Marina the mermaid and the moon pearl

In the kingdom of the corals, every mermaid falls asleep with a moon pearl resting on her pillow. It is a round pearl that keeps a little of the night's light, and it fills the bedroom with a very soft white glow. Marina had had hers forever. Tonight, when she lifted her seaweed pillow, there was nothing under it.

She looked in the shell drawer, behind the mother-of-pearl mirror, under the bed of sand. Nothing. Then she remembered that she had played with her hoop all afternoon near the kelp garden, and that the pearl had been in her pocket. The pocket had a hole.

"I'll find it," said Marina. A little crab crept out from under the dresser. It was Pinch, who lived there and never knew which way was right. "I'm coming with you," he said. "This way!" He set off sideways, in the wrong direction. Marina scooped him onto her shoulder.

Outside, the water was dark and cool. The kelp forest swayed, very tall, and its long leaves brushed Marina's cheeks like fingers. Pinch hid in her hair. A blue jellyfish drifting nearby came closer. "Looking for something? I can light your way to the end of the forest." She glowed a pale blue, and her halo slid across the leaves.

In the middle of the garden, Marina turned over every stone and every shell. The hoops from the afternoon were still lying in the sand, but there was no pearl.

"Lost something round?" asked a voice. It was Otto the octopus, who collected everything round: buttons, teapot lids, smooth pebbles, all kept in eight drawers. He went through every drawer, one by one. "No moon pearl here. But I saw one this afternoon, on the sand. A clam on the sandbank was looking at it longingly."

They swam to the sandbank, the jellyfish in front, Otto behind. The clam was open a crack. Inside slept a very small clam, and between the two shells the moon pearl gave off its white light.

"Was your little one afraid of the dark?" Marina murmured. The big clam lowered her shell a little. "I found it on the sand. I didn't know whose it was. I was going to give it back to you in the morning."

Marina looked at the sleeping baby. Its tiny shell rose and fell with its breathing. "Keep it for tonight," she said. "I'll come and get it tomorrow." The clam thanked her with a soft splash.

The way home seemed shorter. The jellyfish followed Marina to her room and settled by the window like a bedside lamp. Pinch curled up in an empty shell and mumbled "this way" once more before falling asleep. Marina pulled the seaweed up to her shoulder. The blue light rose and fell, very gently, with the water.