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"It was a wonderful, wonderful scene, only dreamed of in dreames! They say the colors on land are fine, but how could they be compared with the colors under the sea, bright with sea plants and coral trees and the banners of seaweed floating free, carpeted with fair anemones?"

"But tell me," I asked, "what did the Princess do when she saw my father standing before her?"

"Then," said the Poet Po, answering me, "the princess sighed. The bold king held her with his keen eyes, and she blushed and trembled. Then he threw off the spell and tossed up his head."

"I would ask you to be my bride. Will you be my Queen, beautiful Princess Pearl?" But the Princess was timid and shy and she made no reply.

"Shall I take your silence for consent?" asked the gallant King Nautilus Nole.

She bowed her head a little sadly, then she raised her eyes a little gladly, for the King was gallant and handsome.

When he had bent his head and kissed his bride, he stepped aside to give command.

"Captain Cod, lead her lovers three far into

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the deep blue sea, and Pez de Pluma send back to
Spain, and Sergeant Major guard the rock at the head
of Mudwasky Bay. Take that wily Sly to act as Spy
and remove those villains bold,-the Club, the Blob
and the Sucker. Now summon the Priest Fish. I
 invite all to the feast, for tonight I will wed the
Princess Pearl."

Here the Poet Po drew a long breath.

"Now tell me about the beautiful wedding,"
I begged.

"You will find that in my room," said
Poet Po. He wanted to stop, but eagerly I persisted,-
"Please go on with the story."

So he went on:

"After ten long years in Mudwasky Bay, a
longing came to the heart of the King for the life
he had led in the days gone by. He came to scorn
Mudwasky Bay and its murky atmosphere and the
idle life of the court: and he longed for the sun
and the light of the deep blue sea.

"'Let us go forth to the brilliant sea where
there's life and light and sun,' said he to his
lovely Queen.

"But the Queen replied with haughty pride, 'I

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will never leave Mudwasky Bay. I am proud of my home.
It was my father's, father's, fathers.'

'Then,' said the King, 'I must away, for
I shall make no more delay.'

'Blow your horns, my Swordfish men -
Spread the news and summons my Argonaut crews and
my Portuguese light-bearers,' cried he.

'They hoisted their wonderful sails and
swished and swashed their rudder-like tails. And
he bade farewell to his beautiful Queen, whose tears
feel down her pearly gown. And away he sailed for
the deep blue sea to discover a place - a place
that is governed by love.'

'Didn't you want to join the crew and sail
forth, too, for the deep blue sea?' I asked.

'I longed to go, but the King said 'No,'
that I must stay with Captain Cod and guard his
beautiful Queen and you, his royal son. I have
written a poem, long and true, about King Nole and
the Princess Pearl, which you may read when you
grow older, a poem of how he sailed away to find
the place - this place that is governed by Love

And that is the story of King Nautilus Nole,
who wooed and won the Princess, the beautiful Nautilus
Pearl.

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CHAPTER II

Prince Nautilus Nole.

I remember well, when I was young, how
Captain Cod, my dear old friend, came to pilot me
around. We sailed away for the rest of the day
as far as we dared toward the deep blue sea. He
taught me to swim and he taught me to sail.

"When there's a puff, why give her a luff in
the wind," said he. "And when there's a gale, why
take in sail and lay to on the rolling sea."

Oh, the wonders he told me of things he had
seen on the earth and on the sea.

"I have seen a ball called the sum, as red
as fire, fall into the waves," said he, "and turn the
water into a ruby sea, glowing and glistening. I
have seen the acrobatic sharks turn somersaults as in a
four ring circus. And I have seen a silver ball come
out of the sea and turn the water into shimering gold
and rise and float high up in the skies.

"I have seen a giant Nautilus look out of the
fog, its sails a thousand times as large as ours,
with funny creatures called men - the kind we see on
land - hurrying here and hurrying there, some on the
tip-top mast, some in the bow, hurrying, scurrying,

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making a great noise pulling on chairs, pulling on ropes," said Captain Cod.

"There's a sight I should love to see, that has been told to me, of lovely siren maidens singing songs so sweet and low that they lure men from the light of day. They sing their songs on moonlit nights and in the starlight glow. It is then that you must keep your thoughts and fancies furled, else you'll be lured to a cruel wave and hurled to depths unknown, down to the Mermaid's home at the bottom of the sea."

Then Sergeant Major told me of hideous monsters, who tried to attack King Nautilus Nole on his way to Mudwasky bay. He set my soul on fire; he stirred my heart with wild desire, with all the wonderful tales he told. So I said to myself, 'When I grow old, I'll set my sails and weather the gales, and go forth like my father on a life of adventure.'

As time went on, I grew brave and strong. I hadn't to wait very long. So one gay day in the month of May I confided to Poet Po that I, too, must go forth to the blue green sea in search of the land that my father, King Nautilus Nole, in the days of old, sailed forth to find, when he braved the terrors

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of the sea and set forth with his glorious band
in search of the place governed by love.

"Alas, Alas!" cried my mother dear, it's all
on account of the blood in your veins, the strange
blood - too bold and too daring."

But my heart was stirred and the four winds
called me.

"Blow, blow your horns, my Hornfish folk.
Spread the news and summon my crews!"

My mother was timid and shy, and never knew
why my father and I longed for a daring life and the
deep blue sea - to discover a place governed by Love.

"Why go in search of another place, when this
is good enough for me? I am told," said she, "there
are demon whales in the sea, with mouths as large as
Mudwasky Bay, and they spit and spout as high as the
sky, and Jonah, one of the men of the earth, was
swallowed whole by this monster fish. He was too
bold and daring. I have heard your father say that
the Devil Fish was a thing to dread and a thing to fear.
It has no flesh, it has no blood, it has no bones;
yet it coils and coils and tears your flesh and sucks
your blood. It is the vampire of the sea." And then
she said;

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"Oh, Sword-fish men, if these monsters you
should see, do not strike at their arms; strike for
their heads. Cut them off, for only thus can you
be saved. Else serpent arms with ribbon hands will
wind you with cold and shiny bands. No giant force
can tear them away - the enormous spiders wind their
webs close. They are loathsome things, my child. Beware
of these monsters of the sea."

"Oh, Mother dear," said I, "the blood in my veins
runs wild. These perils are naught to me. There are
perils everywhere and, nothing ventured, nothing done.
But for his bravery, my father would not have found you,
Mother dear. A man I am, and I feel each day the blood of
my father strong in my veins. I must away and find my
father without delay - and the place that is governed
by love."

"Blow, blow your horns, my Hornfish folk;
spread the news; summon our Argonaut crews; unfurl
their beautiful sails, for we must away before the
break of another day."

The Flying-fish Guard with Captain Pilot
led the way. The Sword and File fish followed without
delay. The Sea-horse pranced ahead, with Major Turbulent
Turbot. The Surgeon Sturgeon was under the

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command of Sergeant Sole. The brave King Pegasus
joined us, too.

Then the three bold villains - the Club, the
Blob and the Sucker - broke their chains and tried to
join us. With the fighting Morays and the European
Sly, who went as Spy, with the Dog and Wolf-fish, we
felt very safe. The Portuguese Light-bearers came
along to light the way and keep order.

The Pike asked to come along, too, and
Ramora said if she could come she would bring delicate
food for the Argonaut Crew.

"Hail! Hail! my faithful Captain Cod, for
you shall be commander of our crew. So Hail! my dear-
est friend of all."

Then I bowed before the Queen's throne and
my Mother crowned me with a royal crown.

"Hail to Prince Nautilus Nole," came from the
crowd and crew. "Hail! Brave Argonauts all!"

Then I said farewell to my Mother dear and to
the Faery Angel fish in her shimmering blue-gold gown.
She was the belle of Mudwasky Bay. She sighed a sigh
so mouthful, and cried a cry so doleful that then and
there before them all, I dared to kiss that Faery
Angel beautiful.

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"Will you be my bride and join my crew?
Then, my dear, I'll always be true to you."

"I will face all perils of the sea, if you
will take me away, away with you. Give me a coral
chariot with Sea-horse four to draw my car. A wee
bit of a maid am I to travel so far without any aid.
I'd like a Dolphin or two; then I'll join the crew
in search of this beautiful place that is governed by
Love."

"Hail! Hail! said the Poet Po. "Princess
Angel Light shall be the bride of our Royal Knight,
Prince Nautilus Nole."

"And I, too, shall go. I, too, shall sail
with our gallant crew and sing, in a poem, of his daring
deeds and my faithful love for him."

"Hail! Hail!" cried one and all.

And then, without more ado, my sail, like
the wings of a bird, I unfurled; and in our Nautilus
ships of pearl we set out for the deep blue sea, over
waters unknown, with hopes, without fears.

If you hear the sirens sing down by the gulfs
enchanted, know that ships of pearl are sailing with
purple wings toward a place that is governed by love.