home." "My dear Sir," she replied at last, growing
rather red in the face, "I can give you nothing of the kind, and must
really refer you to the whale who captured me a little while ago, and
only released me because I promised to procure him a lobster, which I
persuaded him would be much more digestible and less bilious than I
should prove to be as a meal."

'I now went in search of the whale, whom I discovered disporting himself
in the sea a very little way from the shore. Taking my shoes and
stockings off, I waded as near to him as I dared, and to conciliate him
right off I wore as benignant an expression as I could assume and thus
addressed him: "Of one thing I am convinced," said I, "and it is that
you are the last person in all the world who would willingly give pain
to anything,--least of all to a baby oyster." "Quite so, quite so,"
snorted the whale, "and what is more I never have and, upon my soul, I
never _will_." "Bravo, good resolution," cried I, and then in moving
terms I explained the situation and urged him to take the blue pointlet
back to its mother on receiving it from the conger eel. "What is this
you say," roared the whale; "do you mean to tell me that in exchange for
her own fat self that villainous conger-eel now offers me a baby oyster
instead of the promised lobster? Is it for this gross insult that I
allowed her to resume her wretched existence? Well, I'm thundered!" and
the enraged monster leapt seventy feet into the air. "Where is she?"
roared he, and made off in the direction of the conger.

'But the old girl was one too many for the whale this time, and having
heard his remarks on her conduct, off she darted after the lobster,
saying to herself that as the whole arrangement had fallen through, she
might just as well sup off the lobster,--besides, the claws would stew
up quite well for the children's dinner to-morrow. The lobster in his
turn, seeing the conger approach, at once understood that the affair was
all off and left his little cave by the back door as conger entered by
the front, and made for the place where he knew he would find the crab,
arguing to himself thus:--"At any rate, the crab will make an excellent
supper to which I have every right; for after all, as I have before
remarked, business is business, and he will certainly be unable to
fulfil his obligations." The saucy crab, however, saw him coming along
with his mouth wide open ready to gobble him up, and shouted tauntingly