And off she went to gather some flowers to stick in her hair . About an hour later the blowing of a horn told her that dinner was ready . ` Did n't I say that fish would be delicious ? ' she cried ; and plunging her spoon into the dish the girl helped herself to a large piece . But the instant it touched her mouth a cold shiver ran through her . Her head seemed to flatten , and her eyes to look oddly round the corners ; her legs and her arms were stuck to her sides , and she gasped wildly for breath . With a mighty bound she sprang through the window and fell into the river , where she soon felt better , and was able to swim to the sea , which was close by . No sooner had she arrived there than the sight of her sad face attracted the notice of some of the other fishes , and they pressed round her , begging her to tell them her story . ' I am not a fish at all , ' said the new-comer , swallowing a great deal of salt water as she spoke ; for you can not learn how to be a proper fish all in a moment . ' I am not a fish at all , but a girl ; at least I was a girl a few minutes ago , only -- ' And she ducked her head under the waves so that they should not see her crying . ` Only you did not believe that the fish you caught had power to carry out its threat , ' said an old tunny . ` Well , never mind , that has happened to all of us , and it really is not a bad life . Cheer up and come with us and see our queen , who lives in a palace that is much more beautiful than any your queens can boast of . ' The new fish felt a little afraid of taking such a journey ; but as she was still more afraid of being left alone , she waved her tail in token of consent , and off they all set , hundreds of them together . The people on the rocks and in the ships that saw them pass said to each other : ` Look what a splendid shoal ! ' and had no idea that they were hastening to the queen 's palace ; but , then , dwellers on land have so little notion of what goes on in the bottom of the sea ! Certainly the little new fish had none . She had watched jelly-fish and nautilus swimming a little way below the surface , and beautiful coloured sea-weeds floating about ; but that was all . Now , when she plunged deeper her eyes fell upon strange things . Wedges of gold , great anchors , heaps of pearl , inestimable stones , unvalued jewels -- all scattered in the bottom of the sea !
Dead men 's bones were there also , and long white creatures who had never seen the light , for they mostly dwelt in the clefts XXXXX rocks where the sun 's rays could not come .
about at for in into of that through to with