But until we ourselves escape from this dome we could not capture the Swan, and were we to escape we would have no use for Coo-ee-oh's magic." "That's a fact," admitted Dorothy.

"But--say, Ozma, here's a good idea! Couldn't we capture the three fishes--the gold and silver and bronze ones, and couldn't you transform 'em back to their own shapes, and then couldn't the three Adepts get us out of here ?" "You are not very practical, Dorothy dear.

It would be as hard for us to capture the three fishes, from among all the other fishes in the lake, as to capture the Swan." "But if we could, it would be more help to us," persisted the little girl.
"That is true," answered Ozma, smiling at her friend's eagerness.

"You find a way to catch the fish, and I'll promise when they are caught to restore them to their proper forms." "I know you think I can't do it," replied Dorothy, "but I'm going to try." She left the palace and went to a place where she could look through a clear pane of the glass dome into the surrounding water.

Immediately she became interested in the queer sights that met her view.
The Lake of the Skeezers was inhabited by fishes of many kinds and many sizes.