| 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 |
| 1 | 28 | 57 | 85 | 113 |
|
www.freeclassicebooks.com
turn and right himself, which he promptly did. Then he raised his head above the
water and asked:
"Is it peace or war, Muffruff?"
"
Whichever you like," answered the Seal indifferently.
Perhaps the turtle was angry, for it ran on shore with remarkable swiftness,
uttering a shrill cry as it advanced. At once all the other turtles awoke to life and
with upraised heads joined their comrade in the rush for the seals. Most of Chief
Muffruff's band scrambled hastily down the rocks and plunged into the water of
the sea without waiting for the turtles to reach them; but the chief himself was
slow in escaping. It may be that he was ashamed to run while the mermaids were
watching, but if this was so he made a great mistake. The turtles snapped at his
fins and tail and began biting round chunks out of them so that Chief Muffruff
screamed with pain and anger and floundered into the water as fast as he could
go. The vengeful turtles were certainly the victors, and now held undisputed
possession of the island.
Trot laughed joyously at the incident, not feeling a bit sorry for the old seal who
had foolishly begun the battle. Even the gentle queen smiled as she said:
"These quarrels between the turtles and the seals are very frequent, but they are
soon ended. An hour from now they will all be lying asleep together just as we
found them; but we will not wait for that. Let us go."
She sank slowly beneath the water again, and the others followed after her.
5
7
Page
Quick Jump
|