“Wake up, everyone!” said Ellie, as she slowly yawned and stretched.
She had been asleep on a sandy island, but now the sun was coming up and making the sparkling waves dazzle her eyes. Ellie gracefully uncurled her glistening purple tail, then gently woke her mermaid friends—Misty, Sophie, Holly, Lucy, and Scarlett.
“Ooh, I slept so well,” sighed Misty, blinking in the morning light. “I was tired after our adventures yesterday.”
“I know, but we can’t sleep all day, Misty,” smiled Ellie. “Wake up, Sisters of the Sea. We’ve got a long way to swim!” The sleepy mermaids rubbed their eyes and shook the sand from their shining hair.
Ellie and her friends weren’t just going swimming for fun. They were Crystal Keepers on a very important mission for Queen Neptuna. But two days ago, Mantora’s terrible storm had blown the brave young mermaids miles off course to a deep kelp forest. And now they had to reach Coral Kingdom by the end of the week, before it was too late.
“We must head west,” said Ellie, looking out over the dancing waves. “That’s where Coral Kingdom lies. But we just don’t know how long it will take us to get there.”
Scarlett couldn’t wait to dive into the cool water and set off.
“Is everyone ready?” she asked impatiently. “Then let’s go!”
The mermaids slipped into the clear sea. Their tails glinted rainbow colors—red, pink, yellow, green, purple, and orange—as they set off.
For a while they swam in silence under the cloudless sky, eager to get nearer to Coral Kingdom. Ellie glided through the water next to Sophie and Holly, their tails swaying up and down in perfect time with each other. Scarlett flicked her crimson tail eagerly and tried to edge ahead. Misty was behind the others encouraging Lucy, who wasn’t such a strong swimmer.
As they reached the surface, the sun was glittering on the waves and a fresh breeze ruffled the mermaids’ glossy hair. Then three snowy-feathered seabirds swooped above them.
“Look at those white terns!” Ellie said. She swirled her tail expertly and floated on her back. “My mom says they are sometimes called fairy terns, because they look as light as gossamer. Oh, I wish I knew what it feels like to fly!”
“But we do, in a way,” Holly replied as she glanced up at the elegant birds. “Don’t forget that Mantora’s whirling storm blew us all the way to the kelp forest.”
“But that was rough and scary,” said Ellie, tumbling over to swim on her front again. “I’d like to fly peacefully, like a white tern.”
“And I’d like to be a dolphin, riding the wild waves,” Sophie declared as she arched her tail in a high, leaping dive.
Ellie smiled. Just for a moment she forgot about racing home with the crystals. She loved to see Sophie twist and turn smartly in the water. Scarlett was a daring, graceful swimmer, too.
“What about you, Scarlett?” she called out. “Would you like to be a dolphin?”
But Scarlett wasn’t listening. Her crimson tail whooshed through the waves, making a trail of golden bubbles. She wanted to prove that she could swim faster than Sophie, so she was racing ahead of her friends toward a tall rock. It stood up from the sea like a broken tower.
“Hey, Scarlett, wait for us!” shouted Misty.
As the mermaids tried to catch up with Scarlett, Ellie saw something strange. A magnificent albatross, the king of the seabirds, was flying overhead. But instead of gliding serenely, he was zigzagging around the column of rock and peering intently down at the sea. Ellie instantly recognized that something was wrong.
“Look,” she said to the others, pointing up. “What do you think is the matter?”
The albatross was crying out in a harsh, deep voice. All the mermaids stopped in alarm, except Scarlett, who kept racing on.
“I’m swimming faster than all of you!” she called gleefully over her shoulder. “I’m even faster than Sophie!”
As the stubborn young mermaid merrily sped away, Ellie noticed a dark patch gleaming on the surface of the water. It lay ahead of Scarlett like a menacing shadow.
“Stop!” Ellie cried out. “There’s something in front of you, Scarlett.”
“It’s only seaweed,” laughed Scarlett, plunging through the waves faster than ever. “You’re such a worrier, Ellie.”
Scarlett’s vivid red tail flashed in the sunshine as she charged toward the shadowy water. But at that moment, the albatross swooped down urgently.
“Danger! Danger!” he cried in his deep voice. “Oil has been spilled in the sea ahead!”
Ellie instantly shivered at his words. Oil was very dangerous for all sea creatures—including mermaids.
“Be careful, everyone,” she shouted. “We can’t get a single drop of oil on our tails, or we’ll be in big trouble.”
But it was too late. Scarlett had already swum into the dark, sticky mess …