the astonishment of Mary Louise, she found her hair trailing down
to her very feet. The breeze suddenly blew it to one side, and there
on the sand, instead of her two little shoes, was a mermaid's tail,
with a flippy-floppy fin on the end!

"Come with me," said the mermaid, and without a moment's hesitation
Mary Louise followed her into the water and out beyond the breakers,
swimming as easily as if she had always been a little mermaid, instead
of a girl who wore tan shoes.

"Where are we going?" asked Mary Louise, as the dim line of the shore
disappeared and there was nothing in sight but the great, restless
ocean.

The mermaid did not answer, but looked about intently, as if trying
to find something.

"What are you looking for?" asked Mary Louise, for she was a curious
little girl, and forgot one question as soon as she asked another.

"Oh, there it is!" exclaimed the mermaid. "Come with me. Hold your
hands out before you like this and dive down!"

"But where are we going?" again asked Mary Louise as they sank lower
and lower in the sea.

"Oh, I forgot," answered the mermaid, turning with a smile to her
little companion; "I was so busy looking for the subway entrance that
I forgot your question."