"Your Royal Highness," interrupted the Star Fish, "I wish to state that I took this little trip for my health. My doctor told me I must go South. So I boarded the Iceberg Express at Cape Cod, intending to spend the summer in the mountains."
"In the mountains!" roared King Seaphus. "You don't go to the seashore for the mountains! You should have gone inland to the White Mountains or the Catskills—those are well-known summer resorts."
"May it please your Royal Highness," said the Star Fish, stroking his beautiful purple coat with one of his five little fingers, "I was bound for the Caribbean Sea, which is as full of mountains as New Hampshire and Vermont are. Of course, none of them have caps of snow like Mount Washington, for it's nice and warm in the Caribbean Sea; that's the reason I want to go there. But, if the Iceberg Express is wrecked, how am I to continue my journey?"
"Sufferin' mackerel!" exclaimed King Seaphus; this time he uttered the words aloud and not under his breath, "Sufferin' mackerel! I'll see that you get there, if I have to charter a special train!"
"But what about my finger?" asked the Star Fish.
"Oh, I'll reimburse you for your ticket," exclaimed the King. "And now, what can I do for you?" he asked, turning to the Polar Bear.
"Train Porters have very low wages," replied the Polar Bear.
"Very well," answered King Seaphus, "I will see that yours are doubled," and he waved the two visitors away with a haughty gesture. The court page then escorted them to the door.
"You heard what I said," cried the King, turning to the Prime Minister. "Now go to the General Manager of the Sea Bottom Subway and inform him of my wishes. Also that he must have an express ready to start for the Caribbean Sea tomorrow morning without fail."
The Prime Minister bowed respectfully and departed.