Raphael struggled to his feet as fast as he could. He saw no living thing, however, until he looked up. Above him finned a large pop-eyed fish which stared down at him coldly. ‘Oh,’ said Raphael, ‘I didn’t expect to see you there.’ ‘Didn’t you?’ asked the fish sarcastically. Raphael flushed, but replied politely. ‘May I ask, Sir or Madam, what a sea urchin is?’ The fish eyed him angrily. ‘My name is Mary Cod.’ And she pointed to a little round creature like a black pincushion with long spines. ‘I beg your pardon,’ answered Raphael humbly. ‘I suppose I should have recognized you.’ ‘You could not be expected to know me,’ sneered the cod in a temper. ‘We look quite different on a dinner-table.’ Raphael was shocked at this. He thought it a joke in rather poor taste. ‘Miss Cod,’ he began, ‘I am sorry to have....’ ‘Miss Cod, indeed!’ mouthed the codfish. ‘Tommy, Walter, Archibald, Augustus, Percy, Angela, Peter, William, and Mary, come here this minute.’ And Mrs. Cod sailed off, wriggling her fins indignantly, followed by her family, which dawdled indolently behind, opening and shutting their mouths. I wonder if they all belong to her, thought Raphael. They look more like a school of fish on a lecture tour or an outing. He was regretting that he had not asked her more about life under the sea, and where he might find the King or the President of the ocean, when a small voice fluted in his ear: ‘Do I understand, young man, that you would like to see the President?’ [Illustration: ‘MISS COD, INDEED!’ MOUTHED THE CODFISH] Again Raphael, startled, looked helplessly about. He was not yet accustomed to the semi-twilight of the ocean. All he saw were the rocks down which he had tumbled, and the lacy branches of the seaweed which pulsed slowly back and forth with the ocean current. He looked up, but could see nothing except long rays of green light which filtered in broad bands through the water. ‘Do I understand, young man, that you would like to see the President?’ repeated the voice patiently. Then Raphael discovered a sea horse hovering like a humming bird so close to his ear that he had to turn his head to see him. He balanced upright like a ribbed celluloid toy, and held a branch of green weed in his tail. ‘I want to see the President very much,’ answered Raphael hastily. ‘Follow me,’ said the sea horse. ‘I have the honor of being Equerry to the President.’ He started to swim away. Raphael rose heavily, and, moving his arms in a swimming motion, followed his guide as rapidly as he could. They went up a steep ridge and came to a plateau covered with sea grass which moved with the ocean current like a field of wheat in the wind. As they hurried along, Raphael saw black shadows drift slowly back and forth, nosing the grass. ‘What are those, Mr. Sea Horse?’ he asked. ‘They are sharks, Mr. Raphael.’ ‘Oh,’ said Raphael nervously, and looked about for a bush to hide in. The sea horse noticed this.