"We are the fishes of the lake;
Our lives are very deep;
We're always active when awake
And quiet when asleep.
"We get our fins from Finland,
From books we get out tales;
Our eyes they come from Eyerland
And weighty are our scales.
"We love to flop and twist and turn
Whenever 'tis our whim.
Yet social etiquette we learn
Because we're in the swim.
"Our beds, though damp, are always made;
We need no fires to warm us;
When we swim out we're not afraid,
For autos cannot harm us.
"We're independent little fish
And never use umbrellas.
We do exactly as we wish
And live like jolly fellows."
As the fishes concluded their song they leaped high into the air and then plunged under the water and disappeared, and it was hard to tell which sparkled most brilliantly, their gold and silver bodies or the spray of jewels they scattered about them as they leaped.
"If you should dive into this lake," said Ephel the Messenger, "your feathers would be dripping wet when you came out again. It is here we Birds of Paradise bathe each morning, after which we visit the Gleaming Glade to perform our Beauty Dance."
"I should like to see that glade," said Twinkle, who was determined to let nothing escape her that she could possibly see.
"You shall," answered Ephel, promptly. "We will fly there at once."
So he led the way and presently they entered a thicker grove of trees than any they had before noticed. The trunks were so close together that the birds could only pass between then in single file, but as they proceeded in this fashion it was not long before they came to a circular space which the child-lark knew at once must be the Gleaming Glade.