tumbled my mice and their cousin mouse out
of their beds and into their soft white carriage, and away we all went
post-haste, or rather comet-haste, for it is a long way to the Indian
Ocean. Merrily puffed the winds, and merrily chattered the five little
ones; we told stories, and sang songs, and altogether the trip was made
so quickly that we were almost sorry to hear the Winds talking
Hindostanee to the waves of the great silent water over which we were
sweeping. Down floated the cloud, down and down, until it rested lightly
on a bit of smooth sandy beach.

"Out with you, mice of mine!" I said. So the mice tumbled out of the
cloud again, and looked about them in much amazement and some terror.

"I fink I'm afraid!" said Downy to me, confidentially.

"Oh, no!" I replied. "You are not afraid. You are delighted, my dear,
but you are delighted in Hindostanee, and that may be a different
sensation from being delighted in English."

This explanation seemed to comfort the little fellow, so I turned to the
elder mice and said, "Patty is expecting you to-night, so everything
will be in readiness. All you have to do is to go out on that flat rock
yonder, and wait till a fish comes and speaks to you. Then you must
say--

"'Bobbily Bungaloo, Indian fish.
To visit your mistress is what I wish.'

"After that he will manage everything for you, and will take you at
once to Patty. I shall wait here till you return, for going under the
water is very apt to give me the asthma. Run, now, and be good, all of
you!"

[Illustration]

It required some courage for the little ones to leave their old friend
and start off on such a strange and out-of-the-way expedition; but
Nibble and Brighteyes led the way boldly, and the three others followed,
clinging closely to each other. They soon reached the rock, and found
Bobbily Bungaloo swimming about, waiting for them. He greeted them
kindly, and bade them follow him, and one by one they all disappeared
under the water.

Of course, however, I can see perfectly well what goes on under the
water. Dear me, yes! it would be a pity if I could not do that. I saw
the mice go down, down, down, through the clear water. All around them
swam myriads of fishes, all eager to greet the little strangers who had
come so far. There were large fishes and small fishes, some all head and
some all tail, some ugly enough to frighten one, and others so beautiful
that the children were sorel