Free Twin Tales by Jacqueline Wilson

mermaid!’ said Connie.
    She looked down at her own legs again, wondering if she’d turned into a mermaid too. No, her two legs were still there, sometimes leaping right out of the water with neat pointed toes, other times kicking purposefully through the waves.
    â€˜I’m swimming!’ said Connie.
    The mermaid laughed, and a whole school of dolphins with smiley faces whistled and squeaked in a friendly way at Connie. They all skimmed the surface of the sea together and then dived downwards, disappearing.
    â€˜Oh, come back, little dolphins!’ cried Connie. ‘Where have you gone?’
    She tried to peer through the water beneath her. She saw strange flowers and coral rocks and stripy fish and her new dolphin friends playing follow-my-leader.
    â€˜Can we go down there too?’ Connie said.
    The mermaid smiled again and then Connie found herself diving down through the water into a new brighter, bluer world and she could breathe easily and swim almost as fast as the dolphins and she chased them all around the sea garden until she was tired, and then she sat on a rock with the mermaid, who combed her hair with a mother-of-pearl comb and then plaited it and started to fix the two blue beads back into place – but they slipped from her fingers and spiralled downwards through the blue sea, down and down into the dark . . .

    And then Connie woke up, and it was light and morning. She put her hands on to her hair. It was wet – as if she’d really been swimming in the sea. She felt for her plait, but it was just a little tangled lock, fast unravelling. The blue beads were gone.
    Connie lay quietly, thinking about her dream. She thought about swimming. Somehow it didn’t seem quite such a scary idea now.
    She jumped out of bed and ran into her parents’ room.
    â€˜Hey, Mum, Dad! It’s Sunday. Are you going swimming with the twins?’
    â€˜I think I’ll give it a miss today,’ Mum mumbled sleepily from under the duvet. ‘They both woke up in the night and needed feeding. We’re all too tired this morning.’
    â€˜I’m not a bit tired. And I’d like to go swimming. Will you take me, Dad? Please?’
    â€˜You want to go
swimming
, Connie?’ said Dad, sitting bolt upright.
    â€˜Yes, please.’
    â€˜But . . .’ said Dad. ‘I thought . . .’
    â€˜Just take her!’ Mum mumbled.
    So Dad stumbled out of bed and took Connie swimming. Connie wasn’t quite so sure this was a good idea when they went into the swimming-baths. She hesitated at the door, her lip trembling.
    Dad didn’t say anything at all – but he gave her a quick hug.
    Connie knew he’d take her straight home if that was what she really wanted. But she wanted to swim. So she’d jolly well have to give it a go, even if she was scared after all. Very, very scared.
    She stomped off into the ladies’ changing-room, wishing like anything that she still had her blue beads to twiddle. And there right in front of her was a flash of blue! It was NurseMeade, in a bright blue swimming costume to match her magic beads.
    â€˜Hey there, Connie!’ she called.
    â€˜Nurse Meade!’ said Connie. ‘Oh, how super! Have you come for a swim?’
    â€˜I thought it seemed a good idea,’ said Nurse Meade. ‘So you’ve come for a swim too, Connie?’
    â€˜Yes. I thought it seemed a good idea too,’ said Connie, hurriedly changing into her swimming costume.
    The dolphin on the front was smiling all over his face.
    â€˜He’s OK,’ said Connie, tickling him under his chin. ‘He knows how to swim.’
    â€˜I’ll show you how to swim if you like, Connie,’ said Nurse Meade, taking her hand.
    They were out of the changing- rooms before Dad. The little learner pool was still being used for the babies.
    â€˜I guess it’s the big pool,’ said Connie, and she hung back a little.
    â€˜Getting in is