"Won't he hurt us?" asked the little girl with a shiver of fear.

"Who, Anko? Oh no, my dear! We are very fond of the sea serpent, who
is king of this ocean, although he does not rule the mermaids. Old
Anko is a very agreeable fellow, as you will soon discover."

"Can he talk?" asked Trot.

"Yes indeed."

"And can we understand what he says?"

"Perfectly," replied the Queen. "I have given you power, while you
remain here, to understand the language of every inhabitant of the
sea."

"That's nice," said Trot gratefully.

The Princess Clia swam slowly to one of the walls of the throne room
where, at a wave of her hand, a round hole appeared in the coral.
The sea serpent at once observed this opening and the head left the
roof of glass only to reappear presently at the round hole. Through
this he slowly crawled until his head was just beneath the throne of
Queen Aquareine, who said to him:

"Good morning, your Majesty. I hope you are quite well?"

"Quite well, thank your Majesty," answered Anko; and then he turned
to the strangers. "I suppose these are the earth folks you were
expecting?"