One bright morning in August little Mary Louise put on her hat and wenttrudging across the meadow to the beach.
It was the first time she had been trusted out alone since the familyhad moved to the seashore for the summer; for Mary Louise was a littlegirl, nothing about her was large, except her round gray eyes.
There was a pale mist on the far-off sea, and up around the sun werewhite clouds edged with the hues of pinks and violets. The tide wascoming in, and the waves, little at first, but growing larger everymoment, were crowding up, along the sand and pebbles, laughing, winkingand whispering, as they tumbled over each other, like thousands ofchildren hurrying home from school.
Who was down there under the blue water, with the hoarse, hollow voice,urging and pushing them across the beach to her feet? And what wasthere beneath the sea, and beyond the sea, so deep, so broad and sodim, away off where the white ships, that looked smaller than seabirds,were gliding out and in?
But while Mary Louise stood still and wondered, there came a lowrippling laugh to her ear.
A little distance down the beach a girl, somewhat older than herself,rested on the beach. She evidently was tired from swimming, for shelay half in the water and half on the warm sand, her face resting onher upturned palms, looking at Mary Louise with a smile, which seemedto say: "Why don't you come over and comb my hair?"
Indeed, this must have been exactly what she meant, for she held out apretty pearl comb until Mary Louise could resist no longer.
Little Mary Louise had never before seen such beautiful long hair. Itspread like a scarf from the girl's shoulders down upon the sand.
Mary Louise had forgotten that there were mermaids, and that mermaidsalways had most beautiful hair, and that they always combed it withpearly combs!
"Have you been swimming?" asked Mary Louise.
"Yes, a long swim," answered the little mermaid, and she gave a suddenkick in the water with her little feet, or, should I say, with hersmall fin-tail, which sent the spray flying.
"Oh, you're a mermaid!" exclaimed Mary Louise, surprised and delightedat her unexpected discovery. "I saw your finny tail. Do you liketails better than feet?"
"I never had feet," said the little mermaid, "so I can't say, but Ishould think they'd be very nice to walk on."
"Yes, if you go to the mountains, as we did last summer," answered MaryLouise, "but you don't have to climb hills in the ocean."
"Perhaps you don't know there are mountains in the sea," said thelittle mermaid. "Of course, you have seen nothing but their tops.What is that little rocky led