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Once, and not too long ago at all,

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a great grey seal called Solanna [br]gave birth to a girl calf seal.

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She named her Solanna the Younger, [br]and no seal was ever so proud of its calf.

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You'd think none of the rest [br]of us ever had a calf before.

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The old ones cackled on the rocks

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as they watched Solanna the Elder [br]flick the baby seal with her nose.

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They were only jealous because [br]the bull seals no longer fought over them.

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They spat fishbones at the other seals [br]and hit out with their weak old feet.

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Solanna the Elder [br]didn't even notice them.

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All day and night she spent her time[br]minding Solanna the Younger

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suckling her, finding her [br]the softest pieces of crab,

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and the sweetest [br]seagrasses to eat

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and mackerel that wriggled between her [br]teeth as she fed them to the young calf.

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At night in the caves, Solanna the Elder [br]spread out on a wide ledge

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with Solanna the Younger [br]underneath her.

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Sometimes a mermaid or two [br]would come to admire the baby seal

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and sing her lullabies [br]in the dark hushed cave

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and when the [br]mermaids didn't come,

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Solanna the Elder [br]would sing her calf to sleep

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for seals have [br]very fine singing voices.