many kind deeds and are generally beloved."

"Where do they live?" asked the child.

"The oldest one, who is king of this ocean, lives quite near us,"
said Clia. "His name is Anko."

"How old is he?" inquired Cap'n Bill curiously.

"No one knows. He was here before the ocean came, and he stayed here
because he learned to like the water better than the land as a
habitation. Perhaps King Anko is ten thousand years old, perhaps
twenty thousand. We often lose track of the centuries down here in
the sea."

"That's pretty old, isn't it?" said Trot. "Older than Cap'n Bill, I
guess."

"Summat," chuckled the sailor man, "summat older, mate, but not
much. P'raps the sea serpent ain't got gray whiskers."

"Oh yes he has," responded Merla with a laugh. "And so have his two
brothers, Unko and Inko. They each have an ocean of their own, you
know; and once every hundred years they come here to visit their
brother Anko. So we've seen all three many times."

"Why, how old are mermaids, then?" asked Trot, looking around at the
beautiful creatures wonderingly.

"We are like all ladies of uncertain age," rejoined the Princess