Scarlett's New Friend by Gillian Shields Page B

rescued Lady Jane in the old days and so on.” He blinked his eyes again in astonishment. “I never believed the stories until now, though young Jack does. But I see now that you’re finer than anything in any tale.”
    â€œSee, Scarlett,” said Lucy. “He’s sorry for what he did.” The mermaids all swam a little closer to the green boat.
    â€œThat I am, miss, make no mistake,” said John.

    â€œWell, if you’re really sorry,” said Scarlett slowly, from her narrow bench in the boat, “then I take back those nasty things I said to you. I’ll trust you not to trap us like lobsters caught in a pot. And perhaps,” she added, “you might even be able to help us.”
    â€œBut how can a human help a mermaid, Scarlett?” asked Sophie, looking up at her friend.
    â€œI’ve got an idea about that,” Scarlett explained. “We can all see that it’s too dangerous to swim past Sandy Bay Island just now. There are lots of small fishing boats, like this one, going in and out of the harbor. And if we swim underwater, we might get caught in the nets of the bigger boats.”
    â€œSo what’s your idea, Scarlett?” asked Holly.
    â€œI don’t see how I can help you,” puzzled John. He still couldn’t believe that he was talking to six mermaids.
    â€œCould you take us in your boat to a really quiet and secret spot on the Island?” Scarlett asked him. “If we all crouch down at the bottom of the boat, no one will see us. Then we could stay in the hiding place until the evening. That’s when most of you humans are resting and it will be safer for us to continue our journey.”

    â€œThere’s Cauldron Cliff on the far side of the Island,” replied John thoughtfully. “There’s no way down to the beach from the cliff top. And getting there by boat is tricky if you’re not used to steering around the rocks. That keeps folks away from it.”
    â€œIt sounds perfect,” said Ellie. “That is, if you wouldn’t mind taking us there in your boat, John?”
    â€œMind?” replied the fisherman. His tanned, open face broke into a broad smile. “Of course I don’t mind. It’s not every day I get to talk with the Merfolk. Hop in, my dears.”
    So Holly, Lucy, Misty, Ellie, and Sophie quickly pulled themselves over the side ofthe faded green boat. Then John hid them under a piece of old sailcloth.
    â€œYou’ll be safe there,” he said. “And it won’t take us long to reach Cauldron Cliff.”
    The mermaids lay quietly as John steered the little boat over the choppy waves. This surely had to be the strangest part of their adventures so far!

Chapter Three
    â€œHere we are,” said John. “This is Cauldron Cliff.”
    Scarlett and her friends peered over the sailcloth that was covering them. They saw a tall, scooped-out cliff, towering above a lonely beach. The cliff really did look a bit like a hollow witch’s cauldron. The jagged rocks gleamed purplish-brown, and the pale sand glistened in the middaysunshine. No one was there except for a few seabirds.
    â€œThis will be a marvelous hiding place,” said Scarlett.
    â€œThank you, John,” said Lucy shyly. “I never believed a human could be so kind.”
    â€œAnd I never believed there were folks like you,” he replied. “I can’t wait to tell them at home.”
    â€œThat’s the problem,” Ellie sighed. “If you told other humans, they might want to capture us. We do like you, John. And we are grateful for your help, but …”
    â€œBut what?” he asked, with a look of surprise on his face.
    â€œBut we can’t allow you to remember meeting us,” said Scarlett, in a determined voice. “Good-bye, John.”
    One by one, the mermaids dived into the waves from the boat. They formed a circle around it and began to sing:
    You