Contents
Map
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
The Mermaid S.O.S. series
For Sophie
—G S.
This book is for my truly
fantastic friends who make
sure life is never dull!
Love—H. J.
Map
Prologue
Meet Misty, Ellie, Sophie, Holly, Lucy, and Scarlett. They are Mermaid Sisters of the Sea, who live in the magical underwater world of Coral Kingdom. The Merfolk and their wise ruler, Queen Neptuna, look after the sea and all its creatures.
Coral Kingdom is protected by six powerful magic crystals, which give life and strength to the Merfolk. Without the crystals, Coral Kingdom would not survive.
Every year, the old crystals fade and have to be replaced. Queen Neptuna sends Misty and her friends—six special mermaids who are pure of heart—to collect the new ones from the secret Crystal Cave. But as they are bringing the crystals home, a storm blows the mermaids completely off course.
This is no ordinary storm! It is created by Mantora, Queen Neptuna’s jealous sister. Mantora wanted to rule Coral Kingdom, and now she is bitter and full of hatred. She is determined to stop the mermaids from returning home, so that she can overthrow Queen Neptuna and set up her evil Storm Kingdom instead.
Luckily, the young mermaids have courage and friendship on their side. But that’s not all; their S.O.S. Kits will help them as they race to get the crystals back safely. And they never forget their Mermaid Pledge:
We promise that we’ll take good care
Of all sea creatures everywhere.
We’ll never hurt and never break,
We’ll always give and never take.
And as we fight Mantora’s threat,
This saying we must not forget:
“I’ll help you and you’ll help me,
For we are Sisters of the Sea!”
Sophie and her friends are eager to prove that Queen Neptuna was right to trust them with the precious crystals. They are going to do everything it takes to get them home and safeguard Coral Kingdom for another year.
Will Mantora win? Or can the mermaids get the new crystals back in time to stop the light fading forever from Coral Kingdom?
Sophie
Chapter One
“Good-bye! Good-bye!” called the mermaids Sophie, Misty, Ellie, Holly, Lucy, and Scarlett. They were looking up from the sparkling sea, waving farewell to the great albatross. “And thank you!”
The king of the birds called his own wild farewell. He and his folk were returning to their rocky island home, where earlier that day the mermaids had rescued some white terns from a very sticky situation. The albatross and his brothers wheeled away, bearing giant clam shells that hung from ropes of twisted seaweed. A moonlight ride in these pearly carriages had helped the mermaids on their way after their kind deed. As they looked up, they saw the stately birds swoop into the path of the sunrise.
“Thank you so much,” Sophie called one last time. Then she turned to the others bobbing up and down in the water. “It’s time for us to swim west to Coral Kingdom!”
The brave young friends were the Crystal Keepers for Queen Neptuna. They had to deliver six glittering new crystals to her by the end of the week, or the power of Coral Kingdom would fade forever.
“I wish we could fly all the way home,” sighed Ellie, as they checked that their crystals were safe in the pouches tied around their waists.
“Being carried through the air in the shells really was like flying,” said Sophie, fastening the belt of her pouch tightly, “but I’m glad to be back in the sea again. This is where mermaids belong!”
She did a spectacular somersault and dived under the waves as gracefully as a dolphin. Then she burst through the water again, shaking diamond drops of water from her fun, spiky hair. Her gleaming orange tail swirled in the clear waves like a bright ribbon.
“You don’t have to show off and make a splash, Sophie,” grumbled Scarlett. “We’re just as ready for a good swim as you are.”
They all felt refreshed and lively after their sleep. But there was still a long way to go on their journey, with perhaps new dangers to face.
“I hope Mantora isn’t planning anything to try and stop us,” said Lucy anxiously. “All the difficulties we’ve met seem to have been caused by her. She’s determined that we won’t get the crystals home in time.”
“We’ll have to keep a careful watch for any sign of her,” agreed Misty. She looked to see if the frayed ends of her belt were tied together firmly. Misty had almost lost her crystal a few days ago, so she had to make absolutely sure that it couldn’t happen again. Next time she might not get it back. “I’m ready now,” she declared. “Should we swim deep under the sea? That way any humans out early in their fishing boats won’t see us.”
“Good idea,” said Sophie. “Let’s go!”
One by one the friends arched high in the air, before plunging down in a swift dive. Their mermaid tails glinted like jewels in the sunlight—orange, pink, red, yellow, purple, and green. Then only a splash of white foam was left behind, and the mermaids were gone, hidden under the waves.
Underwater was like a different world, thought Sophie. The morning sun shone through the sea and made everything glow. Golden specks of sand glittered in the water when the mermaids swished their tails. They dived farther into the cool, mysterious depths. The distant sound of dolphins calling to each other echoed all around.
“Isn’t the sea beautiful?” said Sophie, as the mermaids swam side by side in perfect harmony. A shoal of young tuna fish darted past. Tiny silvery bubbles streamed up from the seabed below. “And there are so many different creatures and oceans to get to know!”
“If only the humans could see this,” murmured Lucy. “Then they would fight with us against Mantora and everything that harms the sea. I want to help its creatures to be safe forever.”
“The best way we can do that is to get the crystals home in time,” said Scarlett crisply. “Why don’t we swim a little faster instead of admiring the scenery?”
“All right, Scarlett,” said Ellie. “If you want to go faster, what about having a swimming race?”
“But Sophie will win easily!” laughed Misty. “She’s definitely the best swimmer of all of us.”
Scarlett looked a little bit annoyed. She thought that she was just as good of a swimmer as Sophie.
“How do you know?” she said sulkily. “Sophie can’t win every race. She might not win this one.”
Sophie wasn’t worried about that, though. She loved to swim fast, but she knew there were more important things than winning all the time.
“I don’t mind who wins,” she said good-naturedly. “Ellie’s right, a race will make us swim faster and get the crystals home sooner. Let’s line up for the start!”
The young mermaids all swirled their tails quickly and came to a stop. Then they stretched out their arms and held hands, until they were in a perfect starting line. A drowsy shark, slowly drifting home to rest after a busy night, looked up and saw them.
“What foolish young things,” she tut-tutted. “They should be hiding under a rock. Don’t they know that Mantora has been charging around these waters, looking for trouble? Maybe I should go and warn them.”
She sleepily waved a fin to catch the attention of the mermaids. But they were too busy getting ready for the race to notice.
“Coral Kingdom lies straight ahead,” Sophie said to the others. “Are you all ready?”
“We’re ready,” they called excitedly.
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“Then one, two, three, GO!” said Sophie.
The race was on!
Chapter Two
Sophie soon surged away in front of the others, her fiery orange tail rippling powerfully through the water. She really was a fast, sleek swimmer. Scarlett charged forward, determined to catch up with her. Then Misty quickly shot ahead to be tied with Scarlett. After a sudden burst of speed, Holly caught up with both of them. Compared to the others, Lucy wasn’t such a strong swimmer. She preferred to swim calmly and steadily, so she was soon left behind.
“Hold my hand, Lucy,” said Ellie, going back to keep her company. “We’ll swim together. Let’s see if we can catch them!”
All the mermaids enjoyed racing through the sparkling sea. It felt good to know that they were getting the crystals closer to home. They sang joyously as they swam:
Faster, faster through the sea!
Who is quicker—you or me?
Faster, faster we must go,
Ever onward, swift not slow!
The friends swept along determinedly, their long hair streamed out like silk—golden, red, soft brown, and raven black. Some shiny-shelled lobsters looked up from the sandy seabed to admire them.
“Marvelous swimmers, those mermaids!” they exclaimed, waving their sharp pincers. “They look like they want to get somewhere quickly. Wonder what they’re in such a hurry about.”
Sophie and her friends hoped that they had shaken Mantora off their trail at last. They surged toward the western seas, where Coral Kingdom lay hidden from human eyes in the far distance. Sophie was ahead in the race, but Scarlett was quickly catching up with Sophie’s vivid orange tail.
“I’m nearly tied with you,” Scarlett called triumphantly.
Sophie laughed and sprinted forward. But then she swam straight into something that was invisibly blocking the way.
“OUCH!” she cried, stopping so suddenly that Scarlett crashed into her. Then Misty collided with Scarlett. Soon all the mermaids bumped into each other in a confused heap.
“OW! Ouch! What happened?” the friends exclaimed, as they rubbed their stinging arms.
“Oh, my poor head!” said Ellie.
“And my tail!” said Sophie. Then they all looked up to see what had forced them to stop.
In front of them was a loosely woven net. It was made from ropes the same pale color as the water, so it was difficult to see. The holes in the net were too small for a mermaid to swim through.
“So that’s what we bumped into,” said Sophie wonderingly. “An invisible wall of net.”
It waved silently and menacingly in the current, like a giant spider’s web.
“Be careful, everyone,” called Holly. “Stay away from it. This might be dangerous.”
“It’s a little spooky,” said Lucy nervously. “Do you think it has something to do with Mantora?”
“I don’t know,” replied Misty, as the mermaids hovered in the water, gazing at the huge barrier. “But we’ll have to get past it somehow. I just wish it wasn’t so big!”
The strange net really was enormous. It reached all the way from the seabed below, up to the surface of the water above the mermaids’ heads. From side to side it sliced through the water like an endless brick wall. The mermaids quickly took out their radiant crystals and shone them over the huge expanse so they could see it better.
“Do you know what I think?” said Holly, as she examined it from a cautious distance. “I think it’s a fishing net.”
Sophie and the others listened to Holly carefully. She was very smart and knew about all sorts of things.
“But isn’t it too big for that?” Ellie asked.
“This kind of net is big,” said Holly. “Ordinary fishing nets are like sacks that scoop up the catch. But this one is called a gill net. My dad told me about them. They stretch through the water like a wall. When a plump fish tries to swim through one of the holes, his gills and fins get caught. Then he can’t swim forward or backward to free himself.”
“Poor things,” said Lucy sadly. “How awful to be trapped in a net.”
“I know, Lucy,” said Misty, “but it is Mother Nature’s way. All the creatures need to find their food, even humans.”
“But do the humans really need to catch so many fish?” asked Ellie. “This net will hold thousands of fish when it is full.”
“I’m afraid the humans can be just as greedy as Mantora,” said Holly wisely. “In the old days, the fisher folk only took enough from the sea to feed themselves and their families. But now these big new gill nets catch everything they can.”
“Even mermaids,” shivered Lucy. “I’m glad I’m not caught in it.”
“Can’t we just swim to the surface and leap over the top of it up there?” asked Sophie. The others thought this was a sensible idea, but Holly stopped them.
“No!” she said. “There might be humans waiting in their fishing boats on the surface to haul in their catch later on. We shouldn’t go near them!”
“Then we’ll have to swim along until we find an opening,” said Sophie. “It’s a shame to be delayed just now. We were moving so quickly.”
“And I was nearly beating you,” added Scarlett.
“We’ll have to finish the race another time,” replied Sophie, with a quick smile. “That doesn’t matter now—we’ve got to find a way to get around this net!”
The mermaids turned to their left and followed the line of the webbed ropes, holding their glimmering crystals high to clearly light the way. They were searching for an opening big enough to slip through, so they could continue their journey. The friends were all impatient to get home to Coral Kingdom.
“Is this awful gill net going to go on forever?” complained Scarlett, as they swam along. The other mermaids started to look worried too. The wall of net bent away ahead of them until they couldn’t see where it ended. But just then they heard something that sent a shiver down their spines.
“H-e-e-e-lp!”
“What’s that?” asked Misty.
The sad, wailing cry echoed through the water again. It seemed to come from in front of the mermaids.
“Help! Ple-e-e-ase help!”
“Someone’s in trouble,” said Sophie. “We’ve got to find them!”
The mermaids surged forward anxiously. As they swam around the curving wall of the huge net, a little gray shape came rushing toward them.
“Oh!” exclaimed the friends in surprise.
It was an adorable baby dolphin, with soft flippers and big, dark eyes. And the mermaids could see that he looked as though his heart might break.
Chapter Three
“Please come quickly,” he sobbed.
“What’s the matter, little one?” said Sophie kindly, as she put her twinkling crystal away.
“It’s my … it’s my …,” the baby dolphin gulped. He was crying so hard that he could barely speak.
“It’s your what?” smiled Misty.
“It’s my mommy,” he wailed. “She’s caught in the nasty net.”
The mermaids looked at the sobbing young creature with concerned faces. This sounded like a job for the Sisters of the Sea!
“Can you show us where she is?” asked Scarlett. “As fast as you can?”
“She’s over here,” he sniffed. “And she’s hurt!”
He dashed away, and the mermaids swiftly followed him. Soon, they could see where the big gill net came to an end in the distance. But some way before that, the mermaids saw the streamlined shape of a dolphin. She was stuck in a wide gash in the net, tangled in its twisted, trailing ropes. The frantic mother was rolling from side to side, lashing her tail and trying to escape. But each move pinned her even more tightly in the knotted web.
“Mommy!” the little dolphin cried. He laid his snuffly beak on her face. “I found some sparkly fish to help you.”
“Good boy, Smudge,” panted his mother weakly. She looked at Sophie and her friends. “Ah, you are mermaids! My name is Silver. You can see that I
’m trapped!”
“How did this happen?” asked Sophie urgently.
“We were traveling with my sisters and their young,” Silver replied faintly, “on our way to the Wild Waves. My son suddenly heard a strange noise, as though someone was calling him, so he darted after the sound.”
“I didn’t know it was a bad thing to do,” wept Smudge. “I’m sorry.”
“I followed him,” continued his mother with an effort. “We saw this huge net ahead of us. A hole had been torn in it, maybe by a boat. Smudge slipped through, and I tried to follow but got stuck!”
“What were you swimming toward, Smudge?” asked Ellie gently.
“There was someone calling me,” said Smudge. “When I swam through the hole in the net, I saw her. She had a tail like yours, but she was scary looking. I didn’t like her, so I turned around and swam back here to my mommy.”
“That sounds like Mantora!” exclaimed Lucy.
“I fear that it was,” gasped the mother dolphin.
“Don’t worry, Silver, we’ll set you free,” said Sophie. The friends eagerly tried to undo the twisted ropes. But they were in tight knots around Silver. The shiny, slippery netting was too hard for mermaid fingers to untie. At last, Sophie and her friends had to admit defeat.
“I think we’ll need to get some help,” said Misty. “There’s nothing in our S.O.S. Kits that could cut through this hard, human-made rope. We’ll go and see what we can find, then come back.”
Misty was about to dash away when Holly called out, “Wait! It’s not that simple.”
Silver raised her head feebly.
“Yes,” she whispered, “I cannot wait for you to get help. If I don’t swim to the surface very soon to breathe, I will not survive.”
Misty, Ellie, Lucy, and Scarlett looked shocked.