WHEN OUR SHIP COMES HOME.
“Dear, dear me, how very silly of me to fall asleep. Whatever shall I do? there is no knowing what may happen, it is really too terrible to think about.”
The speaker was a fish. In the ordinary way fishes don’t talk much, but this happened to be a fairy fish, and fairy fishes can do most things. Most things, but not all things, otherwise this particular little fairy fish would not have been in such trouble.
The facts are simply these. The little fish had fallen asleep, and the tide having gone out, had left it in a very tiny pool of water on the seashore. The pool of water was so small that it ran the risk of being dried up by the sun, and that would be truly awful for the little fish, for if the water dried up it would die.
Now what made matters even worse was that this little fairy fish was in reality a beautiful mermaid—a beautiful mermaid with hair like the golden sands, eyes as blue as the sea, and lips as red as coral. But this was in her own country, some miles away in the rolling ocean. In her own country, too, she had the wonderful power of being able to change her shape. The pretty mermaid could become a sole, or a lobster, or an oyster, but unfortunately she had not this power out of her own country.
Now the mermaid had changed herself into a little Red Mullet, and, as we have just said, had fallen asleep and had been caught in a tiny pool of water on the seashore. Poor little thing, it could not change back again, and so was a prisoner.
But worse was to happen.
“Oh, Etty, here is a dear little fish; let us take it home and cook it for mother’s supper,” said a little voice.
The little voice belonged to a little girl who was talking to another little girl.
The Red Mullet trembled and grew pale. Enough to make it! Fancy hearing some one talking about eating one for supper.
“Oh, yes, do let’s,” said the other little girl, as they both peered into the pool. “Mother will be pleased; but how shall we carry it?”
“Oh, anyhow, pick it up in your fingers, Etty,” replied the first little girl.
The Red Mullet shivered, and quivered its tail, and turned even paler; it was losing its colour altogether, and that’s a serious matter for a Red Mullet!
“Well, I don’t know,” said Etty, thoughtfully, “poor little thing, perhaps it has a father and mother, and brothers and sisters in the sea, it seems a pity to eat it.”
The Red Mullet buried its nose in the sand, and blew little bubbles to the surface of the water. It was very much excited indeed!
“But it will die here I should think,” said the other little girl; “let us throw it into the sea so that it can go back to its father and mother, and brothers and sisters, if it likes. Pick it up, Etty, and throw it into the sea.”
Etty did not quite like touching the cold little fish, nevertheless she did, and threw it into the sea that came rippling up in tiny waves to her feet.
“Poor little Thing, perhaps it has a Father and Mother.”
The Red Mullet remained quite quiet for a second or two, the shock had been so great, and then it darted away to its home in the ocean.
Etty and her sister went home too.
Sorrow was in the land; great sorrow, for there were poverty and sickness in nearly every house. Everything had gone wrong in that country for some time, and somehow things could not get right again; it was such a pity!
Etty and her sister walked hand in hand and bare-footed on the seashore, and it was nearly a year since they had let the Red Mullet free. The two little girls were looking out for that ship which never would come. Mother had told them that everything would come right when their ship came home, but it was such a long time coming. They began to fear that it had gone down to the bottom of the sea, and that things would never come right.
And what was to happen to them all? It was so hard to live, so very hard; food was so scarce and the hospitals were full to overflowing.
“I wonder,” said Etty suddenly, looking up into her sister’s face, “I wonder where that little pink fish is, that we found last year.” Wonder, indeed they would have wondered, if they could have seen the little pink fish at that moment. The Red Mullet, no longer a Red Mullet, but a beautiful mermaid, was under the waves only a few yards from the two children. In her hands she carried a strange-looking casket, which she brought nearer and nearer to the shore; then she gave it in charge of a friendly wave that washed it almost to the children’s naked feet.
“What can it be?” they said, and that is exactly what you would have said under the same circumstances. Then they pulled it to land and tried to open it. It was not very difficult and they soon succeeded.
“Oh, Etty, what lovely beads!” said one little girl.
“Lovely beads!” repeated Etty; “let’s take some home to mother.”
They took a handful each of the contents of the casket, and, burying the casket in the sand, went home.
As they started off they both turned and listened for a moment. “I thought I heard a lovely laugh,” said Etty.
She had; it was the laughter of the mermaid, the happy, merry laughter of the sea fairy, who was pleased to see her present had been received. They gave the beads to mother, who started when she saw them. They showed them to their father, who gave a great cry and sprang to his feet.
“Why do you do that?” said Etty, in much surprise. And her sister wondered also; what did it mean?
“Mean, my dears,” answered their father in a choking voice, “it means that our ship has at last come home. These are not beads but pearls.”
“We have plenty more of them,” said the children.
Their father put on his hat and went out. They came back shortly with the casket and all the pearls, and they were such lovely pearls; indeed, that was not very wonderful, for the Red Mullet had taken a world of trouble to find the most beautiful pearls in the ocean and had been quite successful.
Now, the children’s parents were by no means greedy people, they shared the fairy’s gifts with their neighbours, with the happy consequence that where sorrow and sickness had been, happiness and health were in their stead.
And that is just as it should be, isn’t it? And what is the moral of this little tale? Be kind to all living creatures, even down to a tiny Red Mullet, and there is no knowing what may happen; perhaps your ship will come home, sooner than you expect, if you earn a mermaid’s gratitude.
