WEBVTT 00:00:02.858 --> 00:00:07.579 asking it in a high solitary voice to protect her baby calf 00:00:07.579 --> 00:00:11.665 from all the harm that can be visited upon young seals. 00:00:39.107 --> 00:00:40.811 But the sea must not have heard 00:00:40.811 --> 00:00:44.191 Solanna the Elder singing for her daughter's safety 00:00:44.191 --> 00:00:48.022 because one day something terrible happened. 00:00:48.022 --> 00:00:50.448 It happened like this. 00:00:50.448 --> 00:00:54.012 Solanna the Elder had always warned Solanna the Younger 00:00:54.012 --> 00:00:56.767 about the many dangers that lay ahead. 00:00:56.767 --> 00:01:02.522 She warned her not to swim too close to sharks and Solanna obeyed. 00:01:02.522 --> 00:01:04.508 She warned her about the people from the earth 00:01:04.508 --> 00:01:10.975 who came with clubs and guns and nets to harm and sometimes kill young seals. 00:01:10.975 --> 00:01:12.577 She warned Solanna the Younger 00:01:12.577 --> 00:01:18.747 about never going up to a sandy beach when the tide is about to turn. 00:01:18.747 --> 00:01:22.722 "Why?" asked Solanna the Younger. 00:01:22.722 --> 00:01:27.833 "Because," said Solanna the Elder, "if you are on a beach and the tide is turning, 00:01:27.833 --> 00:01:31.778 you will lose your sealskin and be trapped on the earth 00:01:31.778 --> 00:01:35.487 and I will not know you without your sealskin. 00:01:35.487 --> 00:01:40.500 And because I will not know you, I will not be able to save you." 00:01:40.500 --> 00:01:43.035 "But why?" said Solanna the Younger, 00:01:43.035 --> 00:01:47.298 who was used to being saved by her mother. 00:01:47.298 --> 00:01:49.644 Solanna the Elder looked at the baby seal 00:01:49.644 --> 00:01:55.156 and wondered should she tell her what happens to seals who lose their skins. 00:01:55.156 --> 00:01:57.789 She decided she would. 00:01:57.789 --> 00:02:02.356 "If you should ever lose your skin, you will become a seal maiden." 00:02:02.356 --> 00:02:05.721 "What's a seal maiden?" said Solanna the Younger. 00:02:05.721 --> 00:02:08.446 She thought she might like to be a seal maiden. 00:02:08.446 --> 00:02:12.410 It sounded very important. 00:02:12.410 --> 00:02:14.989 "A seal maiden," said Solanna the Elder, 00:02:14.989 --> 00:02:21.667 "is a seal trapped in a girl's body. The earth is full of seal maidens. 00:02:21.667 --> 00:02:23.945 Seals who didn't obey their mothers 00:02:23.945 --> 00:02:27.764 and went up on sandy beaches when the tide was turning. 00:02:27.764 --> 00:02:31.645 You can tell them by their eyes and their high voices 00:02:31.645 --> 00:02:33.888 and the slow way they walk 00:02:33.888 --> 00:02:37.921 and the way they look at the sea in the moonlight. 00:02:37.921 --> 00:02:42.845 Don't become a seal maiden, Solanna. Promise me now you won't." 00:02:42.845 --> 00:02:45.023 "I won't," said Solanna, 00:02:45.023 --> 00:02:47.176 and she meant to obey her mother always, 00:02:47.176 --> 00:02:49.943 and not become a seal maiden. 00:02:49.943 --> 00:02:55.252 But secretly, the idea of being a seal maiden took hold of her 00:02:55.252 --> 00:02:58.710 until one day, Solanna the Elder was out hunting, 00:02:58.710 --> 00:03:03.010 ripping nets to get at a catch of big juicy salmon for the dinner 00:03:03.010 --> 00:03:08.599 and Solanna the Younger was left to entertain herself. 00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:14.162 She swam up to a sandy beach. 00:03:14.162 --> 00:03:16.140 She didn't mean to go ashore 00:03:16.140 --> 00:03:22.012 but a big wave came from behind and washed her up. 00:03:22.012 --> 00:03:27.347 Straight away she forgot her promise to her mother and began rolling in the sand. 00:03:27.347 --> 00:03:29.929 After a while, she got bored with that 00:03:29.929 --> 00:03:33.783 and dragged a rope of seaweed along with her teeth. 00:03:33.783 --> 00:03:36.849 Then she had a chat with a flock of seagulls 00:03:36.849 --> 00:03:40.396 and after that there were the starlings to annoy. 00:03:40.396 --> 00:03:44.820 When she got tired of them, she sang a few songs to pass the time.