“Are you all right, Michael?” Jane called anxiously.
“Ye-yes,” he said bravely. “As long as you’re there!”
She seized his hand and they dived together through rising walls of water.
“Shan’t be long now,” the voice assured them. “I can see the lights already.”
Lights in the water – how strange! thought Jane. And she opened her eyes for a peep.
Below shone a ripple of coloured flares – blue, rose and silver, scarlet and green.
“Pretty, aren’t they?” said the voice in her ear. And, turning, she saw, looking gleefully at her, the round, bright eye of a Sea-Trout. He was perched like a bird on the bough of a tree, whose branches were all of crimson.
“That’s coral!” she cried in astonishment. “We must be down in the deeps of the sea!”
“Well, wasn’t that what you wanted?” said the Trout. “I thought you wished you could see the sea!”
“I did,” said Jane, looking very surprised. “But I never expected the wish to come true.”
“Great Oceans! Why bother to wish it, then? I call that simply a waste of time. But come on! We mustn’t be late for the Party!”
And before they had time to wonder where the Party was, he swept away through the forests of coral and they dived behind him with the greatest of ease.
“Oh, what a glorious feeling!” shrieked Michael, as he swam along at the tail of the Trout.
“Jumping Jellyfish!” cried a frightened voice. “What a start you gave me! It looked like a net!” A large fish darted through a curl of Jane’s hair and hurtled away, looking very upset.
“That’s the Haddock. He’s jumpy,” the Trout explained. “He’s lost so many friends up there –” he pointed his fin up through the water – “and he’s always afraid it’s his turn next.”
Jane thought how often she had eaten haddock for breakfast and felt a little guilty.
“I’m sorry—” she began to say, when a loud rough voice interrupted her.
“Move along, please! Don’t block up the sea-lanes! Why can’t you keep your fins to yourself!” A huge Cod shouldered his way between them, lashing out with his tail in all directions.
“Cluttering up the Ocean like this! It’s disgraceful! I’ll be late for the Party!” He flung out an angry glance at the children. “And who are you, anyway?” he demanded.
They were just about to tell him their names when the Trout swam up beside the Cod and whispered in his ear.
“Oh, I see! Well, I hope they’ve got money to pay for their tickets!”
“Well – no,” Jane fumbled in her pocket.
“Tch, tch, tch! It’s always the way. No method in anyone’s madness. Here!” The Cod whisked a couple of flat white discs from a pocket under his tail. “Sand Dollars,” he explained importantly. “I always keep a few about me. Never know when I may need ’em.” He tossed the dollars at the children and floundered away through the coral.
“Silly Old Codger!” remarked the Trout. “You needn’t worry about your tickets. You’re Guests of Honour! You’ll get in free.”
Jane and Michael looked at each other in surprise. They had never before been guests of honour and they felt very proud and superior.
“Who’ll get in free, I’d like to know? Nobody’s going to get in free, while I’m around in the Ocean. Nor out, either, if it comes to that!” a grating, saw-like voice informed them.
Jane and Michael spun round. A pair of staring eyes met theirs. A wide mouth smiled a horrible smile; and a set of hairy, hungry feelers reached out in every direction. It was an Octopus.
“Yum, yu-u-um!” said the Octopus, leering at Michael. “Bobby Shafto’s fat and fair – and just what I need for my Supper!” He reached out one of the dreadful feelers and Michael gave a squeak of terror.
“Oh, no, you don’t!” the Trout said quickly. And he whispered a word to the Octopus as Jane whisked Michael away.
“What? Speak up, can’t you? I’m hard of hearing! Oh, I see. They belong to – all right, all right!”
The Octopus drew in his feeler regretfully. “We are always delighted,” he went on loudly, “to have among us at High Tide anybody belonging to—”
“What in the Sea is all that chatter? I never get a moment’s peace!” a querulous voice broke in.
The children turned in its direction. But all they saw was one small claw waving from inside a shell.
“That’s the Hermit Crab!” the Trout explained. “Lives by himself and does nothing but grumble. Shuts up like a clam if anyone speaks to him. But, come! We must hurry. The music’s starting.”
And off he darted through the walls of water. Soft sounds of music came to their ears as they followed him through a tunnel of rock. A faint glow shone at the end of the tunnel and the music grew louder as they swam towards it. Then suddenly their eyes were dazzled as a flood of brilliance broke upon them. They had reached the end of the shadowy tunnel and before them was the loveliest sight the children had ever seen.
There lay the stretching floor of the sea, sown with soft lawns of greenest sea-weed. It was threaded with paths of golden sand and dappled with flowers of every colour; white ocean daisies and pink sea-poppies and lilies and roses of red and yellow. Up from the sand stretched trees of coral, and plumes of sea-fern lolled on the water. The dark rocks glittered with shining shells and one of them, the largest of all, was covered with mother-of-pearl. Behind this rock lay a deep dark cavern, as black as the sky on a moonless night. And far within it faint lights twinkled as though stars shone in the depths of the sea.
Jane and Michael, at the tunnel’s edge, looked out and gasped with delight.
Nothing in that bright scene was still. The rocks themselves seemed to bow and swing in the endless ripple of water. The small fish fluttered like butterflies between the swaying flowers. And festoons of sea-weed, slung from the coral, were hung with a thousand swinging lights.
Chinese lanterns! thought Jane to herself. But, looking closer, she saw that the lights were really luminous fish. They hung by their mouths from the strings of sea-weed and lit up the lawns with their brightness.
The music was playing more loudly now. It came from a little terrace of coral where several Crabs were playing on fiddles. A Flounder was puffing out its cheeks and blowing down a conch shell, while Cornet fish played on silver cornets and a Bass beat time on a big bass drum. About the players swam the bright sea-creatures, darting between the rock and the coral and leaping and plunging in time with the music. Mermaids, in necklaces of pearl, swam daintily round among the fish. And the silver sheen of tail and fin went sparkling everywhere.
“Oh!” cried Jane and Michael together, for it seemed the only thing to say.
“Well, here you are at last!” said a booming voice, as a big Bronze Seal came flapping towards them. “You’re just in time for the Garden Party.” He offered a flipper to each of the children and waddled along between them.
“Do you often give Garden Parties?” asked Michael. He was wishing he too could live in the sea.
“Oh, dear me, no!” the Seal replied. “Only when High Tide falls on – I say! I say! Were you invited?” He broke off to speak to a large grey shape. “I was told no whales were to be admitted!”