The Mermaid Who Couldn't Sing

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 cringed. “Do-ray-me-faaaa—“ Her voice wobbled from flat to sharp. No matter how often she tried, her voice did not improve. She sounded like a frog, croaky and harsh.

            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.

            

Theka's Choice

                                             Theka’s Choice

                                                            By Valerie L. Egar

           

  Once upon a time, a very long time ago, a little girl, Theka, lived in a village at the edge of a dark forest.  She was an orphan, but managed to make her way.  She swept the sidewalk in front of the bakery every morning and the baker gave her a sweet roll. She earned a few coins weeding the widow’s garden. When the monsoons came, a rich merchant allowed her to sleep in his warehouse. Everyone in the village knew Theka and gave her what they could spare.

            Theka spent her day wandering.  She drank water from a clean spring at the edge of the forest and ate berries. Because she was lonely, she talked to the trees and flowers.

            “Hello, great tree. How are you today? Did you like the rain last night?”

            “Little flower, does the butterfly tickle when it touches you?”

            One day she climbed high into a tree and amused herself by singing.  For hours, she closed her eyes and sang a beautiful song. Opening her eyes, she was surprised. Birds of every size and color perched on the branches of the nearby trees. A tiger, a wolf, and a bear rested underneath the trees with deer, rabbits and a boar. 

So enchanted were the animals, they did not fear each other. They bowed their heads to Theka and walked back into the forest.

            Theka couldn’t wait to sing her song again. The next day, she climbed the tree, closed her eyes and once again sang the melody that called the animals. Once again, the birds and forest animals came to listen in peace. After that, Theka sang to them everyday.

            A hunter spied Theka talking to the trees one day and stayed hidden to watch her. He saw her climb a tree, heard her sing and saw the forest animals gather. He was disturbed by what he saw, but said nothing.

            Not long after, a tiger killed a farmer’s calf.  The village was upset.  A tiger!  Tigers were dangerous. Who knew what else a tiger might do? Everyone gathered for a meeting.

“It’s no wonder!” the hunter yelled. He pointed at Theka. “She sings and calls wild animals out of the forest.  This is her fault!”

            When questioned, Theka was truthful. Yes, she sang a song. Yes, the animals came, but they were peaceful.  No, no one taught her the song. No, she didn’t understand why her song called the animals, it just happened that way.

            She heard a chorus of voices: “Her singing is dangerous!”  “Who knows where this kind of power leads?” “Unnatural, especially for a girl!” “She’s bewitched!”

            They ordered Theka to stop singing.

           “And if I don’t?” She looked at the stern faces, even of those who had been kind to her and knew the answer. They gave her a day to think about it.

            Theka spent the night high in her tree, looking at the stars and thinking. “What should I do, tree?” she asked and thought she heard an answer.

            Early in the morning, as the sun’s first rays peeked over the horizon, Theka walked into the forest. She knew she would miss her village, but she also knew she had a special gift people in her village didn’t understand.  She was a little bit frightened about how she would provide for herself, but also excited by her new adventure.

            People in the village never saw Theka again. Some whispered a tiger ate her and others guessed she starved, but the few who ventured into the forest swore they heard singing high in the trees. One or two reported glimpsing her and after many years, more and more claimed to see her, sometimes high in a tree, other times, running on a forest path.  Hunters blamed her for misdirecting their arrows and calling the forest animals they hunted to safety.

If you walk in the forest and sit quietly with eyes that see and ears that hear, she will sing to you, too.   

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Copyright 2017 by Valerie L. Egar. May not be copied or reproduced without permission from the author.
Published April 2, 2017 Journal Tribune Sunday (Biddeford, ME).