"He was a most curious-looking creature indeed; and, although bearing little or no resemblance to the people of the earth, he was not at all bad to look upon.
"His face beamed constantly with a broad smile, that spread his wide mouth with its thin lips almost from ear to ear; while, in addition to a good pair of arms, and hands with long, bony but webbed fingers, he had, on either side of his shoulder blades, broad fins like a fish, which, no doubt, he used in his progress through the water.
"His head ran up to a very sharp point on the top—not a bad feature at all for diving, as it was sharp like a boat. His eyes, instead of setting crosswise in his head, as the eyes of most everything do, set straight up and down with an eyebrow running along on either side of his nose, the sight of which caused little Arthur almost to laugh in his face.
"As he thus stood smiling and bowing before them, 'Aunt Twaddles' turned to the two children and said:
"'I left a boat here on this side of the river but this mischievous creature has taken it away. We had him sent to this underground river because one night he cut off the beautiful hair of a mermaid and made it into a wig for himself. I wish you could have seen him when he appeared the next day with his false golden locks and dark skin. He really looked as ridiculous as some of those women who have yellow hair and black eyebrows.'
"With that she made a movement of the hand and the sprite leaped straight upward into the air, almost as high as the roof of the cavern; then, turning a somersault in mid air, he landed head first in the water with a splash and was gone.
"It was not long before a big boat came swiftly across the stream. No one was in it, no one was pushing it, and no one was pulling it, so far as anyone could see. It came rapidly on and landed with great care directly in front of 'Aunt Twaddles' and the children, and without visible aid, bore them swiftly across the stream and landed them safely on the other side of the river, where they resumed their journey.
"As they walked slowly along under the glaring light, the children beheld long rows of shelves covering one entire side of the cavern. When Arthur inquired of 'Aunt Twaddles' what they might be, they paused for a moment while she informed them that this great cavern was the Store House for the seeds of all the flowers and fruits that grew in 'Beauty Valley.'
"Although Arthur wanted to inquire further about 'Beauty Valley,' for he had never heard its name mentioned before, his inquisitive nature was silenced; for, scarcely had 'Aunt Twaddles' finished telling about the wonderful places to be found in the enchanted cave, when they came to its end and found themselves stopped by the presence of a great stone door.
"For a moment, 'Aunt Twaddles' stood before this door, waving her fat arms in a strange, frantic manner, as if she had entirely gone out of her mind. In a low tone she uttered many strange words, which the children did not understand; and you can imagine their surprise as they beheld the stone door move quickly but silently to one side, and a flood of golden sunlight sweep into the cave.