The Little Mermaid’s Comb
Ariel, as usual, was out on an afternoon swim, when she decided to go farther into the deep blue parts of the sea. She had never really ventured very far from Atlantis, it was forbidden by her father, King Triton. Today, however, Ariel did not care; she wanted to swim. She swished along following many different kinds of fish. Ariel had never felt more alive.
When it began to get late and Ariel was just about to swim back home, something caught her eye. There was a thing glinting not far below her on the ocean’s floor. Ariel, a curious mermaid, swam down closer to the thingy. Her tail whipped through the sparkling water.
The object Ariel had seen glinting turned out to be an old iron anchor to an old wooden ship. Ariel swam around to see the side of the boat. It was covered in seaweed and barnacles, but she could still read the words carved into the wood: Black Diamond. The words were carved deeply and seemed to have once been painted gold. Ariel thought now would be a good time to turn back, but her curiosity got the best of her. She swam closer.
Ariel lightly touched the carvings on the wood and suddenly the boat groaned and shrieked. She backed away quickly. The boat shuddered again and something made a loud cracking noise from inside of the ship. A school of fish swam frantically out of a wide hole Ariel hadn’t noticed. Ariel looked around; their wasn’t another mermaid or man for miles. So, she swam through the hole.
The inside of the ship was colder than outside, and dirtier. There were flipped over chairs and a few empty bottles. In the very corner of the captain’s quarters was the source of the sound. A statue had fallen, probably from a higher level of the ship, on a small chest. Ariel swam up to the chest and tried to lift it. At first it wouldn’t budge, but after a moment the statue was off of the chest and Ariel was raising its lid. Inside of the chest was one thing, a small silver trident-looking stick made of metal. “What’s this doo-hickey?”
Ariel took the cool metal stick back to her favorite cove that she liked to think of as a secret hide out. There wasn’t much in the cove, only a few pieces of driftwood and seashells Ariel had found. Ariel placed the doo-hickey next to a small conch shell. She wondered what the thing could be; it definitely wasn’t a trident for it was too small. What could it be? Could it be some sort of comb? Ariel stroked her bright red hair with the mysterious object. It felt just like the comb she used. Of course! It was a comb, but what a strange comb it was.
Ariel needed to share this new piece of technology with her father. He would be so glad he would swim for joy! Ariel rushed back to Atlantis to show him her discovery.
When King Triton saw his youngest daughter rushing into his court he was overjoyed. “Where have you been? Ariel, we’ve been searching everywhere.”
“Oh, father I’ve found the most amazing thing. You must see it!” Ariel pulled from behind her back the strange comb. “It’s a very pretty comb I think. See?” She pulled it through her hair again.
A booming laughter escaped King Triton’s mouth.
“What is it, father?” Ariel asked, confused.
“My sweet Ariel. That is a fork.”
