THE MERMAID'S TEA SERVICE. 19 



sea shouts and laughs and beckons to me, even 

 my shells are full of sea songs ; " and she held 

 a chambered shell to her ear, talking of its 

 plaintive murmur, so like the breaking of 

 waves upon a far-off coast. 



A few minutes later she was asleep, the 

 shell still held to her ear, and a smile upon her 

 lips — a sign of the pleasantness of her voyage 

 over sleep's mysterious sea. 



This is what she saw : A quaint little crea- 

 ture came up out of the waves and stood upon 

 the sand. It looked like a bit of a crumpled 

 veil, a weird little wraith made up of frills 

 and ruffles, but with a foot so large as to sug- 

 gest a mistake had been made in the adjust- 

 ment. 



Undine, with her love for all manner of 

 sea tenants, smiled a welcome, then waited 

 curiously, uncertain what might be the next 

 propriety in view of her guest being incognito. 

 Presently a voice, finer than the vibration of a 

 spider's silken string, came to Undine between 

 the noise of the waves, and the little visitor 

 announced : 



"/built that pearly palace you are holding 

 in your hand ; /painted its walls and tinted the 

 ceiling of its chambers. It was my home for 

 years, how many you can tell by counting the 



