Raphael struggled to his feet as fast as he could. He saw no living thing, however, until he looked up. Above him finned a large pop-eyed fish which stared down at him coldly.
‘Oh,’ said Raphael, ‘I didn’t expect to see you there.’
‘Didn’t you?’ asked the fish sarcastically.
Raphael flushed, but replied politely. ‘May I ask, Sir or Madam, what a sea urchin is?’
The fish eyed him angrily. ‘My name is Mary Cod.’
And she pointed to a little round creature like a black pincushion with long spines.
‘I beg your pardon,’ answered Raphael humbly. ‘I suppose I should have recognized you.’
‘You could not be expected to know me,’ sneered the cod in a temper. ‘We look quite different on a dinner-table.’
Raphael was shocked at this. He thought it a joke in rather poor taste.
‘Miss Cod,’ he began, ‘I am sorry to have....’