Free Sea Magic by Kate Forsyth Page B

asked Meg.
    â€˜Some kind of big fish? I don’t know.’
    Someone giggled. All four children spun round. They looked high, they looked low, they looked far, they looked near, but they could see no-one. Then the giggle came again, quickly muffled as if by a hand.
    â€˜Look, down there!’ Tim called. ‘In the witch’s cauldron. It’s a girl!’
    Staring up at them from the round, bubbling witch’s cauldron was a young girl with long, sleek, dark hair and laughing eyes. As soon as she saw that the four children had spotted her, she flipped and dived under the water, disappearing into the foaming maelstrom of the blowhole. Just as Meg cried out indismay, a sinuous, frilled tail broke through the bubbles with a resounding SPLASH!
    Then the girl with the tail like a fish was gone.

CHAPTER THREE
    â€˜It’s a mermaid! A real, live mermaid!’ Meg cried.
    â€˜Not “it”. She.’ Ben’s voice was low and overawed.
    â€˜It must be some kind of trick,’ Thomas said.
    â€˜No way,’ Tim said. ‘She was a mermaid, all right.’
    All four scrambled to the cliff’s edge, scanning the tumultuous sea below for any sign of the mermaid. They saw the girl’s head break free of the foaming water. She turned and waved a cheeky hand at them. A boy’s head bobbed up a short distance away from her, scowling and angry, dragging at her arm, obviously trying to haul her away.
    Meg flung herself down at the edge of the rock, stretching out both arms imploringly. ‘Don’t go, please!’ she called. ‘Come and play with us! We’ve always wanted to meet a mermaid. Please!’
    The mermaid looked back, smiling, but the merboy tugged at her insistently. The mermaid shrugged and prepared to dive. Meg leapt up and launched herself over the edge of the crag.
    â€˜No!’ the three boys shouted. They all rushed to the edge and looked over. Meg was plummeting down towards the heaving swell of the ocean, herarms crossed over her tucked-up legs. Ben could hardly bear to watch as her small body plunged into the water and disappeared in a burst of bubbles.

    A few seconds later her head bobbed up, and Meg struck out after the mer-children.
    â€˜That was so stupid!’ Tim said.
    â€˜Lucky it’s high tide,’ Ben said, shivering at the thought of the sharp rocks that could lurk just under the waves.
    â€˜She’s a really good swimmer,’ Thomas said. ‘But I think I’d better jump in after her . . .’
    â€˜Wait! It’s too dangerous. I’ll run and get help . . .’ Even as the words left his mouth, Ben knew it would take too long. Meg was already struggling to make headway against the turbulent waves, which were surging back and forth and up and down, smashing against the rocks. Her head went under the crest of one foamy wave, burst through, then went under again.
    â€˜I’ll run and get my boogie board and throw it down to her,’ Tim cried.
    â€˜It’ll take too long. I’m going in!’ Thomas looked down the stretch of rock, checking to see when the next big swell came swirling in.
    â€˜Wait! Look!’ Ben pointed.
    The two mer-children had seen that Meg was struggling against the cross-currents. They racedback to her, lithe bodies flashing silver, and seized her, supporting her above the churning waves. Swift and supple as fish, they flashed through the water towards the shore, carrying Meg with them. Ben, Tim and Thomas slipped and slithered down the cliff to the witch’s cauldron, then jumped down onto the rocks. Clinging to the stone, they reached out eager hands and seized hold of Meg, dragging her out of the water.
    â€˜Thank you, oh, thank you!’ Thomas cried. Meg was dripping wet and trembling with exhaustion, and her brother put his arm around her and helped support her.
    Two sleek, black heads bobbed up and down in the water, staring up at them with