from that position. His people brought

food to him and took his commands. So I had no trouble in finding this evil

prince, and I went to him and asked the way to Zog's castle. Of course, he would

not tell me. He was even cross and disrespectful, just as I had expected him to be,

so I allowed myself to become angry and killed him, thinking he was much better

dead than alive. But after the sea devil was destroyed, what was my surprise to

find that all these years he had been lying over a round hole in the rock and

covering it with his scarlet body!

"A light shone through this hole, so I thrust my head in and found a great domed

cave underneath with a splendid silver castle built at the bottom. You, my

friends, were at that moment swimming toward me as fast as you could come,

and the monster Zog, my enemy for centuries past, was close behind you. Well,

the rest of the story you know. I would be angry with all of you for so carelessly

getting captured, had the incident not led to the destruction of the one evil genius

in all my ocean. I shall rest easier and be much happier now that Zog is dead. He

has defied me for hundreds of years."

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

forget to ask you."

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

to tell you."

While Trot was thinking this over, the swimmers drew near to a great, circular

palace made all of solid alabaster polished as smooth as ivory. Its roof was a vast

dome, for domes seemed to be fashionable in the ocean houses. There were no

doors or windows, but instead of these, several round holes appeared in different

parts of the dome, some being high up and some low down and some in between.

Out of one of these holes, which it just fitted, stretched the long, brown body of

the sea serpent. Trot, being astonished at this sight, asked, "Didn't you take all of

you when you went to the cavern, Anko?"

"Nearly all, my dear," was the reply, accompanied by a cheerful smile, for Anko

was proud of his great length. "But not quite all. Some of me remained, as usual,

to keep house while my head was away. But I've been coiling up ever since we

started back, and you will soon be able to see every inch of me all together."

102

The Sea Fairies