Ariel swam away from the others. She needed to be by herself for a few moments. Resting on a rock, she thought things over. She pulled a pink flower from her hair—Eric had given it to her just before she had left the surface. She loved Eric and wanted to be with him. But she loved her family, too.

I have to stay strong, she told herself. I’ll just do the best I can. And if that isn’t enough…well…

She’d think about that later. There! Ariel put the flower back in her hair. She did feel a bit better.

Slowly, she made her way back to the concert hall.

“Hi, Ariel!” called her sisters from inside.

Ariel waved her tail, then stopped to concentrate. Maybe if they copied everything perfectly from here on in…word for word, action for action…they wouldn’t even need the shark.

“I’m sorry I’m late!” she called out.

Let’s see, she thought. What came next? How did we start the first time?

No one did much of anything, she remembered. The sisters floated this way and that. Ariel looked around. Good, everyone was doing just that.

Then Sebastian came in, as if on cue. No one paid the slightest attention to him.

“Ignored yesterday,” Sebastian muttered. “Ignored today.”

Ariel smiled, then turned around so the crab wouldn’t see her.

The concert would begin with “Ode to the Reef.” “Sing Out, Sister” would follow, then “Sea to Shining Sea.” The grand ending, of course, would be “Happy Birthday.”

Ariel swam up to the stage. She floated next to Adella. Adella was next to Andrina, who was next to Arista, who was next to Attina, who—

“Wait!” Ariel cried suddenly as Sebastian raised his baton. “Where are Aquata and Alana?” They had disappeared!

The other sisters exchanged looks.

“Do you know?” Ariel asked.

The mermaids kept silent. Finally, Andrina said, “Oh, who cares, anyway? I’m so tired of their bickering.”

“Yes,” Arista agreed. “They’re probably in a huff somewhere. They might never ever show up!”

Ariel studied her sisters. Their voices were strained. Adella tapped her tail nervously. Attina twirled a strand of hair around her finger. They were all jittery.

Something was going on.

Just then, Aquata and Alana darted in.

“We’re here!” Alana said, out of breath.

Aquata looked over her shoulder. “Let’s get started. Quickly!”

What was the rush? Ariel wondered. Then she shook her head. It didn’t make a difference, anyway. She had to concentrate on the rehearsal to make it an exact copy of yesterday’s.

“It’s not that bad,” she remembered to say. “We still have plenty of time—”

“Don’t move!” Adella hissed. “There’s a shark.”

Ariel nodded. “Excellent idea!” she whispered. She hadn’t thought of pretending to see a shark. They’d act as if a shark were really there. Then she noticed that her sisters looked pale.

Slowly, she turned.

A shark hovered among the vines at the edge of the hall. It was the same one as yesterday!

Ariel gasped. “How did it get in?” she asked softly. “What about the shark patrol?”

“Alana talked to the swordfish on duty,” whispered Aquata. “So he wasn’t paying attention.”

“And Aquata led the shark right here,” Alana went on softly.

Ariel couldn’t believe it. Her sisters had risked their lives for her!

“We knew you’d say not to do it,” said Aquata. “So we didn’t tell you.”

“We all agreed,” Andrina said proudly. Then she looked puzzled. “Now what are we going to do?”

“We do what we did yesterday,” Ariel said. “Wait it out.”