What if mermaids live in our backyard? Scarlett, a very smart two-year-old, wondered. She loved mermaids! They were so pretty with their shiny tails and sparkly songs. Maybe, just maybe, if she looked really hard, she could find one!
She ran to the backdoor and pushed it open. "Grandma! Come quick!" she called. "We need to find a mermaid!"
Grandma, who was busy baking cookies, chuckled. "Mermaids in the backyard? What a fun idea! Let's look, but I bet we won't find any. Mermaids live in the ocean!"
Scarlett wasn't so sure. She knew sometimes amazing things happen when you least expect them! She skipped down the porch steps and into the tall green grass. It tickled her toes! "We need a plan!" she said. "We gotta be strong and smart, just like mermaids!"
"That's called resilience, sweetie," Grandma said, following her. "It means we keep going even when things are tricky." She pointed to a sunflower. "See how strong it stands, even in the wind?"
Scarlett nodded. "Like a mermaid in a wave!" She grabbed a purple bucket and started collecting things. "We need sparkly things to attract them," she explained, dropping in a shiny rock.
"Good thinking!" Grandma laughed, adding a blue glass bead to the bucket.
Soon, they had a pile of treasures: smooth stones, colorful leaves, even a long piece of blue ribbon that shimmered like water. Scarlett arranged them carefully on the grass, giggling. "This will make them want to come see!"
They waited and waited. Butterflies fluttered by, and a little green lizard peeked out from behind a flowerpot, but no mermaids. Scarlett started to feel a little sad. Maybe Grandma was right. Maybe there weren't any mermaids in the backyard after all.
Grandma saw her frown and gave her a big hug. "It's okay, sweetheart," she said. "We tried our best. Sometimes things don't turn out the way we want, but that's okay. We had fun trying!"
Scarlett thought about that. Grandma was right. She had fun collecting the treasures and building a sparkly mermaid welcome! She smiled.
Suddenly, they heard a giggle! It came from behind the big oak tree. Scarlett and Grandma tiptoed over, holding their breath. Peeking around the trunk, they saw...
A little girl, about Scarlett's age, wearing a blue tutu and a big grin! She had long, flowing hair and was holding a bright blue scarf. "Hi!" the little girl chirped. "I saw your sparkly stuff! Are you having a party?"
Scarlett and Grandma laughed. "We were hoping to meet a mermaid," Scarlett explained.
The little girl giggled again. "I'm not a mermaid," she said, "But I like to pretend I am! Want to play with me?"
And that's how Scarlett learned that even though she didn't find a real mermaid in her backyard that day, she found something even better: a new friend and a whole lot of imagination!
