Sir, replied the queen Gulnare, I shall take a great deal of pleasure in satisfying the king of Persia in any thing that lies in my power. You must know, then, that we can walk at the bottom of the sea with as much ease as you can upon the dry land; and can breathe in the water as well as you do in the air; so that instead of suffocating us, as it does you, it is absolutely necessary for the preservation of our lives. What is yet more remarkable is, that it never wets our clothes: so that when we have a mind to visit your upper world, we have no occasion of drying them. Our vulgar language is the same in which the writing upon the seal of the great prophet Solomon, the son of David, was engraven. I must not forget to tell you, that the water does not in the least hinder us from seeing in the sea; for we can open and shut our eyes when we please, without any manner of inconveniency; and as we have generally a very quick, piercing sight, so we can discern any object as clearly in the deepest part of the sea, as upon land. We have also a succession there of day and night; the moon affords us her light, and even the planets and the stars appear very visible to us. I have already spoken of their kingdoms; but as the sea is a great deal larger than the earth, so there are a greater number of them, and of vaster extent. They are divided into provinces, and in every province there are several great cities, well peopled; and, in short, there are an infinite number of nations, differing in manners and customs, as well as upon the earth. The palaces of the kings and princes are very sumptuous and magnificent. There are some of them of marble of various colours; others of rock-crystal, mother-of-pearl, coral, and of other materials more valuable; gold, silver, and all sorts of precious stones, are more plentiful there than with you. I say nothing of the pearls, since the largest that ever was seen upon the earth would not be valuable amongst us; and none but the very lowest rank of citizens would wear them.