asking it in a high solitary voice
to protect her baby calf
from all the harm that can
be visited upon young seals.
But the sea must not have heard
Solanna the Elder singing
for her daughter's safety
because one day
something terrible happened.
It happened like this.
Solanna the Elder had always
warned Solanna the Younger
about the many dangers
that lay ahead.
She warned her not to swim too close
to sharks and Solanna obeyed.
She warned her about
the people from the earth
who came with clubs and guns and nets
to harm and sometimes kill young seals.
She warned Solanna the Younger
about never going up to a sandy beach
when the tide is about to turn.
"Why?" asked Solanna the Younger.
"Because," said Solanna the Elder,
"if you are on a beach and the tide is turning,
you will lose your sealskin
and be trapped on the earth
and I will not know you
without your sealskin.
And because I will not know you,
I will not be able to save you."
"But why?" said Solanna the Younger,
who was used to being
saved by her mother.
Solanna the Elder
looked at the baby seal
and wondered should she tell her what
happens to seals who lose their skins.
She decided she would.
"If you should ever lose your skin,
you will become a seal maiden."
"What's a seal maiden?"
said Solanna the Younger.
She thought she might
like to be a seal maiden.
It sounded very important.
"A seal maiden,"
said Solanna the Elder,
"is a seal trapped in a girl's body.
The earth is full of seal maidens.
Seals who didn't obey their mothers
and went up on sandy beaches
when the tide was turning.
You can tell them by their eyes
and their high voices
and the slow way they walk
and the way they look at the sea
in the moonlight.
Don't become a seal maiden, Solanna.
Promise me now you won't."
"I won't," said Solanna,
and she meant to obey
her mother always,
and not become a seal maiden.
But secretly, the idea of being
a seal maiden took hold of her
until one day, Solanna the Elder
was out hunting,
ripping nets to get at a catch
of big juicy salmon for the dinner
and Solanna the Younger
was left to entertain herself.
She swam up to a sandy beach.
She didn't mean to go ashore
but a big wave came from behind
and washed her up.
Straight away she forgot her promise
to her mother and began rolling in the sand.
After a while, she got bored with that
and dragged a rope of seaweed
along with her teeth.
Then she had a chat
with a flock of seagulls
and after that there were
the starlings to annoy.
When she got tired of them, she sang
a few songs to pass the time.