Rays of light from the sun penetrated the ocean waves and scattered throughout the Kingdom of Marbella, casting a glow on the undersea scenery. The bare sand, the barnacle-encrusted rocks, the gently undulating sea grasses—in fact, all things beneath the sea displayed such stunning clarity that the undersea kingdom gave you the feeling of being in a living 3-D photograph.
I mentioned that dolphins and merchildren enjoyed sporting with one another, but other living things of the sea liked to draw near the merfolk. Countless little fishes of every color and combination of colors swam through the windows of the palace and played in its spacious halls. In remote corners of the palace, some fishes made their nests and laid their eggs.
Because the little fish were much too small for merfolk to kill for food—and because they were just the right size for larger fish to kill for food—the little fish seemed to think that the palace was a safe place for them to live.
Schools of smaller fish would swim right up to the merfolk and eat from the palms of their hands. Dolphins and certain larger fish that merfolk preferred not to eat—and which thought the fish in the palace were too small for them to eat—would swim up to the merchildren and let it be known that they wanted to be stroked like pets.
Because the little fish were much too small for merfolk to kill for food—and because they were just the right size for larger fish to kill for food—the little fish seemed to think that the palace was a safe place for them to live.
Schools of smaller fish would swim right up to the merfolk and eat from the palms of their hands. Dolphins and certain larger fish that merfolk preferred not to eat—and which thought the fish in the palace were too small for them to eat—would swim up to the merchildren and let it be known that they wanted to be stroked like pets.
I also mentioned that merchildren had to attend school. Merfolk schools had no classrooms because most of their lessons were built upon children’s natural curiosity about the world around them. More “serious” subjects, such as the languages and cultures of people on the land, were acted out, and the merchildren and their teachers would pretend that they were landsmen.
Merchildren got more laughter from the “serious” subjects than they did from the others. (Could landsmen possibly be as foolish as their teacher looked when he imitated their behavior as seen from a distance?)
Merparents never have problems getting their children to take a bath because, under the sea, there’s no need to take a bath. Merchildren don’t have to clean up their rooms or make their beds, either, because they have no need of rooms or beds. They can play or sleep almost anywhere.
Merchildren got more laughter from the “serious” subjects than they did from the others. (Could landsmen possibly be as foolish as their teacher looked when he imitated their behavior as seen from a distance?)
Merparents never have problems getting their children to take a bath because, under the sea, there’s no need to take a bath. Merchildren don’t have to clean up their rooms or make their beds, either, because they have no need of rooms or beds. They can play or sleep almost anywhere.
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