The Skies Are Falling
"Will they punish us?" asked Cathay.
"There are no punishments here," said the pearly Princess gravely, "only the consequences of your action. Our great defense against the Under Folk is that thin blue dome which you have broken. It can only be broken from the inside. Our enemies were powerless to destroy it. But now they may attack us at any moment. I am going to command my troops. Will you come too?"
"Rather," said Reuben, and the others, somewhat less cordially, agreed. They cheered up a little when the Princess went on.
"It's the only way to make you safe. There are four posts vacant on my staff, and I have brought you the uniforms that go with the appointments." She unfolded five tails, and four little pearly coats like her own, with round pearls for buttons, pearls as big as marbles. "Put these on quickly," she said, "they are enchanted coats, given by Neptune himself to an ancestor of ours. By pressing the third button from the top you can render yourself invisible. The third button below that will make you visible again when you wish it, and the last button of all will enable you to become intangible as well as invisible."
"Intangible?" said Cathay.
"Unfeelable, so you're quite safe."
"But there are only four coats," said Francis. "That is so," said the Princess. "One of you will have to take its chance with the Boy Scouts. Which is it to be?"
Each of the children always said, and thought that it meant to say "I will," but somehow or other the person who spoke first was Reuben. The instant the Princess had said "be," Reuben shouted: "Me," adding however almost at once, "please."
"Right," said the Princess kindly, "off with you! The Sea Urchins' barracks are behind that rock. Off with you! Here, don't forget your tail. It enables you to be as comfortable in the water as any fish."
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