Before long they came to another and larger sheet of water, and this Twinkle decided was the most beautiful lake she had ever seen. Its waters were mostly deep blue in color, although they had a changeable effect and constantly shifted from one hue to another. Little waves rippled all over its surface, and the edges of the waves were glistening jewels which, as they scattered in spray and fell into the bosom of the lake, glinted and sparkled with a thousand flashing lights. Here were no rushes upon the shore, but instead of them banks of gorgeous flowers grew far down to the water's edge, so that the last ones dipped their petals into the lake itself. Nestling upon this bank of flowers the Royal Messenger turned to his companions and said: "Here let us rest for a time, while I call the friendly fishes to entertain you." He ended his speech with a peculiar warble, and at its sound a score of fishes thrust their heads above the surface of the water. Some of them were gold-fish and some silver-fish, but others had opal tints that were very pretty. Their faces were jolly in expression and their eyes, Chubbins thought, must be diamonds, because they sparkled so brightly. Swimming softly here and there in the lovely waters of the Lustrous Lake, the fishes sang this song: "We are the fishes of the lake; Our lives are very deep; We're always active when awake And quiet when asleep. "We get our fins from Finland, From books we get out tales; Our eyes they come from Eyerland And weighty are our scales. "We love to flop and twist and turn Whenever 'tis our whim. Yet social etiquette we learn Because we're in the swim. "Our beds, though damp, are always made; We need no fires to warm us; When we swim out we're not afraid, For autos cannot harm us. "We're independent little fish And never use umbrellas. We do exactly as we wish And live like jolly fellows." As the fishes concluded their song they leaped high into the air and then plunged under the water and disappeared, and it was hard to tell which sparkled most brilliantly, their gold and silver bodies or the spray of jewels they scattered about them as they leaped. "If you should dive into this lake," said Ephel the Messenger, "your feathers would be dripping wet when you came out again. It is here we Birds of Paradise bathe each morning, after which we visit the Gleaming Glade to perform our Beauty Dance." "I should like to see that glade," said Twinkle, who was determined to let nothing escape her that she could possibly see. "You shall," answered Ephel, promptly. "We will fly there at once." So he led the way and presently they entered a thicker grove of trees than any they had before noticed. The trunks were so close together that the birds could only pass between then in single file, but as they proceeded in this fashion it was not long before they came to a circular space which the child-lark knew at once must be the Gleaming Glade.