The Iceberg Express Read online

  Produced by Brett Fishburne. HTML version by Al Haines.

  The Iceberg Express

  by

  David Cory

  CONTENTS

  The Magic Comb The Coral Palace King Seaphus Damages The Wreck Wonderland The Enchanted Prince The Magic Seeds Candy City Toy Land

  The Magic Comb

  One bright morning in August little Mary Louise put on her hat and wenttrudging across the meadow to the beach.

  It was the first time she had been trusted out alone since the familyhad moved to the seashore for the summer; for Mary Louise was a littlegirl, 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 werewhite clouds edged with the hues of pinks and violets. The tide wascoming in, and the waves, little at first, but growing larger everymoment, were crowding up, along the sand and pebbles, laughing, winkingand whispering, as they tumbled over each other, like thousands ofchildren 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 wasthere beneath the sea, and beyond the sea, so deep, so broad and sodim, 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 lowrippling 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 shelay half in the water and half on the warm sand, her face resting onher upturned palms, looking at Mary Louise with a smile, which seemedto say: "Why don't you come over and comb my hair?"

  Indeed, this must have been exactly what she meant, for she held out apretty pearl comb until Mary Louise could resist no longer.

  Little Mary Louise had never before seen such beautiful long hair. Itspread like a scarf from the girl's shoulders down upon the sand.

  Mary Louise had forgotten that there were mermaids, and that mermaidsalways had most beautiful hair, and that they always combed it withpearly combs!

  "Have you been swimming?" asked Mary Louise.

  "Yes, a long swim," answered the little mermaid, and she gave a suddenkick in the water with her little feet, or, should I say, with hersmall fin-tail, which sent the spray flying.

  "Oh, you're a mermaid!" exclaimed Mary Louise, surprised and delightedat her unexpected discovery. "I saw your finny tail. Do you liketails better than feet?"

  "I never had feet," said the little mermaid, "so I can't say, but Ishould think they'd be very nice to walk on."

  "Yes, if you go to the mountains, as we did last summer," answered MaryLouise, "but you don't have to climb hills in the ocean."

  "Perhaps you don't know there are mountains in the sea," said thelittle mermaid. "Of course, you have seen nothing but their tops.What is that little rocky ledge over yonder, where the white lighthousestands, 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 treesand grassy slopes, but the summits of hills lifted out of the water?"

  "Oh!" said Mary Louise, with a gasp. "You do know geography, don'tyou? Is it pretty, away down there under the waves?" she addedwistfully.

  The mermaid smiled very sweetly as she answered, "Yes, it is. There aremany wonderful things to see, and many strange beautiful things to hearunder the sea! I will comb your hair with my magic comb," and she ranthe 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 theastonishment of Mary Louise, she found her hair trailing down to hervery feet. The breeze suddenly blew it to one side, and there on thesand, instead of her two little shoes, was a mermaid's tail, with aflippy-floppy fin on the end!

  "Come with me," said the mermaid, and without a moment's hesitationMary Louise followed her into the water and out beyond the breakers,swimming as easily as if she had always been a little mermaid, insteadof a girl who wore tan shoes.

  "Where are we going?" asked Mary Louise, as the dim line of the shoredisappeared and there was nothing in sight but the great, restlessocean.

  The mermaid did not answer, but looked about intently, as if trying tofind something.

  "What are you looking for?" asked Mary Louise, for she was a curiouslittle girl, and forgot one question as soon as she asked another.

  "Oh, there it is!" exclaimed the mermaid. "Come with me. Hold yourhands out before you like this and dive down!"

  "But where are we going?" again asked Mary Louise as they sank lowerand lower in the sea.

  "Oh, I forgot," answered the mermaid, turning with a smile to herlittle companion; "I was so busy looking for the subway entrance that Iforgot your question."

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

  "To be sure," answered the mermaid. "The track lies along the bottomof the ocean. It's not a railroad train we're going to take, but awater train that comes all the way from the Northern seas, sweeping onlike a river in the sea. Wait till we get down there. You'll see howfast it goes."

  Mary Louise was too astonished to speak.

  "The Pullman cars," continued the mermaid, "are icebergs. They comefrom the North every summer to take a trip South."

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

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

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

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

  "Now we can enjoy the scenery," laughed the mermaid, as she arrangedher tail in an artistic curve and brushed back her hair, which had beenswept over her eyes by the swift action of the water.

  "The train never stops, you know, until it reaches its destination, butthat need not interfere with our getting off any time we please shouldyou wish to visit any pretty spot we pass on our journey."

  Just at that moment there was a tremendous crash and Mary Louise foundherself thrown off into the water, while a muffled roar rolled throughthe depths of the ocean.