The Most Beautiful Shell

Livi

Mom took me to the ocean once. I searched the beach for shells. I found many, but none were perfect. Then I saw the most beautiful purple shell.

I bent to pick it up, and another hand reached too! Looking into the water, I discovered a mermaid watching me. We both wanted the beautiful shell.

“Mine!” I told her, grabbing the shell.

“I saw it first,” she told me, grabbing my ankle. The mermaid tugged me into the ocean.

I panicked at first, afraid of drowning. The mermaid kept pulling on me as she swam farther down. I found I could breathe beneath the waves, for she had turned me into a mermaid too!

She took me to a palace under the sea. It had towers and turrets of blue, purple, and green. The mermaid brought me before the Sea King.

“Your majesty,” she said to him, “this girl stole my sell. It’s beautiful, and purple, and she wanted it for herself.”

Shocked by her lie, I exclaimed, “I most certainly did no such thing.” I explained to the King, “My mother took me to the ocean, and I searched the beach for shells. I found one more perfect than any other. I reached down to take it, and picked it up first. It’s not my fault she wanted it too.”

The King pondered our words, thinking it through. Then he frowned at both of us, disappointed. “Let the shell go into the ocean. Nothing so small should cause so much trouble. Neither of you deserve the beautiful shell.”

The mermaid slapped her tail, unhappy with the King’s words. I was too, but I let the shell go. “Return the girl to the surface!” the King commanded.

The mermaid towed me to the surface, and I found I once more had legs. Looking at me, she quietly said, “Sorry,” before disappearing into the waves.

I said, “Sorry,” to the ocean, hoping she heard me.

My mother took me to the ocean once, and I searched the beach for shells. I found the one most beautiful, but a mermaid wanted it too. We both let go. Now I wonder if the shell has washed ashore on another beach, waiting to be chosen.