he peers through the green gloom , notes a green , bog-eyed , cartoon octopus grinning from its perch on a washbasin , swims over orange floor tiles , past three urinals clambers over the broken pieces of a sunken boat disturbs a shoal of sticklebacks which flashawayinsilverstreaks , scratches his knee on a limpet , notes a beautiful starfish , waves to a mermaid lazily combing her long blonde hair ( or is it a rhinemaiden ? )