The Iceberg Express(冰山直通车)

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The Iceberg Express

by David Cory

The Iceberg Express

The Magic Comb

One bright morning in August little Mary Louise put on her hat and

went trudging across the meadow to the beach.

It was the first time she had been trusted out alone since the family had

moved to the seashore for the summer; for Mary Louise was a little girl,

nothing about her was large, except her round gray eyes.

There was a pale mist on the far-off sea, and up around the sun were

white clouds edged with the hues of pinks and violets. The tide was

coming in, and the waves, little at first, but growing larger every moment,

were crowding up, along the sand and pebbles, laughing, winking and

whispering, as they tumbled over each other, like thousands of children

hurrying home from school.

Who was down there under the blue water, with the hoarse, hollow

voice, urging and pushing them across the beach to her feet? And what

was there beneath the sea, and beyond the sea, so deep, so broad and so

dim, away off where the white ships, that looked smaller than seabirds,

were gliding out and in?

But while Mary Louise stood still and wondered, there came a low

rippling laugh to her ear.

A little distance down the beach a girl, somewhat older than herself,

rested on the beach. She evidently was tired from swimming, for she lay

half in the water and half on the warm sand, her face resting on her

upturned palms, looking at Mary Louise with a smile, which seemed to

say: "Why don't you come over and comb my hair?"

Indeed, this must have been exactly what she meant, for she held out a

pretty pearl comb until Mary Louise could resist no longer.

Little Mary Louise had never before seen such beautiful long hair. It

spread like a scarf from the girl's shoulders down upon the sand.

Mary Louise had forgotten that there were mermaids, and that

mermaids always had most beautiful hair, and that they always combed it

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with pearly combs!

"Have you been swimming?" asked Mary Louise.

"Yes, a long swim," answered the little mermaid, and she gave a

sudden kick in the water with her little feet, or, should I say, with her small

fin-tail, which sent the spray flying.

"Oh, you're a mermaid!" exclaimed Mary Louise, surprised and

delighted at her unexpected discovery. "I saw your finny tail. Do you

like tails better than feet?"

"I never had feet," said the little mermaid, "so I can't say, but I should

think they'd be very nice to walk on."

"Yes, if you go to the mountains, as we did last summer," answered

Mary Louise, "but you don't have to climb hills in the ocean."

"Perhaps you don't know there are mountains in the sea," said the little

mermaid. "Of course, you have seen nothing but their tops. What is

that little rocky ledge over yonder, where the white lighthouse stands, but

the stony top of a hill rising from the bottom of the sea? And what are

those pretty green islands, with their clusters of trees and grassy slopes,

but the summits of hills lifted out of the water?"

"Oh!" said Mary Louise, with a gasp. "You do know geography,

don't you? Is it pretty, away down there under the waves?" she added

wistfully.

The mermaid smiled very sweetly as she answered, "Yes, it is. There

are many wonderful things to see, and many strange beautiful things to

hear under the sea! I will comb your hair with my magic comb," and she

ran the pearly comb gently through Mary Louise's hair.

"Over the sea the white ships sail, Out through the mist and the

rollicking gale, While deep below the mermaids swim With their finny

tails so neat and trim. So please, little magic comb, don't fail To give

Mary Louise a mermaid tail."

And the more she combed the longer grew the pretty curls, until, to the

astonishment of Mary Louise, she found her hair trailing down to her very

feet. The breeze suddenly blew it to one side, and there on the sand,

instead of her two little shoes, was a mermaid's tail, with a flippy-floppy

fin on the end!

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"Come with me," said the mermaid, and without a moment's hesitation

Mary Louise followed her into the water and out beyond the breakers,

swimming as easily as if she had always been a little mermaid, instead of a

girl who wore tan shoes.

"Where are we going?" asked Mary Louise, as the dim line of the

shore disappeared and there was nothing in sight but the great, restless

ocean.

The mermaid did not answer, but looked about intently, as if trying to

find something.

"What are you looking for?" asked Mary Louise, for she was a curious

little girl, and forgot one question as soon as she asked another.

"Oh, there it is!" exclaimed the mermaid. "Come with me. Hold

your hands out before you like this and dive down!"

"But where are we going?" again asked Mary Louise as they sank

lower and lower in the sea.

"Oh, I forgot," answered the mermaid, turning with a smile to her little

companion; "I was so busy looking for the subway entrance that I forgot

your question."

"Goodness!" cried Mary Louise. "I didn't know there was a subway

in the sea!"

"To be sure," answered the mermaid. "The track lies along the

bottom of the ocean. It's not a railroad train we're going to take, but a

water train that comes all the way from the Northern seas, sweeping on

like a river in the sea. Wait till we get down there. You'll see how fast it

goes."

Mary Louise was too astonished to speak.

"The Pullman cars," continued the mermaid, "are icebergs. They

come from the North every summer to take a trip South."

"Whew!" shivered Mary Louise. "I think we ar near one now, for I

feel quite cold."

Sure enough, she was right, for there close at hand was a great white

object.

"All aboard!" shouted a big polar bear. "Watch your step!"

The mermaid helped Mary Louise to slide on a projecting ledge, and

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off they went.

"Now we can enjoy the scenery," laughed the mermaid, as she

arranged her tail in an artistic curve and brushed back her hair, which had

been swept over her eyes by the swift action of the water.

"The train never stops, you know, until it reaches its destination, but

that need not interfere with our getting off any time we please should you

wish to visit any pretty spot we pass on our journey."

Just at that moment there was a tremendous crash and Mary Louise

found herself thrown off into the water, while a muffled roar rolled

through the depths of the ocean.

The Iceberg Express

The Coral Palace

"Why, the ocean is full of cracked ice!" exclaimed Mary Louise, as

she and the mermaid rose to the surface and looked about them. "I

wonder what it was that caused such a tremendous crash?"

"Perhaps the Whale Ice Trust is after a big ice supply," replied the

mermaid with a laugh. "The ocean depths are no longer a quiet place

since this dreadful hot weather set in. Just the other day I heard the King

of the Mermen say that they were about to send a note of protest to

Neptune for violating the laws of Merland!"

"I don't know much about it," said Mary Louise, "except that it's very

inconvenient to have one's voyage disturbed in such a way. What are we

going to do now?"

"How would you like to visit the Court of the Mer King?" asked the

mermaid.

"Oh, lovely!" cried Mary Louise. "I've never met any kinds, although

I've read about them in fairy stories."

"Come along then," said the mermaid. "Follow me straight down, for

I think we are not very far from the Coral Palace, where King Seaphus

holds court."

Placing the palms of her hands together diving fashion, she gave her

pretty tail a kick-off, and away she went, head downward, through the

water.

Mary Louise followed her example, somewhat surprised at the ease

with which she executed this difficult maneuver.

In a short time they found themselves on the bottom of the ocean. In

the distance could be seen the dim outline of a magnificent castle of pink

and white coral. Leading up to it was a wide highway, flanked on either

side with beautiful sea-grass, and dotted here and there, like milestones,

stood columns of beautiful coral. Banks of exquisite mother-of-pearl

rose at intervals along the way; water plants of various hues grew in wild

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profusion.

"Why, it's very much like the earth," exclaimed Mary Louise, "only

one doesn't walk, and its not dusty, and--and it's not hot and sunny!"

"No, indeed!" said the mermaid. "But sometimes we have a pest of

water gnats that are worse than mosquitoes, and we have to put up netting

on our bedroom windows to keep them out."

As she finished speaking they approached the door of the castle, on

which she knocked with a flap of her finny tail. It was immediately

opened by a merman dressed in the uniform of a court page. "What can I

do for you, Your Highness?" he asked, bowing low.

"Why, are you a princess?" asked Mary Louise in surprise, turning

quickly to the mermaid and forgetting for the moment that they were on

the steps of a real merman's castle.

The little mermaid only laughed in reply, and taking Mary Louise by

the hand led her through the coral doors to King Seaphus.

His Majesty was seated on a throne of pearl, studded with many

precious stones. A long emerald robe fell from his shoulders and on his

head rested a magnificent crown set with glittering jewels, which gleamed

and sparkled in the dim light of the royal chamber.

"Ah, my daughter, whom have you here?" he asked, leaning from the

throne and gazing intently at little Mary Louise. "Methinks she is a

mermaidized mortal!" At which the King laughed loudly, for he was

very fond of coining words and was busily engaged, when his state duties

did not interfere, in compiling a new dictionary.

"You are right, Father Seaphus," replied his beautiful daughter. "Let

me introduce little Mary Louise."

The King rose graciously and extended his royal right hand. Mary

Louise made a low curtsey, finding it much easier now that she was a

mermaid to perform this little act of graciousness on account of the

flexibility of her tail.

Legs, of course, are indispensable for walking; but, then, in these days

of new inventions, when the air is invaded by wing, and the earth

traversed by wheels, and the depths of the waters by mechanical fins,

walking may soon become a lost art! Something like this may have

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flitted through her mind, but she only answered in a trembling voice,

"How do you do, Your Majesty!"

"You are welcome, 'Mermaid Mary,' to our Kingdom of the Sea," he

replied. "I hope you will enjoy your stay with us." So saying, he

gallantly lifted his gold crown as little Mary Louise made another curtsey.

"Let us dress for dinner," said the mermaid.

They swam quickly upstairs between two balustrades of lovely coral to

her bedroom.

It was just like fairy-land; at least, it seemed so to little Mary Louise,

as she looked about the pretty room. In one corner stood a beautiful bed

of mother-of-pearl, hung with varied colored sea grass for curtains. Sea

moss made it as soft as down. In fact, it seemed almost softer to Mary

Louise, who by this time was very sleepy. She rested her tired little body

upon the cushions and in a few short seconds was sound asleep. The

princess mermaid looked at her with loving eyes, while she sang very low

and sweetly:

"Sleep, little sister, for when you awake, We'll have a fine dinner of

fishes and cake!"

I think the mermaid took somewhat after her royal father for she often

spoke in rhyme, which she composed as she talked, while his great delight,

as has been mentioned before, was to coin a new word for his dictionary.

Leaving Mary Louise to her slumbers, the princess mermaid sat herself

down before her mirror and combed her hair. Presently, she went over to

her wardrobe and took out a beautiful shimmery pink shawl. What it was

made of I cannot tell, except that it shivered and quivered with little colors

like a rainbow. Perhaps it was made of changeable sea-silk.

At any rate, Mary Louise, who at that moment opened her eyes,

thought it was the most exquisite thing she had ever seen.

"Is it really for me? Is it really?" she asked with a cry of delight, as

the mermaid came toward her.

"Of course it is, my dear," replied the mermaid princess," and as soon

as you have put it on, and combed your hair--you needn't wash your hands

and face, you know--the banquet will be ready."

Mary Louise clapped her hands and hopped, or, rather, flopped about,

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so happy was she to receive such a gift in the depths of the sea.

When she was dressed in the lovely shawl, and a beautiful mother-of-

pearl comb fastened in her hair, the princess mermaid declared she looked

"too sweet for anything!" Then they floated down, arm in arm, to the

great dining hall.

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King Seaphus

The great dining hall of King Seaphus was considered by all the

inhabitants of Merland--that is, all those who had been lucky enough to

have seen its splendor--to be the most magnificent of its kind anywhere.

The dining table, or banquet board, as it was called, was made of

mother-of-pearl. The pale, shimmery cloth was woven from the most

delicate of sea-grasses. The gold and silver plates shone with a strange

luster, and the goblets, fashioned of the thinnest and most exquisite pearl,

gave the impression that they were strange sea lilies.

King Seaphus seated himself majestically at th head of the banquet

board, and little Mary Louise was shown the place on his right. At the

other end sat the Mermaid Princess. Mermen in dark green liveries

served the meal. But what delighted and interested Mary Louise the

most was the way in which the food was served. Instead of ordinary,

everyday dishes, it appeared in little airtight boats, which the servants

guided dexterously to the table, and when opened, the steam escaped in

hundreds of little bubbles that took on all the hues of the rainbow. These

slowly ascended through the pale green water until they reached the

surface, where they probably floated off in the air, until they burst, like

fairy soap-bubbles.

All kinds of delicious fish, little pink and white crabs, goldfish,

luscious oysters, and, finally, coral-candy, made up the different courses of

the dinner. When it was over and the coffee was served in a beautiful

room adjoining, King Seaphus smoked a big cigar, which, to Mary

Louise's amazement, glowed and burned like any ordinary Havana her

father smoked at home.

After King Seaphus had smoked away in perfect silence for some time,

he turned to Mary Louise and asked:

"Where were you going, my dear, when you met my daughter?"

"Oh, nowhere in particular," replied little Mary Louise quickly. "You

see, I was playing on the beach when I saw the Princess, and--and--and---"

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TheIcebergExpress1TheIcebergExpressbyDavidCoryTheIcebergExpress2TheMagicCombOnebrightmorninginAugustlittleMaryLouiseputonherhatandwenttrudgingacrossthemeadowtothebeach.Itwasthefirsttimeshehadbeentrustedoutalonesincethefamilyhadmovedtotheseashoreforthesummer;forMaryLouisewasalittlegirl,nothingabouthe...

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