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Eeo and Lee were swimming a few miles away from one of their favourite tropical islands in all of Hawaii. They loved the water here, it was so warm compared to where their pod usually roamed. Most dolphins didn’t venture so close to where humans lived, as they were so wildly unpredictable – some humans were known to be really friendly and even helpful, but others could be cruel and dangerous. Most of the other dolphins in their pod chose not to take any unnecessary chances and steered well clear of human settlements, but Eeo and Lee were young teenagers and more full of courage than wisdom. So they had snuck away from their group while they were all sleeping – not an easy thing to do, considering that dolphins sleep with one eye open – and headed for land.
They knew that eventually their group would come looking for them, but they figured it would take them at least a day to find them. That would be a day spent in warm, soothing water, and the trouble they would no doubt get in with their parents would be totally worth it.
Lee was playing bite the tail with his sister when he saw something dark out of the corner of one of his eyes. He quickly used his echolocation skill and confirmed his fear – a shark was fast approaching them, and based on its shape it appeared to be a very dangerous one: a tiger shark! Eeo spotted it at the same moment and they started to swim as fast as they could away from it. If the shark hadn’t noticed them before, it certainly did now. It began to chase them.
Lee had always wanted to fight a shark. As a group his pod had fought off many over the years, but he had always been protected and not allowed to help. Now though, far away from his pod, he knew his chances of defeating a tiger shark alone were poor, and wasn’t willing to risk his sister’s life by attempting it.
So they swam away, faster than they had ever swum in their entire lives. But the shark was still gaining on them. They tried zigging and zagging, but the shark copied their movements exactly. They tried jumping above the surface of the water to confuse it, but it didn’t work. Closer and closer their pursuer drew until it was just a few metres behind them, snapping at their tails. Lee was a slightly faster swimmer than Eeo, but he swam at her top speed, keeping his tail just slightly behind hers. If the shark was going to get either of them, he would at least make sure it wasn’t his sister.
Just as the shark lunged at Lee with its jaws wide open, something whacked it hard on its nose. Something that resembled a tail fin but was bigger than a dolphin’s. Lee risked turning all the way around to look properly, and could hardly believe what he saw. A merman had positioned himself between the tiger shark and him and his sister! Lee had heard tales of merfolk being spotted in this area, but he had never seen one with his own eyes. Now one had seemingly come to their aid, and was readying himself to fight the vicious tiger shark. Only slightly deterred, the shark charged at the merman.
How long will the fight last? Will the merman sustain any injuries?
What will the merman have to say to Eeo and Lee?
After this incident, will Eeo and Lee head back to their pod, stay in the warmer waters or go have further experiences with the merman?