The Unnatural Fate of the Jellyfish 185 



sick; he had eaten the green fruit from the jujube tree, and 

 there was nothing could save him but a monkey's hver. So 

 the Weirds all wept as they stood on the walls of the castle, 

 and the Black Crow on the turret said, " Caw, caw." And 

 the Prince could not play with his toys, nor trundle his hoop 

 in the Castle garden, and there was no joy throughout the 

 kingdom. 



So the King pounded on the floor with his scepter, and 

 called, "What ho!" Then he sent to the shore for his 

 favorite Jellyfish, who ran on errands for him in the sea, 

 just as the Black Crow ran on errands in the air. The 

 Jellyfish came up from the water and touched his hat to 

 the King, and said: " What does your Majesty command? " 

 Now in these days the Jellyfish was a sure-enough fish. It 

 had head and tail, and fins enough to swim with, and a long 

 groove down its back where it could fold them up when it 

 wanted to walk on the beach. For the Jellyfish had legs, 

 too, and could walk, and he wore a hat with a feather, and 

 carried a sword by his side, and was a creature of general 

 utility, and the Prince and the Jellyfish were chums together 

 as they dug holes in the sand or chased the crabs into the 

 surf. 



So the Jellyfish came walking up the stairs, with his sword 

 by his side, and his fins nicely folded in the sheath down his 

 back. And the King said, " What ho! What ho, my man ! 

 You must swim away across the sea to the Monkey's Island, 

 and bring me a monkey with his liver in." 



And the Jellyfish touched his hat, and shook out his fins, 

 and ran down the stairs to the sea, and swam away, without 

 a word, just as the King had told him. And the Weirds all 

 watched him while he swam, and the tears ran down their 

 faces, and the Black Crow on the turret said, " Caw, caw ! " 



When the Jellyfish came to the Monkey's Island, he saw 

 a Monkey sitting on the limb of a tree. The Monkey looked 

 pleased, for he had never seen a Jellyfish before, and he 

 was tired of living with the Monkey people and seeing 



