Scarlett's New Friend (2 page)

“I've seen it,” she shouted. “I've really seen it!”

“What have you seen, Scarlett?” asked Holly. “Are we at Coral Kingdom yet?”

“Not quite,” grinned Scarlett, “but we're getting close. I saw Sandy Bay Island ahead of us.”

“Sandy Bay Island!” cried Misty. “Then we're nearly there!”

She grabbed Scarlett's hands and spun her around in a wild underwater dance. All the mermaids laughed and sang, “Hooray, hooray, for Sandy Bay!”

Sandy Bay Island was the busy seaside home to many creatures. Gulls, crabs, and seals lived there—and even humans. Beyond the island, further to the West, lay the secret underwater land of Coral Kingdom. The mermaids really were almost home.

“Now we'll have to be even more careful,” warned Scarlett after the celebrations died down. “Mantora might be lurking around nearby. Sandy Bay Island is at least a day's swim from Coral Kingdom. We can't slow down now.”

“You're right, Scarlett,” said Ellie. “And getting past Sandy Bay Island could be tricky. There are lots of humans there. We don't want to be spotted by them.”

“Maybe it would be better to find a place to hide now, and travel the rest of the way after dark?” suggested Lucy quietly. “That way most of the humans will be asleep when we're swimming past their harbors and beaches.”

“That's a good idea …,” began Scarlett, but she wasn't able to finish what she was going to say. The shadow of a boat passed over the mermaids' heads. A fishing line suddenly whipped down through the water, like a snake. At the end of it was a large hook, which lodged itself into Scarlett's thick hair. Then the unseen human on the other end of the fishing line began to tug. He thought he had made a fine catch and was trying to reel it in.

“Ow!” Scarlett gasped. She tried frantically to get the hook out of her hair, and the others desperately tried to grab her as she slithered past them. But it was too late! Scarlett was being pulled swiftly up to the surface, and soon she would land like a mackerel in the human boat. Where was Scarlett—and her precious crystal—being taken? And how would the other mermaids get her back?

“Everyone grab hold of Scarlett,” shouted Sophie, as Scarlett hovered above them for a moment. Holly and Misty caught the end of Scarlett's tail, but she let out an agonized squeal.

“Ow, that hurts,” she yelped. “I'm being pulled the other way too. Let go!”

There was nothing the mermaids could do but watch in horror as Scarlett
disappeared over their heads on the end of the fishing line.

“We've got to go after her,” said Sophie. “I don't care if the humans do see us. Come on!
Mermaid S.O.S.!
”

The friends all zoomed up through the waves to the overwater world. They were just in time to see Scarlett being pulled into a small green boat. It was being handled by a single fisherman wearing a rough sweater. He had an honest, weather-beaten face, and he was clutching the end of his fishing rod with his mouth hanging wide open. He looked as surprised as if he had caught a pot of gold.

The fisherman stared at Scarlett in amazement, as she sat on her tail opposite him in the little boat. She angrily unhooked the fishing line from her tangled hair and began to scold him.

“Don't you know that it hurts to be yanked out of the water by a fishing hook?” asked Scarlett fiercely. “How would you like it if I did that to you?”

The magic crystal she was carrying gave
her the power to be understood in any language, even human.

“But … but I never meant to catch a … a … whatever it is you are …,” he stuttered.

“Oh, you know perfectly well what I am,” said Scarlett. “And all my friends here.”

Sophie, Holly, Lucy, Ellie, and Misty were floating in the waves around the boat, watching carefully. Scarlett sounded angry, but they could tell she was a little bit scared too. They were all anxious about being face-to-face with a human like this.

“Well,” he said doubtfully, “I guess you're all Merfolk, or my name's not John Roberts. That is, unless I'm dreaming.” He rubbed his eyes and pinched himself. “You're still there, are you? Wait till I tell my boy Jack about this!”

“You will not tell anybody about me and my friends, John Roberts,” said Scarlett severely. “Do you really think we want you big clumsy humans coming and staring at us? In fact, I might tip your boat over and send you to the bottom of
the sea! That will teach you to go around catching mermaids.”

“Oh no, Scarlett,” protested Ellie, as she bobbed up and down in the water. “We couldn't do that, not to anyone.”

“Remember that the Mermaid Pledge says ‘Never hurt,'” said Holly wisely. “That applies to humans too.”

“And I don't think this John Roberts creature wants to hurt us, either,” added Misty. “Do you?”

“Of course not,” John replied quickly. “I've been a fisherman all my life in these waters. So were my father and grandfather, and maybe Jack will be one too. We've never been greedy, only taking from the sea what we needed to live. And we've heard many tales of the Merfolk
around here, how they rescued Lady Jane in the old days and so on.” He blinked his eyes again in astonishment. “I never believed the stories until now, though young Jack does. But I see now that you're finer than anything in any tale.”

“See, Scarlett,” said Lucy. “He's sorry for what he did.” The mermaids all swam a little closer to the green boat.

“That I am, miss, make no mistake,” said John.

“Well, if you're really sorry,” said Scarlett slowly, from her narrow bench in the boat, “then I take back those nasty things I said to you. I'll trust you not to trap us like lobsters caught in a pot. And perhaps,” she added, “you might even be able to help us.”

“But how can a human help a mermaid, Scarlett?” asked Sophie, looking up at her friend.

“I've got an idea about that,” Scarlett explained. “We can all see that it's too dangerous to swim past Sandy Bay Island just now. There are lots of small fishing boats, like this one, going in and out of the harbor. And if we swim underwater, we might get caught in the nets of the bigger boats.”

“So what's your idea, Scarlett?” asked Holly.

“I don't see how I can help you,” puzzled John. He still couldn't believe that he was talking to six mermaids.

“Could you take us in your boat to a really quiet and secret spot on the Island?” Scarlett asked him. “If we all crouch down at the bottom of the boat, no one will see us. Then we could stay in the hiding place until the evening. That's when most of you humans are resting and it will be safer for us to continue our journey.”

“There's Cauldron Cliff on the far side of the Island,” replied John thoughtfully. “There's no way down to the beach from the cliff top. And getting there by boat is tricky if you're not used to steering around the rocks. That keeps folks away from it.”

“It sounds perfect,” said Ellie. “That is, if you wouldn't mind taking us there in your boat, John?”

“Mind?” replied the fisherman. His tanned, open face broke into a broad smile. “Of course I don't mind. It's not every day I get to talk with the Merfolk. Hop in, my dears.”