6 Ch6-The Selkie

CHAPTER SIX The Selkie "Wake up, lazybones! You can't sleep all afternoon!" said a friendly voice. Jack's eyes shot open. Oh, no! he thought. What time is it? He sat up and looked around. The seals were gone. Standing over Jack and Annie was a barefoot boy with a happy, freckled face.

"Teddy!" said Jack. For a moment he forgot all about the time. "Teddy! Teddy!" cried Annie. She leaped up and hugged the young sorcerer. Teddy grinned from ear to ear. He was wearing a brown tunic. His red hair was damp. "You're finally here!" said Jack, laughing. "I have been here for some time," said Teddy. "Merlin sent me early this morning. I was waiting for you on the beach when Kathleen came along and invited me to go for a swim with her." Teddy turned to a girl standing a little farther down the beach. Like Teddy, she looked to be about thirteen. "Kathleen!" he called. "Come meet my friends!"

The girl smiled and began walking over the rocks toward Jack, Annie, and Teddy. She wore a green dress that looked as if it had been woven from grass. Her hair fell in black ringlets down to her waist like a dark waterfall. "These are my good friends Jack and Annie," Teddy said to the girl. "They come from a faraway

land." "Hello, Jack and Annie!" the girl said in a bold, friendly voice. "I am very happy to meet you! My name is Kathleen." As she spoke, Kathleen's large eyes sparkled with the blue of the sky and water. Jack couldn't speak. Kathleen was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. "I like your dress," said Annie. Kathleen laughed. "I wove it from sea grass," she said. "I am not a very good weaver, I am sad to say." "Do you live here?" asked Annie. "I do," said Kathleen, "with my nineteen sisters."

"Nineteen sisters!" said Annie. "Yes," said Kathleen, tossing back her long curls. "I am the youngest of us all. We live in a cave up in the cliffs." "Cool," said Annie. "Is your cave like the Cave of the Spider Queen?" "No, no," said Kathleen. "It is much more cheerful than Morag's cave." "So that's her name," said Annie. "I'm worried that she might be lonely." "Ah, do not worry," said Kathleen. "Morag has many friends—bats, crabs, starfish. But it is kind of you to be concerned about her." She smiled at Annie.

Kathleen's friendly manner finally gave Jack the courage to speak. He cleared his throat. "The Water Knight was really cool, too," he said. "The Water Knight?" said Kathleen. "Yeah," he said, "the guy who carried us across the first cove." Kathleen looked puzzled. "His horse had a fish's tail!" said Annie. "How strange," said Kathleen. "I often swim in that cove, but I've never seen or heard of such a knight." "Have you lived here a long time?" asked Annie. "Always," said Kathleen.