0:00:02.858,0:00:07.579
asking it in a high solitary voice [br]to protect her baby calf

0:00:07.579,0:00:11.665
from all the harm that can [br]be visited upon young seals.

0:00:39.107,0:00:40.811
But the sea must not have heard

0:00:40.811,0:00:44.191
Solanna the Elder singing[br]for her daughter's safety

0:00:44.191,0:00:48.022
because one day [br]something terrible happened.

0:00:48.022,0:00:50.448
It happened like this.

0:00:50.448,0:00:54.012
Solanna the Elder had always [br]warned Solanna the Younger

0:00:54.012,0:00:56.767
about the many dangers [br]that lay ahead.

0:00:56.767,0:01:02.522
She warned her not to swim too close [br]to sharks and Solanna obeyed.

0:01:02.522,0:01:04.508
She warned her about [br]the people from the earth

0:01:04.508,0:01:10.975
who came with clubs and guns and nets [br]to harm and sometimes kill young seals.

0:01:10.975,0:01:12.577
She warned Solanna the Younger

0:01:12.577,0:01:18.747
about never going up to a sandy beach [br]when the tide is about to turn.

0:01:18.747,0:01:22.722
"Why?" asked Solanna the Younger.

0:01:22.722,0:01:27.833
"Because," said Solanna the Elder, [br]"if you are on a beach and the tide is turning,

0:01:27.833,0:01:31.778
you will lose your sealskin [br]and be trapped on the earth

0:01:31.778,0:01:35.487
and I will not know you [br]without your sealskin.

0:01:35.487,0:01:40.500
And because I will not know you, [br]I will not be able to save you."

0:01:40.500,0:01:43.035
"But why?" said Solanna the Younger,

0:01:43.035,0:01:47.298
who was used to being [br]saved by her mother.

0:01:47.298,0:01:49.644
Solanna the Elder [br]looked at the baby seal

0:01:49.644,0:01:55.156
and wondered should she tell her what [br]happens to seals who lose their skins.

0:01:55.156,0:01:57.789
She decided she would.

0:01:57.789,0:02:02.356
"If you should ever lose your skin, [br]you will become a seal maiden."

0:02:02.356,0:02:05.721
"What's a seal maiden?" [br]said Solanna the Younger.

0:02:05.721,0:02:08.446
She thought she might [br]like to be a seal maiden.

0:02:08.446,0:02:12.410
It sounded very important.

0:02:12.410,0:02:14.989
"A seal maiden," [br]said Solanna the Elder,

0:02:14.989,0:02:21.667
"is a seal trapped in a girl's body. [br]The earth is full of seal maidens.

0:02:21.667,0:02:23.945
Seals who didn't obey their mothers

0:02:23.945,0:02:27.764
and went up on sandy beaches [br]when the tide was turning.

0:02:27.764,0:02:31.645
You can tell them by their eyes [br]and their high voices

0:02:31.645,0:02:33.888
and the slow way they walk

0:02:33.888,0:02:37.921
and the way they look at the sea [br]in the moonlight.

0:02:37.921,0:02:42.845
Don't become a seal maiden, Solanna. [br]Promise me now you won't."

0:02:42.845,0:02:45.023
"I won't," said Solanna,

0:02:45.023,0:02:47.176
and she meant to obey [br]her mother always,

0:02:47.176,0:02:49.943
and not become a seal maiden.

0:02:49.943,0:02:55.252
But secretly, the idea of being [br]a seal maiden took hold of her

0:02:55.252,0:02:58.710
until one day, Solanna the Elder [br]was out hunting,

0:02:58.710,0:03:03.010
ripping nets to get at a catch [br]of big juicy salmon for the dinner

0:03:03.010,0:03:08.599
and Solanna the Younger [br]was left to entertain herself.

0:03:08.599,0:03:14.162
She swam up to a sandy beach.

0:03:14.162,0:03:16.140
She didn't mean to go ashore

0:03:16.140,0:03:22.012
but a big wave came from behind [br]and washed her up.

0:03:22.012,0:03:27.347
Straight away she forgot her promise[br]to her mother and began rolling in the sand.

0:03:27.347,0:03:29.929
After a while, she got bored with that

0:03:29.929,0:03:33.783
and dragged a rope of seaweed [br]along with her teeth.

0:03:33.783,0:03:36.849
Then she had a chat [br]with a flock of seagulls

0:03:36.849,0:03:40.396
and after that there were [br]the starlings to annoy.

0:03:40.396,0:03:44.820
When she got tired of them, she sang [br]a few songs to pass the time.