-
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.
