The Mermaid Who Couldn’t Sing
By Valerie
L. Egar
Lucca was a young
mermaid who lived in the depths of the ocean with her family. She was beautiful
with long, pale green hair, eyes that flashed gold in sunlight and a sleek
mermaid’s body with shiny greenish-blue scales.
Lucca spent her days
lounging on deserted beaches and evenings swimming in the waves. She was happiest when the moon shone full upon
the water and turned her world silver. She leapt from the water and played tag
with her pet dolphin, Knoor. She swam
with schools of fish that glittered like stars.
But, Lucca had a big problem. Unlike other mermaids, Lucca couldn’t sing. Her voice was raspy and harsh. She couldn’t
stay on key. When she tried singing high notes—a mermaid’s notable talent—not
even a squeak came out.
“Mermaids are
renowned for their musical ability, enchanting anyone who is lucky enough to hear
their song,” lectured Mistress Salgum, the singing instructor at the Mermaid Academy. “Composed of water and starlight, mermaids’
songs go straight to the heart. We make the most beautiful music in the world.”
When Lucca sang with the mermaid choir,
Mistress Salgum always singled her out. “No, no, no! Sing sweetly and on key, like
this.” She sang a perfect scale. “Now you do it.”
Lucca
felt sad she could not sing. Though her friends were kind and no one made fun
of her, she felt she was a disappointment. She visited the doctor. “Is there
anything that can help my voice?” The doctor prescribed squid ink mouthwash
with seaweed extract. “Gargle three times a day,” he advised.
Lucca
did as she was told, even though it tasted awful. Her voice did not improve.
Perhaps
she should practice more? Alone on a deserted beach, she sang her scales. Knoor listened from the water. “How did I
sound?” she called. Knoor sadly shook his head. Practice was not helping.
She
sat on a rock and started to cry. Suddenly, the rock moved. “Oh!” A cranky sea
turtle poked his head from its shell.
“Use
me as a chair, why don’t you?” he grumbled.
“So
sorry,” said Lucca, and rolled onto the sand.
She continued to cry.
“Why
all the tears?”
Lucca
explained the trouble she had singing.
“Let
me hear.”
Lucca managed half
of “Mermaid’s Anthem” when the turtle raised one of his flippers.
“Stop. Indeed, you are no singer.” He shook his head as though his ears hurt.
Lucca
cried even harder. “I’m never going back home! I can’t!”
The
turtle stared. “If there’s anything I know, every mermaid has musical ability. Go
to the bottom of the ocean and bring back some glass bottles.”
Lucca
stopped crying and dove into the water. After a short time, she came back with
a few bottles.
The
turtle told her to put different amounts of water in the bottles. “Now hit them gently with a clam shell and tell me
what you hear.”
The
bottles made different sounds depending on the size of the bottle, the amount
of water in it and where Lucca struck it. The sounds were lovely and Lucca
found herself making up her own songs.
Every
day after that, Lucca found more bottles and practiced. Soon she had composed a symphony. She played it for the old turtle. "I hear the ocean's roar and the songs of the whales in your music. That is beautiful."
She played it for Mistress Salgum. “Just like I said! Every mermaid has musical talent.” She asked Lucca to play her symphony before the choir sang, which
is exactly what Lucca did. Everyone clapped so much and for so long, high waves crashed on the beach until dawn.
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Copyright 2017 by Valerie L. Egar. May not be copied or reproduced without permission from the author.
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