le for me to move. At the same time I beg that you will
return, and see whatever there is to be seen.'

"'It is not worth while,' he answered; 'there was not a moment to
lose, and by this time she must be at the bottom with all belonging to
her.'

"'Could none of them fly away?' the Mother Albatross asked.

"'No men have wings,' replied her mate, 'nor, for that matter, fins
or scales either. They are very curious creatures. The fancy they have
for wandering about between sea and sky, when Nature has not enabled
them to support themselves in either, is truly wonderful. Go where you
will over the ocean and you meet men, as you meet fish and birds. Then
if anything disables these ships that they contrive to go about in,
down they go, and as the men can neither float nor fly, they sink to
the bottom like so many stones.'

"'Were there many on the ship you saw?' the mother bird asked.

"'More than one likes to see drowned in a batch,' said Father
Albatross 'and I feel most sorry for the captain. He was a fine
fellow, with bright eyes and dark curly plumage, and would have been a
handsome creature if he had had wings. He was going about giving
orders with desperate and vain composure, and wherever he went there
went with him a large dog with dark bright curls like his own. I have
seen the ship before, and I know the dog. His name is Carlo. He is the
captain's property, and the ship's pet. Usually he is very quiet, and
sometimes, when it blows, he is ill; but commonly he was on deck,
blinking with the most self-sufficient air you can imagine. However,
to-day, from the moment that danger was imminent, he seemed to be
aware of it, and to have only one idea on the subject, to keep close
to his master. He got in front of him as he moved about, sat down at
his feet when he stood still, jumped on him when he shouted his
orders, and licked his hands when he seized the ropes. In fact, he
was most troublesome. But what can you expect of a creature that
requires four legs to go about with, and can't rise above the earth
even with these, and doesn't move as many yards in a day as I go miles
in an hour? He _can_ swim, but only for a certain length of time.
However, he is probably quiet enough now; and perhaps some lucky
chance has rolled him to his master's feet below the sea.'

"'Have men no contrivance for escaping on these occasions?' the mother
bird inquired.

"'They have boats, into which they go when the ship will hold them