She stayed at home, and looked after her father and mother and brothers and sisters. And she went out, too, and looked after the poor who were in trouble and the rich who were in trouble; and she was loved and adored by one and all.
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.