float
downward until they rested their bodies on two of the couches
nearest the throne, which were willingly vacated for them by the
mermaids who occupied them until then.

The visitors soon found themselves answering a great many questions
about their life on the earth, for although the queen had said she
kept track of what was going on on the land, there were many details
of human life in which all the mermaids seemed greatly interested.

During the conversation several sea-maids came swimming into the
room bearing trays of sea apples and other fruit, which they first
offered to the queen, and then passed the refreshments around to the
company assembled. Trot and Cap'n Bill each took some, and the
little girl found the fruits delicious to eat, as they had a richer
flavor than any that grew upon land. Queen Aquareine was much
pleased when the old sailor asked for more, but Merla warned him
dinner would soon be served and he must take care not to spoil his
appetite for that meal. "Our dinner is at noon, for we have to cook
in the middle of the day when the sun is shining," she said.

"Cook!" cried Trot. "Why, you can't build a fire in the water, can
you?"

"We have no need of fires," was the reply. "The glass roof of our
kitchen is so curved that it concentrates the heat of the sun's
rays, which are then hot enough to cook anything we wish."

"But how do you get along if the day is cloudy, and the sun doesn't
shine?" inquired the little girl.

"Then we use the hot springs that bubble up in another part of the
palace," Merla answered. "But the sun is the best to cook by." So it
was no surprise to Trot when, about noon, dinner was announced and
all the mermaids, headed by their queen and their guests, swam into
another spacious room where a great, long table was laid. The dishes
were of polished gold and dainty-cut glass, and the cloth and
napkins of fine gossamer. Around the table were ranged rows of
couches for the mermaids to recline upon as they ate. Only the
nobility and favorites of Queen Aquareine were invited to partake of
this repast, for Clia explained that tables were set for the other
mermaids in different parts of the numerous palaces.

Trot wondered who would serve the meal, but her curiosity was soon
satisfied when several large lobsters came sliding into the room
backward, bearing in their claws trays loaded with food. Each of
these lobsters had a golden band behind its neck to show it was the
s