“Oh, no, we can’t,” admitted the fish, quite candidly; “but it’s the proper thing to do, you know, it encourages him so.”
After the speech the children were called before the King to receive their prize.
His Majesty did not speak to them, but motioned majestically to a large branch of pink coral near the throne, and they were thus given to understand that it was intended for them as a prize.
Of course, they pretended to be highly gratified, though, in reality, they were greatly disappointed.
“Stupid old thing! it’s not a bit of use, even if we could carry it,” muttered Dick; and Fidge, too, was so cross that he nearly quarreled outright with a perky little fish who had been standing, hat in hand, near him, and who now came and sat down so close to him that his sharp scales scratched the little fellow’s bare legs.
A moment afterwards, however, they had all forgotten their ill-humor in their amusement at what was happening, for the King having withdrawn, the rest of the fishes each took a partner, and began whirling round and round in a frantic way in a mad kind of dance, to the strains of some weird music, provided by one or two of their number blowing through some long shells, whilst others used some smaller flat ones as castanets.
"Whirling round and round in a frantic way."
“I suppose this is what is called a fish ball,” said Dick, laughing heartily at the strange antics which the fishes were cutting.