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."

Even as he spoke, his head slid into the round hole, and at a signal
from Aquareine they all paused outside and waited. Presently there
came to them four beautiful winged fishes with faces like doll
babies. Their long hair and eyelashes were of a purple color, and
their cheeks had rosy spots that looked as if they had been painted
upon them