"I wonder if mermaids like to read?" David wondered aloud, looking at his bookshelf overflowing with dinosaur books.
Yuna, his fuzzy dog and best friend, tilted her head and barked. “Woof?”
David giggled. "You're right, Yuna! Maybe we should go ask one!"
An idea sparked in David’s eyes. He grabbed his special compass. One spin and it always pointed towards an adventure! This time, it pointed towards the beach!
"To the beach, Yuna!" David exclaimed, grabbing his beach bag.
David and Yuna hopped on their bikes and rode down the sunny streets of Los Angeles. When they reached the beach, David gasped. The sand sparkled like gold, the waves crashed gently on the shore, and palm trees swayed in the warm breeze. It was perfect!
David raced towards the water, Yuna bounding excitedly at his heels. As they splashed in the shallows, David heard something amazing – singing! It was beautiful, like the tinkling of bells, and it seemed to be coming from behind a cluster of rocks.
Carefully, David peeked over the rocks. To his surprise, three mermaids with shimmering scales and long flowing hair were lounging on a rock, singing along to… a book?
One mermaid, with a tail as green as a sea turtle, noticed David first. "Look!" she exclaimed, pointing a delicate fin at him. "A land creature!"
David, a little shy at first, waved. "Hello," he said.
The mermaid with a tail as blue as the sky smiled. "That’s a lovely singing voice you have there! What were you singing? We haven't heard that one before."
David blushed. "Oh, I wasn't singing. I was just wondering if… well… do mermaids like to read?"
The mermaids giggled, their laughter echoing like chimes. The third mermaid, with a tail as pink as a seashell, spoke. "Of course we love to read! Reading is magical! We read stories from shells, driftwood, even messages in bottles. How else would we learn about the world beyond the waves?”
David’s face lit up. He pulled out his favorite dinosaur book from his bag, the pages a little damp from the beach. "This one is about dinosaurs! They were big and scaly, kind of like you, but they lived on land a long, long time ago."
The mermaids were enthralled. They gathered around David, their eyes wide with wonder as he showed them the pictures and told them all about the mighty dinosaurs. They even tried saying “Tyrannosaurus Rex,” which made them laugh because it sounded funny with their bubbly accents.
For hours, David and the mermaids talked about books and stories. David learned that mermaids loved fairy tales and stories about brave knights. The mermaids, in turn, told him stories about underwater kingdoms and magical sea creatures.
As the sun began to set, painting the sky with streaks of orange and purple, David knew it was time to go.
"Thank you for sharing your stories," David said to the mermaids. "I learned so much about reading from you!"
"And we learned so much about dinosaurs from you!" the green-tailed mermaid chimed in. “Come back anytime, David! We’ll be here, reading!”
David and Yuna waved goodbye to their new mermaid friends and rode back home. David was tired but happy. He learned that reading wasn’t just about the words on a page, but about the adventures and friendships those words could bring. And who knew? Maybe someday, he’d even learn to read Mermaid!
