The Princess sat still and looked over toward the mountains.
“Do you think the Philosopher will find the Stone?” she asked presently of the Youngest and Favorite Lady-in-Waiting.
“Alas! your Royal Highness, I fear it is not likely,” said the Favorite Lady. “All the Sea-people have been searching day and night, I hear, and nothing has been heard of it yet.”
The Princess smiled. She still sat and smiled when the Favorite Lady wrapped a cloak about herself, and took a letter that lay by the Princess’s hand. Then, without permission or instruction, she set out toward the mountains. The Princess rested her elbows on the window-ledge, and watched her out of sight, and perhaps wondered who would be the earliest to arrive, and so fill the place of bridegroom, on her wedding-day.
And all this time, as the Lady-in-Waiting had said, the Sea-people had been searching day and night.
The Mer-babies and the little Sea-gulls were quite neglected, and did no lessons; for every one was too busy to attend to them. They played about and romped on the shore when they grew tired of hunting for the Philosopher’s Stone. The Sea-gulls had told the land-birds, who were searching the woods and the fields, while the fresh-water fish knew of it from their relatives in the sea, and they were searching the lakes and the rivers. Then the Sea-gulls determined to consult the Great Albatross of the Southern Seas, the King among all sea-fowl. They arrived one sunny morning, and found him expecting them, for he had heard what had happened—in the first place from the Parrot, who had passed that way. So he was prepared with his answer. It did not satisfy the Sea-gulls at all. They went away very much disappointed, for the Albatross was in a bad temper, and said only:
“Go home and attend to the children.”
They waited about until late, but he would say nothing more. So they were obliged to return and confess their want of success to the Mermaids, who sympathized with them, and agreed that it was very ill-natured of the Albatross. They proposed to go to the Sea-serpent and ask his advice, which the Sea-gulls thought a good plan. They set off at once for the deep seas, where he lived, inquiring of the fish they met whether any news had been heard. But the fish had nothing to tell, and the Mermaids came to the Sea-serpent’s home.
He was curled on his great rock throne, with giant seaweeds of all colors waving round him, and the stars of the anemones gleaming out from dark corners.
