Read Online Not Quite a Mermaid by Linda Chapman - Free Book Online
Authors: Linda Chapman
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Chapter One
âA giant sea snake!â exclaimed Electra, the mermaid. She stared at her mum.
âYes,â Maris replied, her green eyes serious. âItâs been seen swimming outside the reef wall. Itâs only a baby. It shouldnât be able to get through thewall but thereâs just a chance it might wriggle through a crack and get into the caves.â
âWow!â Electra looked at Splash, the young dolphin who was swimming nearby. âDid you hear that, Splash? Shall we go and see if we can find it?â
âOK!â Splash whistled. He lived with Maris and Electra because his own parents had been killed by sharks. He and Electra were best friends. âIâve
never seen a giant sea snake before,â he said.
âMe neither!â Electra spun round in the water in excitement, her long red hair swirling around her. âItâll be an adventure!â
âElectra! Splash!â Maris said as if she couldnât believe her ears. âYou are not going to see the sea snake! Giant sea snakes are very dangerous. Even though a baby one canât eat you, it could still give you a nasty bite. I will not allow you to go and see it!â
âBut, Mum, itâs only a babyâ¦â Electra began.
âNo, Electra.â Maris put her hands on her hips and swished her tail.
Electra could tell from the strict look on her mumâs face that there was no point in arguing. Maris, like all the other merpeople who lived in the warm shallow waters around Mermaid Island, didnât like doing adventurous things. They liked staying inside the coral reef that surrounded Mermaid Island like a circular wall. But Electra was different. She loved having exciting adventures! Luckily Splash did too.
âIâve got to go out to the shops now,â Maris went on. âIâve asked Ronan ifyou two can go and play with Sam and Sasha for the afternoon.â
Sam and Sasha and their dad, Ronan, lived in the next-door cave. Sam and Sasha were twins. They were almost a year younger than Electra, and she and Splash were very good friends with them.
âOK.â Electra would rather have gone out looking for a baby sea snake but playing with the twins would be fun.
âAnd try not to get into trouble while youâre there,â Maris said.
âWe wonât,â Electra replied. âWill we, Splash?â
âOf course not!â Splash said, staring at Maris with bright, innocent eyes.
âHmmm,â Maris said, not looking so sure.
Maris, Electra and Splash swam next door. Electra put her mermaid bag over her shoulder, hung on to Splashâs fin and kicked with her feet. Liking adventures wasnât the
only
thing that made her different from the othermerpeople. While they all had tails, she had legs and feet. This was because Electra had been born a human.
She had been washed up near Mermaid Island in a small boat after a dreadful storm one night eight years ago. She had just been a baby at the time. The merpeople had found Electra and decided to bring her up as a mermaid. They had given her magic sea powder so she could breathe underwater and then Maris, a young mermaid, who had no other children, had adopted her. Now, Electra couldnât imagine being anything but a mermaid.
âHi!â Sam and Sasha came to the cave doorway to meet them when Maris rang the conch-shell bell. The twins both had very blonde hair. Samâs was short. Sashaâs reached her shoulders and she usually put a plait in it on one side.
âCome in,â Sam said.
âIâll be back to collect you at tea time,â Maris told Electra and Splash. She kissed them both. âBe good.â
âBye, Mum,â Electra called as Maris swam away.
âDadâs inside â and soâs Gran,â Sam told Electra and Splash.
Electra was pleased. She really liked the twinsâ grandmother. Some of the older merpeople gave Electra strange
âA giant sea snake!â exclaimed Electra, the mermaid. She stared at her mum.
âYes,â Maris replied, her green eyes serious. âItâs been seen swimming outside the reef wall. Itâs only a baby. It shouldnât be able to get through thewall but thereâs just a chance it might wriggle through a crack and get into the caves.â
âWow!â Electra looked at Splash, the young dolphin who was swimming nearby. âDid you hear that, Splash? Shall we go and see if we can find it?â
âOK!â Splash whistled. He lived with Maris and Electra because his own parents had been killed by sharks. He and Electra were best friends. âIâve
never seen a giant sea snake before,â he said.
âMe neither!â Electra spun round in the water in excitement, her long red hair swirling around her. âItâll be an adventure!â
âElectra! Splash!â Maris said as if she couldnât believe her ears. âYou are not going to see the sea snake! Giant sea snakes are very dangerous. Even though a baby one canât eat you, it could still give you a nasty bite. I will not allow you to go and see it!â
âBut, Mum, itâs only a babyâ¦â Electra began.
âNo, Electra.â Maris put her hands on her hips and swished her tail.
Electra could tell from the strict look on her mumâs face that there was no point in arguing. Maris, like all the other merpeople who lived in the warm shallow waters around Mermaid Island, didnât like doing adventurous things. They liked staying inside the coral reef that surrounded Mermaid Island like a circular wall. But Electra was different. She loved having exciting adventures! Luckily Splash did too.
âIâve got to go out to the shops now,â Maris went on. âIâve asked Ronan ifyou two can go and play with Sam and Sasha for the afternoon.â
Sam and Sasha and their dad, Ronan, lived in the next-door cave. Sam and Sasha were twins. They were almost a year younger than Electra, and she and Splash were very good friends with them.
âOK.â Electra would rather have gone out looking for a baby sea snake but playing with the twins would be fun.
âAnd try not to get into trouble while youâre there,â Maris said.
âWe wonât,â Electra replied. âWill we, Splash?â
âOf course not!â Splash said, staring at Maris with bright, innocent eyes.
âHmmm,â Maris said, not looking so sure.
Maris, Electra and Splash swam next door. Electra put her mermaid bag over her shoulder, hung on to Splashâs fin and kicked with her feet. Liking adventures wasnât the
only
thing that made her different from the othermerpeople. While they all had tails, she had legs and feet. This was because Electra had been born a human.
She had been washed up near Mermaid Island in a small boat after a dreadful storm one night eight years ago. She had just been a baby at the time. The merpeople had found Electra and decided to bring her up as a mermaid. They had given her magic sea powder so she could breathe underwater and then Maris, a young mermaid, who had no other children, had adopted her. Now, Electra couldnât imagine being anything but a mermaid.
âHi!â Sam and Sasha came to the cave doorway to meet them when Maris rang the conch-shell bell. The twins both had very blonde hair. Samâs was short. Sashaâs reached her shoulders and she usually put a plait in it on one side.
âCome in,â Sam said.
âIâll be back to collect you at tea time,â Maris told Electra and Splash. She kissed them both. âBe good.â
âBye, Mum,â Electra called as Maris swam away.
âDadâs inside â and soâs Gran,â Sam told Electra and Splash.
Electra was pleased. She really liked the twinsâ grandmother. Some of the older merpeople gave Electra strange
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