a flock, looking up at them with their bright eyes in a most comical
way.

"Welcome home!" cried one as he turned a back somersault and knocked
another crab over.

"What's the difference between a mermaid and a tadpole?" asked
another in a loud voice, and without a pause continued, "Why, one
drops its tail and the other holds onto it. Ha, ha! Ho, ho! Hee,
hee!"

"These," said Merla, "are the clown crabs. They are very silly
things, as you may already have discovered, but for a short time
they are rather amusing. One tires of them very soon."

"They're funny," said Trot, laughing again. "It's almost as good as
a circus. I don't think they would make me tired, but then I'm not a
mermaid."

The clown crabs had now formed a row in front of them. "Mr.
Johnsing," asked one, "why is a mermaid like an automobile?"

"I don't know, Tommy Blimken," answered a big crab in the middle of
the row. "WHY do you think a mermaid is like an automobile?"

"Because they both get tired," said Tommy Blimken. Then all the
crabs laughed, and Tommy seemed to laugh louder than the rest.

"How do the crabs in the sea know anything 'bout automobiles?" asked
Trot.