The Sea Fairies
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L. Frank Baum >> The Sea Fairies
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10 Edited by Charles Aldarondo (aldarondo@yahoo.com)
TO JUDITH OF RANDOLPH MASSACHUSETTS
THE SEA FAIRIES
BY L. FRANK BAUM
AUTHOR OF THE EMERALD CITY OF OZ, DOROTHY AND THE
WIZARD IN OZ, OZMA OF OZ, THE ROAD TO OZ,
THE LAND OF OZ, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED BY
JOHN R. NEILL
THE oceans are big and broad. I believe two-thirds of the
earth's surface is covered with water. What people inhabit
this water has always been a subject of curiosity to the
inhabitants of the land. Strange creatures come from the seas
at times, and perhaps in the ocean depths are many, more strange
than mortal eye has ever gazed upon.
This story is fanciful. In it the sea people talk and act
much as we do, and the mermaids especially are not unlike the
fairies with whom we have learned to be familiar. Yet they
are real sea people, for all that, and with the exception of Zog
the Magician they are all supposed to exist in the ocean's depths.
I am told that some very learned people deny that mermaids
or sea-serpents have ever inhabited the oceans, but it would be
very difficult for them to prove such an assertion unless they had
lived under the water as Trot and Cap'n Bill did in this story.
I hope my readers who have so long followed Dorothy's
adventures in the Land of Oz will be interested in Trot's equally
strange experiences. The ocean has always appealed to me as
a veritable wonderland, and this story has been suggested to me
many times by my young correspondents in their letters. Indeed,
a good many childred have implored me to "write something
about the mermaids," and I have willingly granted the request.
Hollywood, 1911.
L. FRANK BAUM.
TROT AND CAP'N BILL
CHAPTER 1
"Nobody," said Cap'n Bill solemnly, "ever sawr a mermaid an' lived
to tell the tale."
"Why not?" asked Trot, looking earnestly up into the old sailor's
face.
They were seated on a bench built around a giant acacia tree that
grew just at the edge of the bluff. Below them rolled the blue waves
of the great Pacific. A little way behind them was the house, a neat
frame cottage painted white and surrounded by huge eucalyptus and
pepper trees. Still farther behind that--a quarter of a mile distant
but built upon a bend of the coast--was the village, overlooking a
pretty bay.
Cap'n Bill and Trot came often to this tree to sit and watch the
ocean below them. The sailor man had one "meat leg" and one "hickory
leg," and he often said the wooden one was the best of the two. Once
Cap'n Bill had commanded and owned the "Anemone," a trading schooner
that plied along the coast; and in those days Charlie Griffiths, who
was Trot's father, had been the Captain's mate. But ever since Cap'n
Bill's accident, when he lost his leg, Charlie Griffiths had been
the captain of the little schooner while his old master lived
peacefully ashore with the Griffiths family.
This was about the time Trot was born, and the old sailor became
very fond of the baby girl. Her real name was Mayre, but when she
grew big enough to walk, she took so many busy little steps every
day that both her mother and Cap'n Bill nicknamed her "Trot," and so
she was thereafter mostly called.
It was the old sailor who taught the child to love the sea, to love
it almost as much as he and her father did, and these two, who
represented the "beginning and the end of life," became firm friends
and constant companions.
"Why hasn't anybody seen a mermaid and lived?" asked Trot again.
"'Cause mermaids is fairies, an' ain't meant to be seen by us mortal
folk," replied Cap'n Bill.
"But if anyone happens to see 'em, what then, Cap'n?"
"Then," he answered, slowly wagging his head, "the mermaids give 'em
a smile an' a wink, an' they dive into the water an' gets drownded."
"S'pose they knew how to swim, Cap'n Bill?"
"That don't make any diff'rence, Trot. The mermaids live deep down,
an' the poor mortals never come up again."
The little girl was thoughtful for a moment. "But why do folks dive
in the water when the mermaids smile an' wink?" she asked.
"Mermaids," he said gravely, "is the most beautiful creatures in the
world--or the water, either. You know what they're like, Trot,
they's got a lovely lady's form down to the waist, an' then the
other half of 'em's a fish, with green an' purple an' pink scales
all down it."
"Have they got arms, Cap'n Bill?"
"'Course, Trot; arms like any other lady. An' pretty faces that
smile an' look mighty sweet an' fetchin'. Their hair is long an'
soft an' silky, an' floats all around 'em in the water. When they
comes up atop the waves, they wring the water out'n their hair and
sing songs that go right to your heart. If anybody is unlucky enough
to be 'round jes' then, the beauty o' them mermaids an' their sweet
songs charm 'em like magic; so's they plunge into the waves to get
to the mermaids. But the mermaids haven't any hearts, Trot, no
more'n a fish has; so they laughs when the poor people drown an'
don't care a fig. That's why I says, an' I says it true, that nobody
never sawr a mermaid an' lived to tell the tale."
"Nobody?" asked Trot.
"Nobody a tall."
"Then how do you know, Cap'n Bill?" asked the little girl, looking
up into his face with big, round eyes.
Cap'n Bill coughed. Then he tried to sneeze, to gain time. Then he
took out his red cotton handkerchief and wiped his bald head with
it, rubbing hard so as to make him think clearer. "Look, Trot; ain't
that a brig out there?" he inquired, pointing to a sail far out in
the sea.
"How does anybody know about mermaids if those who have seen them
never lived to tell about them?" she asked again.
"Know what about 'em, Trot?"
"About their green and pink scales and pretty songs and wet hair."
"They don't know, I guess. But mermaids jes' natcherly has to be
like that, or they wouldn't be mermaids."
She thought this over. "Somebody MUST have lived, Cap'n Bill," she
declared positively. "Other fairies have been seen by mortals; why
not mermaids?"
"P'raps they have, Trot, p'raps they have," he answered musingly.
"I'm tellin' you as it was told to me, but I never stopped to
inquire into the matter so close before. Seems like folks wouldn't
know so much about mermaids if they hadn't seen 'em; an' yet
accordin' to all accounts the victim is bound to get drownded."
"P'raps," suggested Trot softly, "someone found a fotygraph of one
of 'em."
"That might o' been, Trot, that might o' been," answered Cap'n Bill.
A nice man was Cap'n Bill, and Trot knew he always liked to explain
everything so she could fully understand it. The aged sailor was not
a very tall man, and some people might have called him chubby, or
even fat. He wore a blue sailor shirt with white anchors worked on
the corners of the broad, square collar, and his blue trousers were
very wide at the bottom. He always wore one trouser leg over his
wooden limb and sometimes it would flutter in the wind like a flag
because it was so wide and the wooden leg so slender. His rough
kersey coat was a pea-jacket and came down to his waistline. In the
big pockets of his jacket he kept a wonderful jackknife, and his
pipe and tobacco, and many bits of string, and matches and keys and
lots of other things. Whenever Cap'n Bill thrust a chubby hand into
one of his pockets, Trot watched him with breathless interest, for
she never knew what he was going to pull out.
The old sailor's face was brown as a berry. He had a fringe of hair
around the back of his head and a fringe of whisker around the edge
of his face, running from ear to ear and underneath his chin. His
eyes were light blue and kind in expression. His nose was big and
broad, and his few teeth were not strong enough to crack nuts with.
Trot liked Cap'n Bill and had a great deal of confidence in his
wisdom, and a great admiration for his ability to make tops and
whistles and toys with that marvelous jackknife of his. In the
village were many boys and girls of her own age, but she never had
as much fun playing with them as she had wandering by the sea
accompanied by the old sailor and listening to his fascinating
stories.
She knew all about the Flying Dutchman, and Davy Jones' Locker, and
Captain Kidd, and how to harpoon a whale or dodge an iceberg or
lasso a seal. Cap'n Bill had been everywhere in the world, almost,
on his many voyages. He had been wrecked on desert islands like
Robinson Crusoe and been attacked by cannibals, and had a host of
other exciting adventures. So he was a delightful comrade for the
little girl, and whatever Cap'n Bill knew Trot was sure to know in
time.
"How do the mermaids live?" she asked. "Are they in caves, or just
in the water like fishes, or how?"
"Can't say, Trot," he replied. "I've asked divers about that, but
none of 'em ever run acrost a mermaid's nest yet, as I've heard of."
"If they're fairies," she said, "their homes must be very pretty."
"Mebbe so, Trot, but damp. They are sure to be damp, you know."
"I'd like to see a mermaid, Cap'n Bill," said the child earnestly.
"What, an' git drownded?" he exclaimed.
"No, and live to tell the tale. If they're beautiful, and laughing,
and sweet, there can't be much harm in them, I'm sure."
"Mermaids is mermaids," remarked Cap'n Bill in his most solemn
voice. "It wouldn't do us any good to mix up with 'em, Trot."
"May-re! May-re!" called a voice from the house.
"Yes, Mamma!"
"You an' Cap'n Bill come in to supper."
THE MERMAIDS
CHAPTER 2
The next morning, as soon as Trot had helped wipe the breakfast
dishes and put them away in the cupboard, the little girl and Cap'n
Bill started out toward the bluff. The air was soft and warm and the
sun turned the edges of the waves into sparkling diamonds. Across
the bay the last of the fisherboats was speeding away out to sea,
for well the fishermen knew this was an ideal day to catch rockbass,
barracuda and yellowtail.
The old man and the young girl stood on the bluff and watched all
this with interest. Here was their world. "It isn't a bit rough this
morning. Let's have a boat ride, Cap'n Bill," said the child.
"Suits me to a T," declared the sailor. So they found the winding
path that led down the face of the cliff to the narrow beach below
and cautiously began the descent. Trot never minded the steep path
or the loose rocks at all, but Cap'n Bill's wooden leg was not so
useful on a downgrade as on a level, and he had to be careful not to
slip and take a tumble.
But by and by they reached the sands and walked to a spot just
beneath the big acacia tree that grew on the bluff. Halfway to the
top of the cliff hung suspended a little shed-like structure that
sheltered Trot's rowboat, for it was necessary to pull the boat out
of reach of the waves which beat in fury against the rocks at high
tide. About as high up as Cap'n Bill could reach was an iron ring
securely fastened to the cliff, and to this ring was tied a rope.
The old sailor unfastened the knot and began paying out the rope,
and the rowboat came out of its shed and glided slowly downward to
the beach. It hung on a pair of davits and was lowered just as a
boat is lowered from a ship's side. When it reached the sands, the
sailor unhooked the ropes and pushed the boat to the water's edge.
It was a pretty little craft, light and strong, and Cap'n Bill knew
how to sail it or row it, as Trot might desire.
Today they decided to row, so the girl climbed into the bow and her
companion stuck his wooden leg into the water's edge "so he wouldn't
get his foot wet" and pushed off the little boat as he climbed
aboard. Then he seized the oars and began gently paddling.
"Whither away, Commodore Trot?" he asked gaily.
"I don't care, Cap'n. It's just fun enough to be on the water," she
answered, trailing one hand overboard. So he rowed around by the
North Promontory, where the great caves were, and much as they were
enjoying the ride, they soon began to feel the heat of the sun.
"That's Dead Man's Cave, 'cause a skellington was found there,"
observed the child as they passed a dark, yawning mouth in the
cliff. "And that's Bumble Cave, 'cause the bumblebees make nests in
the top of it. And here's Smuggler's Cave, 'cause the smugglers used
to hide things in it."
She knew all the caves well, and so did Cap'n Bill. Many of them
opened just at the water's edge, and it was possible to row their
boat far into their dusky depths.
"And here's Echo Cave," she continued, dreamily, as they slowly
moved along the coast, "and Giant's Cave, and--oh, Cap'n Bill! Do
you s'pose there were ever any giants in that cave?"
"'Pears like there must o' been, Trot, or they wouldn't o' named it
that name," he replied, pausing to wipe his bald head with the red
handkerchief while the oars dragged in the water.
"We've never been into that cave, Cap'n," she remarked, looking at
the small hole in the cliff--an archway through which the water
flowed. "Let's go in now."
"What for, Trot?"
"To see if there's a giant there."
"Hm. Aren't you 'fraid?"
"No, are you? I just don't b'lieve it's big enough for a giant to
get into."
"Your father was in there once," remarked Cap'n Bill, "an' he says
it's the biggest cave on the coast, but low down. It's full o'
water, an' the water's deep down to the very bottom o' the ocean;
but the rock roof's liable to bump your head at high tide ."
"It's low tide now," returned Trot. "And how could any giant live in
there if the roof is so low down?"
"Why, he couldn't, mate. I reckon they must have called it Giant's
Cave 'cause it's so big, an' not 'cause any giant man lived there."
"Let's go in," said the girl again. "I'd like to 'splore it."
"All right," replied the sailor. "It'll be cooler in there than out
here in the sun. We won't go very far, for when the tide turns we
mightn't get out again." He picked up the oars and rowed slowly
toward the cave. The black archway that marked its entrance seemed
hardly big enough to admit the boat at first, but as they drew
nearer, the opening became bigger. The sea was very calm here, for
the headland shielded it from the breeze.
"Look out fer your head, Trot!" cautioned Cap'n Bill as the boat
glided slowly into the rocky arch. But it was the sailor who had to
duck, instead of the little girl. Only for a moment, though. Just
beyond the opening the cave was higher, and as the boat floated into
the dim interior they found themselves on quite an extensive branch
of the sea. For a time neither of them spoke and only the soft
lapping of the water against the sides of the boat was heard. A
beautiful sight met the eyes of the two adventurers and held them
dumb with wonder and delight.
It was not dark in this vast cave, yet the light seemed to come from
underneath the water, which all around them glowed with an exquisite
sapphire color. Where the little waves crept up the sides of the
rocks they shone like brilliant jewels, and every drop of spray
seemed a gem fit to deck a queen. Trot leaned her chin on her hands
and her elbows on her lap and gazed at this charming sight with real
enjoyment. Cap'n Bill drew in the oars and let the boat drift where
it would while he also sat silently admiring the scene.
Slowly the little craft crept farther and farther into the dim
interior of the vast cavern, while its two passengers feasted their
eyes on the beauties constantly revealed. Both the old seaman and
the little girl loved the ocean in all its various moods. To them it
was a constant companion and a genial comrade. If it stormed and
raved, they laughed with glee; if it rolled great breakers against
the shore, they clapped their hands joyfully; if it lay slumbering
at their feet, they petted and caressed it, but always they loved
it.
Here was the ocean yet. It had crept under the dome of overhanging
rock to reveal itself crowned with sapphires and dressed in azure
gown, revealing in this guise new and unexpected charms. "Good
morning, Mayre," said a sweet voice.
Trot gave a start and looked around her in wonder. Just beside her
in the water were little eddies--circles within circles--such as are
caused when anything sinks below the surface. "Did--did you hear
that, Cap'n Bill?" she whispered solemnly.
Cap'n Bill did not answer. He was staring with eyes that fairly
bulged out at a place behind Trot's back, and he shook a little, as
if trembling from cold. Trot turned half around, and then she
stared, too. Rising from the blue water was a fair face around which
floated a mass of long, blonde hair. It was a sweet, girlish face
with eyes of the same deep blue as the water and red lips whose
dainty smile disposed two rows of pearly teeth. The cheeks were
plump and rosy, the brows gracefully penciled, while the chin was
rounded and had a pretty dimple in it.
"The most beauti-ful-est in all the world," murmured Cap'n Bill in a
voice of horror, "an' no one has ever lived to--to tell the tale!"
There was a peal of merry laughter at this, laughter that rippled
and echoed throughout the cavern. Just at Trot's side appeared a new
face even fairer than the other, with a wealth of brown hair
wreathing the lovely features. And the eyes smiled kindly into those
of the child. "Are you a--a mermaid?" asked Trot curiously. She was
not a bit afraid. They seemed both gentle and friendly.
"Yes, dear," was the soft answer.
"We are all mermaids!" chimed a laughing chorus, and here and there,
all about the boat, appeared pretty faces lying just upon the
surface of the water.
"Are you part fishes?" asked Trot, greatly pleased by this wonderful
sight.
"No, we are all mermaid," replied the one with the brown hair. "The
fishes are partly like us, because they live in the sea and must
move about. And you are partly like us, Mayre dear, but have awkward
stiff legs so you may walk on the land. But the mermaids lived
before fishes and before mankind, so both have borrowed something
from us."
"Then you must be fairies if you've lived always," remarked Trot,
nodding wisely.
"We are, dear. We are the water fairies," answered the one with the
blonde hair, coming nearer and rising till her slender white throat
showed plainly.
"We--we're goners, Trot!" sighed Cap'n Bill with a white, woebegone
face.
"I guess not, Cap'n," she answered calmly. "These pretty mermaids
aren't going to hurt us, I'm sure."
"No indeed," said the first one who had spoken. "If we were wicked
enough to wish to harm you, our magic could reach you as easily upon
the land as in this cave. But we love little girls dearly and wish
only to please them and make their lives more happy."
"I believe that!" cried Trot earnestly.
Cap'n Bill groaned.
"Guess why we have appeared to you," said another mermaid, coming to
the side of the boat.
"Why?" asked the child.
"We heard you say yesterday you would like to see a mermaid, and so
we decided to grant your wish."
"That was real nice of you," said Trot gratefully.
"Also, we heard all the foolish things Cap'n Bill said about us,"
remarked the brown-haired one smilingly, "and we wanted to prove to
him that they were wrong."
"I on'y said what I've heard," protested Cap'n Bill. "Never havin'
seen a mermaid afore, I couldn't be ackerate, an' I never expected
to see one an' live to tell the tale."
Again the cave rang with merry laughter, and as it died away, Trot
said, "May I see your scales, please? And are they green and purple
and pink like Cap'n Bill said?" They seemed undecided what to say to
this and swam a little way off, where the beautiful heads formed a
group that was delightful to see. Perhaps they talked together, for
the brown-haired mermaid soon came back to the side of the boat and
asked, "Would you like to visit our kingdom and see all the wonders
that exist below the sea?"
"I'd like to," replied Trot promptly, "but I couldn't. I'd get
drowned."
"That you would, mate!" cried Cap'n Bill.
"Oh no," said the mermaid. "We would make you both like one of
ourselves, and then you could live within the water as easily as we
do."
"I don't know as I'd like that," said the child, "at least for
always."
"You need not stay with us a moment longer than you please,"
returned the mermaid, smiling as if amused at the remark. "Whenever
you are ready to return home, we promise to bring you to this place
again and restore to you the same forms you are now wearing."
"Would I have a fish's tail?" asked Trot earnestly.
"You would have a mermaid's tail," was the reply.
"What color would my scales be--pink, or purple?"
"You may choose the color yourself."
"Look ahere, Trot!" said Cap'n Bill in excitement. "You ain't
thinkin' o' doin' such a fool thing, are you?"
"'Course I am," declared the little girl. "We don't get such
inv'tations every day, Cap'n, and if I don't go now I may never find
out how the mermaids live."
"I don't care how they live, myself," said Cap'n Bill. "I jes' want
'em to let ME live."
"There's no danger," insisted Trot.
"I do' know 'bout that. That's what all the other folks said when
they dove after the mermaids an' got drownded."
"Who?" asked the girl.
"I don't know who, but I've heard tell--"
"You've heard that no one ever saw a mermaid and lived," said Trot.
"To tell the tale," he added, nodding. "An' if we dives down like
they says, we won't live ourselves."
All the mermaids laughed at this, and the brown-haired one said,
"Well, if you are afraid, don't come. You may row your boat out of
this cave and never see us again, if you like. We merely thought it
would please little Mayre, and were willing to show her the sights
of our beautiful home."
"I'd like to see 'em, all right," said Trot, her eyes glistening
with pleasure.
"So would I," admitted Cap'n Bill, "if we would live to tell the
tale."
"Don't you believe us?" asked the mermaid, fixing her lovely eyes on
those of the old sailor and smiling prettily. "Are you afraid to
trust us to bring you safely back?"
"N-n-no," said Cap'n Bill, "'tain't that. I've got to look after
Trot."
"Then you'll have to come with me," said Trot decidedly, "for I'm
going to 'cept this inv'tation. If you don't care to come, Cap'n
Bill, you go home and tell mother I'm visitin' the mermaids."
"She'd scold me inter shivers!" moaned Cap'n Bill with a shudder. "I
guess I'd ruther take my chance down below."
"All right, I'm ready, Miss Mermaid," said Trot. "What shall I do?
Jump in, clothes and all?"
"Give me your hand, dear," answered the mermaid, lifting a lovely
white arm from the water. Trot took the slender hand and found it
warm and soft and not a bit "fishy."
"My name is Clia," continued the mermaid, "and I am a princess in
our deep-sea kingdom."
Just then Trot gave a flop and flopped right out of the boat into
the water. Cap'n Bill caught a gleam of pink scales as his little
friend went overboard, and the next moment there was Trot's face in
the water among those of the mermaids. She was laughing with glee as
she looked up into Cap'n Bill's face and called, "Come on in, Cap'n!
It didn't hurt a bit!"
THE DEPTHS OF THE DEEP BLUE SEA
CHAPTER 3
Cap'n Bill stood up in the boat as if undecided what to do. Never a
sailor man was more bewildered than this old fellow by the
strangeness of the adventure he had encountered. At first he could
hardly believe it was all true and that he was not dreaming; but
there was Trot in the water, laughing with the mermaids and floating
comfortably about, and he couldn't leave his dear little companion
to make the trip to the depths of the ocean alone.
"Take my hand, please, Cap'n Bill," said Princess Clia, reaching her
dainty arm toward him; and suddenly the old man took courage and
clasped the soft fingers in his own. He had to lean over the boat to
do this, and then there came a queer lightness to his legs and he
had a great longing to be in the water. So he gave a flop and
flopped in beside Trot, where he found himself comfortable enough,
but somewhat frightened.
"Law sakes!" he gasped. "Here's me in the water with my rheumatics!
I'll be that stiff termorrer I can't wiggle."
"You're wigglin' all right now," observed Trot. "That's a fine tail
you've got, Cap'n, an' its green scales is jus' beautiful."
"Are they green, eh?" he asked, twisting around to try to see them.
"Green as em'ralds, Cap'n. How do they feel?"
"Feel, Trot, feel? Why, this tail beats that ol' wooden leg all
holler! I kin do stunts now that I couldn't o' done in a thousand
years with ol' peg."
"And don't be afraid of the rheumatism," advised the Princess. "No
mermaid ever catches cold or suffers pain in the water."
"Is Cap'n Bill a mermaid now?" asked Trot.
"Why, he's a merMAN, I suppose," laughed the pretty princess. "But
when he gets home, he will be just Cap'n Bill again."
"Wooden leg an' all?" inquired the child.
"To be sure, my dear."
The sailor was now trying his newly discovered power of swimming,
and became astonished at the feats he could accomplish. He could
dart this way and that with wonderful speed, and turn and dive, and
caper about in the water far better than he had ever been able to do
on land--even before he got the wooden leg. And a curious thing
about this present experience was that the water did not cling to
him and wet him as it had always done before. He still wore his
flannel shirt and pea jacket and his sailor cap; but although he was
in the water and had been underneath the surface, the cloth still
seemed dry and warm. As he dived down and came up again, the drops
flashed from his head and the fringe of beard, but he never needed
to wipe his face or eyes at all.
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