He wore a red coat with brass buttons, and a silk hat was tipped over one ear.

His eyes were somewhat dull and watery, and he had a moustache of long, hair-like "feelers" that curled stiffly at the ends.

When he tried to smile at them, he showed two rows of sharp, white teeth.

In spite of his red coat and yellow-embroidered vest, his standing collar and carefully tied cravat, the legs of the octopus were bare, and Trot noticed he used some of his legs for arms, as in one of them was held a slender cane and in another a handkerchief.
"Well, well!" said the Octopus.

"Are you all dumb?
Or don't you know enough to be civil when you meet a neighbor ?" "We know how to be civil to our friends," replied Trot, who did not like the way he spoke.
"Well, are we not friends, then ?" asked the Octopus in an airy tone of voice.
"I think not," said the little girl.