by Debbie Dadey
She sighed and tried to look on the bright side. At least she had an adventure to tell the class, even if it hadn’t ended the way she’d hoped.
Her dad stopped her in the hallway as she was floating back to her room. “Young merlady, you are in big trouble,” he thundered. “If I ever hear about you going to that pirate ship again, you will be grounded for the rest of your merlife!”
How had her dad found out? Rocky must have told someone! Pearl didn’t even try to deny it. She just sadly nodded and went to her room. After the disaster of a day—and no jewels—she hoped she didn’t have any more adventures for a long time.
THE NEXT MORNING BEFORE CLASS, Headmaster Hermit’s voice blared over the conch shell. “Pearl Swamp, come to the entrance hall.”
Pearl gulped. Had he heard about her pirate adventures? What would the headmaster do? Maybe Echo was right and there was a rule against treasure hunting.
Pearl floated slowly toward Trident Academy’s huge front hallway. Usually she liked looking at the colorful carvings on the ceiling, but not today. She was too afraid of getting kicked out of school. It was a big honor to go to the prestigious Trident Academy. What would her parents do if the headmaster told her she couldn’t come anymore?
Headmaster Hermit stood in the middle of the grand hall with his arms folded over his chest. His black tail pounded the marble floor.
“D-d-did you want to see me?” Pearl asked in a shaky voice. Her mouth felt like it was full of sand!
The headmaster nodded. “You have a delivery, Miss Swamp.”
“A delivery?” Pearl said in disbelief.
“Yes,” Headmaster Hermit said with a frown. “In the future, please make sure all packages are sent to your shell. I will have Mr. Fangtooth deliver it there after school.”
As he stepped aside, Pearl couldn’t believe what she saw. There in the center of the hall was a treasure chest!
“But where? W-who?” Pearl stammered.
“A very large octopus dropped it off just a few minutes ago,” Headmaster Hermit replied. “I tried to explain that you didn’t live here, but my octopus language skills are somewhat . . . er . . . rusty.” The headmaster looked a bit embarrassed and cleared his throat. “Nevertheless, let’s make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
“Yes, sir,” Pearl said, her eyes glued to the treasure chest.
“Now, get to class,” Headmaster Hermit commanded.
Pearl scooted to her classroom, but all morning she had trouble concentrating on what Mrs. Karp was saying. Finally, just before lunch, it was time for everyone to share the stories they had made up. When the time came to tell her story, Pearl fumbled with the words.
“Yesterday, I mean once upon a time, a brave and beautiful mermaid went on a trip . . . a quest to find treasure on a haunted ship—a pirate ship. She got, er, stuck and her friends didn’t help her.”
Pearl glared at Rocky and Wanda before continuing. “But she was so courageous that she escaped, rescued an octopus, and was rewarded with treasure!”
“That’s not true!” Rocky blurted.
“Rocky,” Mrs. Karp snapped. “This is Pearl’s story, and she can tell it in any way she wants.”
Pearl didn’t mind. “It’s all true! And it happened to me! If you don’t believe me, just go look in the front hallway,” she said, smugly tossing her blond hair behind her. “The treasure chest is there right now!”
The whole classroom erupted in excited chatter. Mrs. Karp held up her hand. “Pearl, are you making this up?” she asked sternly.
Pearl shook her head. “No, Mrs. Karp. There really is a treasure chest in Trident Academy’s front hall. And it’s all mine!”
Mrs. Karp peered over her glasses at Pearl. “Well, students, I think we are all curious. Shall we float over to the front entrance to see this chest?”
Everyone lined up faster than a lizardfish can catch its dinner. “She’s telling a whopper of a lie,” Rocky told the class.
But when they got to the front hallway, everyone was quiet. Even Pearl. Because there was no treasure chest. The hallway was completely empty!
A Real Treasure
WHAT HAPPENED TO IT? It was right here!” Pearl blurted out.
“Sure it was,” Rocky said, scrunching his nose.
“But it really was here just a merminute ago!” Pearl told the class desperately. “Ask Headmaster Hermit!”
Wanda shook her head. “Rocky and I were with Pearl yesterday, and we never saw an octopus.”
“That’s because you left me!” Pearl screeched.
Wanda’s face turned bright red. “I’m sorry, but we thought you were with us.”
“Yeah,” Rocky chimed in. “And there was definitely no treasure. Pearl is telling a big lie.”
“There was too, and I am not!” Pearl yelled. She couldn’t believe they would accuse her of lying!
Mrs. Karp shook her head. “We’ve wasted enough time with this treasure chest business. Let’s get back to class.”
Pearl dragged her tail back to their room. The rest of the kids floated slowly too. No one was in a hurry to get back to schoolwork. In the hallway, Echo tried to cheer Pearl up. “Don’t worry about it. You certainly made the morning more exciting.”
“You don’t believe me, do you?” Pearl asked Echo.
“Well . . .,” Echo said slowly.
“Maybe you just got carried away with your story,” Shelly said quickly.
Kiki nodded. “Like when you said you have ten mirrors at home. Maybe you exaggerated just a bit.”
Pearl angrily swished her tail. “But we do have ten mirrors at home! And I’m not pretending! Headmaster Hermit showed me the treasure. He said that Mr. Fangtooth would take it to my shell after school.” She paused, then smiled. “That’s it!”
“What’s it?” Rocky asked as he swam over.
“I bet Mr. Fangtooth moved it out of the way to keep it safe.”
Rocky groaned. “Why don’t you just admit that you made the whole thing up?”
“But I didn’t,” Pearl insisted. “I’ll show you after school at my shell.”
“Forget it!” Rocky said. Kiki, Shelly, and Echo shook their heads. Even Wanda, who floated nearby, didn’t look so sure.
Pearl felt so defeated! How could she prove that there really was a treasure? “Okay, fine,” she said, crossing her arms. “Come with me at lunchtime to find the chest, and I’ll share a piece of the treasure with each of you.”
Rocky grinned. “Now you’re talking.”
AT LUNCHTIME, PEARL LED ROCKY, Echo, Shelly, Wanda, and Kiki down a side hallway to Mr. Fangtooth’s office. “It’s got to be in here,” Pearl told them.
“If Mr. Fangtooth catches us, we’ll be in big trouble,” Echo whispered.
“Why?” Pearl said. “It’s my property, after all. A giant octopus gave it to me as a reward for saving his life.”
“For real?” Kiki said.
“You actually saved an octopus?” Shelly asked.
Pearl nodded and pushed open a dark seaweed curtain. Quietly the six kids swam into Mr. Fangtooth’s office.
“Look!” Wanda squealed. “There really is a treasure chest!”
“Wow!” Kiki exclaimed. The kids floated around an old black trunk with a rounded top, staring in wonder.
Pearl smiled. “See, I told you I was telling the truth.”
“So did you really save an octopus too?” Echo asked.
“It even squirted me with ink,” Pearl said, holding up her pinkish-purple arms.
“Oh my goodness, you are kind of purple,” Shelly admitted. Pearl frowned. She wasn’t happy about being purple, but it did prove that she was telling the truth.
“That was brave, Pearl,” Echo said, and everyone else nodded their heads.
“You’re a real explorer!” Shelly said, clearly impressed.
“But what’s inside the chest?” Wanda asked.
Pearl’s eyes lit up. “I don’t know, but we’re about to find out.”
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br /> “Don’t forget,” Rocky reminded her. “You promised all of us a piece of the treasure.”
Pearl wished she hadn’t said that, but a promise was a promise. She put her hand on the chest’s lid and tugged. It wouldn’t open. She pulled harder.
“Let’s help,” Shelly suggested. So the merkids grabbed the lid and pulled together. They all fell backward when the lid popped open.
“Is it full of diamonds and rubies?” Wanda asked.
Pearl was the first to look inside. She shrieked.
“What is it?” Echo asked. “Emeralds and sapphires?”
All the merkids crowded around to see inside. Pink and yellow jewels glittered in front of them.
“It’s jewels, all right,” Rocky said, laughing. “Jewel anemones!”
Pearl felt like crying. She’d risked her life on an old pirate ship—all for some silly coral-like animals. Where were the jewels? Where were the diamonds and rubies?
There was a long silence. Finally Shelly spoke up, “Pearl, these are actually a very rare type of jewel anemone. I bet the octopus thought they were valuable.”
Pearl groaned. No matter what Shelly said, a few boring anemones were nothing like diamonds and rubies! They most certainly wouldn’t bring her any fame or fortune.
“Look at it this way: There may not have been a treasure inside this chest,” Shelly continued, “but you have to admit you brought a lot of excitement to Trident Academy.”
Kiki nodded. “Plus, if it wasn’t for you, the octopus would still be stuck. Maybe helping others is more important than jewels.”
Pearl considered this. She still wished she had some real treasure, but she did have an adventure that definitely wasn’t boring. And she’d rescued an octopus, just like a real hero. So she shrugged. “I guess I am pretty exciting.”
“In fact,” Wanda said with a grin, “I think you’re Trident Academy’s own secret treasure.”
Class Stories
PETUNIA THE PIRATE
By Shelly Siren
Petunia was a pirate with a secret. She was scared of water. She even hated when she had to wash the deck of the ship. But something happened to make her love the water. Can you guess what it was?
PATTY-CAKE THE PIRATE
By Echo Reef
Once there was a pirate who liked to play games. He played Shell Wars. He played human games. But the game he liked best was patty-cake. Once, he started playing it and couldn’t stop! Finally the other pirates on his ship couldn’t stand it and tossed him overboard. If you listen closely to the ocean, you can still hear him slapping the water with his hands, playing patty-cake.
DREADLY, THE DREADED PIRATE
By Rocky Ridge
Everyone dreaded Dreadly, the Dreaded Pirate. He was mean and scary and had only one eye. A shark had stolen the other one. Dreadly hated sharks and hunted them when he wasn’t swiping treasure. Once, Dreadly found the biggest shark ever, Enormo Shark. Dreadly was going to kill it. Enormo Shark told Dreadly, the Dreaded Pirate, that he hadn’t taken his eye. Dreadly wouldn’t listen, so Enormo Shark ate Dreadly. That was the end of Dreadly—except for his eyeball. If you ever see a shark with three eyes, that’s the one that took Dreadly’s eyeball.
PEARL THE PIRATE
By Pearl Swamp
Yesterday, I mean once upon a time, a brave and beautiful mermaid went on a trip . . . a quest to find treasure on a haunted ship—a pirate ship. She got stuck and her friends didn’t help her. But she was so courageous that she escaped, rescued an octopus, and was rewarded with treasure!
GOOD PIRATES
By Kiki Coral
Did you know there are still pirates today? Most people think they were from long ago, but human ships are still being attacked. One of my brothers told me about one where the pirates held the people hostage. He thought about helping them, but some other humans in funny green clothes came and took the ship away from the bad pirates. The humans in those funny green clothes must be good pirates.
REFRAIN:
Let the water roar
Deep down we’re swimming along
Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.
VERSE 1:
Shelly flips her tail
Racing, diving, chasing a whale
Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.
VERSE 2:
Pearl likes to shine
Oh my Neptune, she looks so fine
Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.
VERSE 3:
Shining Echo flips her tail
Backward and forward without fail
Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.
VERSE 4:
Amazing Kiki
Far from home and floating so free
Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.
Author’s Note
YOU MAY HAVE GUESSED THAT I think writing stories is exciting. And telling those stories out loud can be even more fun. In fact, I love hearing old family stories around the kitchen table. The best ones start with “Do you remember when . . .” Many stories that have been passed down for hundreds of years probably started just that way. Can you remember something funny that happened at your school or at home? Try writing it down. Then practice telling it at the dinner table. You may have started a story that will be told for hundreds of years! I hope you’ll visit my website for more writing fun at www.debbiedadey.com.
Swim free,
Debbie Dadey
Glossary
ACORN BARNACLE: The adult acorn barnacle fixes itself to one spot using a cementlike substance.
ANGELFISH: The queen angelfish is one of the most colorful of the Caribbean reef fish. The adults are blue and yellow, but younger fish are brown and yellow.
BIOLUMINESCENT PLANKTON: This tiny organism makes bright flashes of light. In large groups, they make glowing seas.
BLACKDEVIL FISH: The common blackdevil is a deep-sea fish with a glowing lure and long, sharp teeth.
BLACK DRAGONFISH: The Pacific black dragonfish is a creepy bottom dweller with dagger-sharp teeth and glowing photophores on its belly.
BOOTLACE WORM: This very skinny worm is one of the longest animals known. It can get up to thirty-three feet long. Most people can’t throw a ball that far.
COFFINFISH: This fish looks more like a pink balloon than a coffin!
COMMON FANGTOOTH: The huge spikelike teeth of this fish give it a scary look!
CREEPING COMB JELLY: The creeping comb jelly is a bottom dweller and lives on the orange sea star.
CONCH: This is a common name for the large spiral shell of a sea snail.
CUP CORAL: The Devonshire cup coral attaches to a rock or shipwreck and is cup-shaped.
CUTTLEFISH: The Australian giant cuttlefish is the largest of the one hundred kinds of cuttlefish. It grows up to five feet and resembles an octopus.
DEAD MAN’S FINGERS: This soft coral does look a bit like stubby fingers!
DOGFISH: The piked dogfish is actually a shark. It is very slow growing and can live to be one hundred years old.
GOBLIN SHARK: The goblin shark should be called the unicorn shark because of its pointed snout.
JELLYFISH: The moon jellyfish can be found in almost every part of the ocean. It is shaped like a small saucer with fine tentacles, like fringe, hanging from it. The upside-down jellyfish is often mistaken for being dead. Some jellyfish actually glow!
JEWEL ANEMONES: Jewel anemones sometimes live on underwater cliffs and create a beautiful display when grouped together. They can be almost any color, but often appear as yellow and pink.
KELP: Kelp is large brown seaweed. Sea otters often live in undersea kelp forests.
KILLER WHALE: This is the largest member of the dolphin family.
LANTERNFISH: The spotted lanternfish is a small fish that can put on a fabulous light display from the photophores along its sides and belly.
LIZARDFISH: The reef lizardfish darts out from its perch on rocks or corals to seize
a fish for dinner. Its large mouth lets it swallow quite large fish.
MANTA RAY: This huge ray can leap out of the water and is known to be friendly with divers.
MOLLUSKS: This group of marine animals includes oysters, sea slugs, and octopuses.
MOTHER-OF-PEARL: Mother of pearl, or nacre, is the inside layer of pearl oyster shells.
NEEDLEFISH: Most people don’t like to eat the hound needlefish because its flesh is green.
OCTOPUS: The blue-ringed octopus lives in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its spit can kill a human!
PEARL: Pearls are actually formed inside an oyster!
PEANUT WORM: This bottom-living creature looks more like a sausage than a peanut.
SAWFISH: The endangered smalltooth sawfish is a ray with a long, flat, sawlike snout.
SEA APPLE: The sea apple has a red and purple body and is often used in aquariums because it is so colorful.
SEA CUCUMBER: This animal crawls along the bottom of the sea, sucking up sediment as it moves along.
SEA HORSE: The pygmy sea horse is a miniature sea horse that hides in tiny sea fan coral.
SEA PEN: The slender sea pen grows on the bottom of sheltered sea lochs near Scotland and Norway. It resembles a feather in appearance.
SEA SLUG: The bright color and bad taste of the Chromodoris sea slug protects it from predators.
SEAWEED: Seaweed is used for food, cosmetics, medicine, fertilizer, and even in beer!
SHARK: The whale shark is the largest fish in the world. Its mouth is so big, a human could fit inside. Luckily, it eats only plankton and small fish.
TOADFISH: If you hear a loud grunting noise along the water, it just might be an oyster toadfish.
