Free The Sea Fairies by L. Frank Baum

like a fleet of tiny ships.
    It is said that men got their first idea of boats and of how to sail them from watching these little argonauts.

THE UNDISCOVERED ISLAND
CHAPTER 10
    In following the fleet of argonauts, the four explorers had risen higher in the water and soon found they had wandered to an open space that seemed to Trot like the flat top of a high hill. The sands were covered with a growth of weeds so gorgeously colored that one who had never peered beneath the surface of the sea would scarcely believe they were not the product of a dye shop. Every known hue seemed represented in the delicate, fern–like leaves that swayed softly to and fro as the current moved them. They were not set close together, these branches of magnificent hues, but were scattered sparsely over the sandy bottom of the sea so that while from a distance they seemed thick, a nearer view found them spread out with ample spaces of sand between them.
    In these sandy spaces lay the real attractiveness of the place, for here were many of those wonders of the deep that have surprised and interested people in all ages.
    First were the starfishes—hundreds of them, it seemed—lying sleepily on the bottom, with their five or six points extended outward. They were of various colors, some rich and brilliant, others of dark brown hues. A few had wound their arms around the weeds or were creeping slowly from one place to another, in the latter case turning their points downward and using them as legs. But most of them were lying motionless, and as Trot looked down upon them she thought they resembled stars in the sky on a bright night, except that the blue of the heavens was here replaced by the white sand, and the twinkling diamond stars by the colored starfish.
    "We are near an island," said the Queen, "and that is why so many starfishes are here, as they love to keep close to shore. Also the little seahorses love these weeds, and to me they are more interesting than the starfish."
    Trot now noticed the seahorses for the first time. They were quite small—merely two or three inches high—but had funny little heads that were shaped much like the head of a horse, and bright, intelligent eyes. They had no legs, though, for their bodies ended in tails which they twined around the stems of seaweeds to support themselves and keep the currents from carrying them away.
    Trot bent down close to examine one of the queer little creatures and exclaimed, "Why, the seahorses haven't any fins or anything to swim with."
    "Oh yes we have," replied the Sea Horse in a tiny but distinct voice. "These things on the side of my head are fins."
    "I thought they were ears," said the girl.
    "So they are. Fins and ears at the same time," answered the little sea animal. "Also, there are small fins on our backs. Of course, we can't swim as the mermaids do, or even as swiftly as fishes; but we manage to get around, thank you."
    "Don't the fishes catch and eat you?" inquired Trot curiously.
    "Sometimes," admitted the Sea Horse, "and there are many other living things that have a way of destroying us. But here I am, as you see, over six weeks old, and during that time I have escaped every danger. That isn't so bad, is it?"
    "Phoo!" said a Starfish lying near. "I'm over three months old. You're a mere baby, Sea Horse."
    "I'm not!" cried the Sea Horse excitedly. "I'm full–grown and may live to be as old as you are!"
    "Not if I keep on living," said the Starfish calmly, and Trot knew he was correct in his statement.
    The little girl now noticed several sea spiders creeping around and drew back because she did not think them very pretty. They were shaped not unlike the starfishes, but had slender legs and big heads with wicked–looking eyes sticking out of them.
    "Oh, I don't like those things!" said Trot, coming closer to her companions.
    "You don't, eh?" said a big Sea Spider in a cross voice. "Why do you come around here, then, scaring away my dinner when you're not wanted?"
    "It