[Illustration:  “I was given my first ride on land”]

But I was next boosted, tank and all, on to a great dray, drawn by creatures called “horses.”  Sailors joked, drivers laughed, a crowd peered at me with eyes full of wonder, and I was given my first ride on land, yet in what to me was a mere puddle of water.

Ah, how new and strange!  The jolting and the bouncing, the noise, the whistles, the voices, rattling of heavy wagons, booming of cars overhead and along the ground, strange calls and ringing of bells, the whole mixed racket nearly stunning me, for my hearing is very acute and sharp.  I cannot tell you how distracting it all was to a poor, pent-up fish.  I felt like anything but a “lord” then.

And what was this unknown matter floating into my squeezed-up basin?  Dust!  Something I had never seen before, and—­I didn’t like it!

The sea for me, first, last, and forever!

At the park I must say things were fine, and could they only have been more natural, I should have had considerable fun.  I found that a Dolphin on land, although kept in a small square pond, was indeed quite a curiosity, both to young Folks and older ones.

I imagine that a quantity of coarse salt was thrown every little while into the larger space now given me, else I could scarcely have lived.  But my keepers were attentive and kind, the young Folks threw me many kinds of strange food, and “Bless my lights!” as Jack would say, what kind of things do Folks live on!

Great quantities of little oblong balls, snapped out of a shell, different from any kind of shell I had ever seen before, were thrown me nearly every hour of the day.  Oh, yes, they were called “peanuts.”  Really, I liked them, only it took about a hundred to get enough to chew on.

Then there were white things, making me think of some small shells, as there were peeps of yellow inside.  Ah, I remember again, they were named “popcorn.”  I preferred the peanuts.

I didn’t know what to think of “taffy.”  Jinks! how it stuck to a fellow’s jaws!  Bah! the whole lot of stuff called “candy” was too sweet and sticky.

Some jolly-looking people that came to the park for what they called a “picnic,” tossed me queer food named “doughnuts,” and “ginger-snaps.”  Yes, I liked them, too, particularly the snaps.  Then there was an everlasting fruit named “banana” that I liked at first, it was so soft and slipped down so easily, but I had too much of it, and grew tired of it.

I grew tame, would raise my great head close to the strong wire-netting, and over would come all kinds of what Folks call “treats.”  Once, however, a man-Folk threw me part of a small round, dark roll or stick, such as men-Folks put in their mouths at one end, and send out smoke from the other end.

Boo, bumaloo, what stuff! bitter and horrid!  Men-Folks must have a queer taste to enjoy tasting and smoking such black, weedy things.  One taste of a “cigar” was enough for me.