2 Um, Mermaid

Chapter 2 UM, MERMAID? "We'll have to be careful," said Andrew. The bundle was as big as a basketball player—a very fat basketball player. Little by little, Andrew and Judy tugged the net away from it. The first thing they saw was a flopping tail. It looked like a big gray Ping-Pong paddle! "That's not a shark tail," said Judy. meep… "Manatee tail!" said Thudd. "Manatee called sea cow. Eat lotsa grass. Look!" Thudd's face screen flashed a picture of an animal that looked like a lumpy beach toy.

"Oh!" said Judy, pulling the net away from a flapping flipper. "A long time ago, sailors thought manatees were mermaids! Manatees are gentle and sweet!" "Maybe," said Andrew. "But a manatee sure doesn't look like a pretty girl with long hair and a fish tail." He dragged the net away from a chubby face with tiny round eyes. "It looks more like a baked potato with flippers," he said. meep… "Manatee mammal, like dolphin," said Thudd. "Gotta breathe. Soon."

"Let's hurry," said Judy. "At the count of three, pull your end of the net, Andrew. One. Two. Three!" "Erggh!" said Judy. "Woofers!" said Andrew. Finally, the manatee was free. It nodded its pudgy head, paddled its flippers, and circled up into the water. But it couldn't find a way through the net! "We have to find a hole in the net," said Andrew. Judy shook her head. "We need to cut through it," she said. "I'll see what I can find in the Water Bug." meep… "Gotta hurry!" said Thudd. "Not much time left for manatee!" Andrew swam along the net, searching desperately for a hole. Judy scuffled quickly toward the Water Bug, kicking up silvery puffs of sand with every step. Then Judy noticed the top of a brown bottle sticking out of the sand. She leaned over and

pulled it up. Craaaack! It broke. Judy was holding half a bottle. She used a shell to dig up the other half, then carefully picked it up. "Andrew!" Judy yelled as she scurried back toward the manatee. She handed Andrew half of the broken bottle. The edges were jagged and sharp. "Be super careful," she said, "but start chopping the net!" Judy and Andrew began hacking away. Soon they had cut a big hole. The manatee seemed to understand. It came up to the opening in the net and swam through. Andrew and Judy watched the chubby creature paddle toward the surface. "Yay!" said Andrew. "We saved the manatee!" Judy smiled. Andrew looked closely at the broken bottle in his hand. The glass was thick and wavy. There

were bubbles in it. Seashells were stuck to it. "This doesn't look like the glass bottles you get at the store," said Andrew. meep… "Bottle old, old, old!" said Thudd. "Maybe two hundred years!" "How do you know?" asked Andrew. meep… "Bubbles in glass," said Thudd. "Old bottle made by blowing hot glass. Glass blower stick hot glass lump at end of pipe, then blow glass like bubble gum." Thudd pointed to the huge bony shapes that surrounded them. "This bottle come from old shipwreck," he said. "Wowzers schnauzers!" said Andrew. "Maybe it's a pirate ship!" "Or maybe it's an explorer's ship!" said Judy. "Let's see what we can find," said Andrew. "First things first," said Judy. "We need to get the Water Bug untangled and unclog the Super- Sniffer." "I guess you're right," said Andrew.

Andrew set to work untangling the net from the Octo-Tool tentacles. Judy cut the net away from the Water Bug's paddle wheels. Then Andrew reached into a pocket and pulled out the Nose Pick, a fuzzy finger on a handle. "I'll get those lava boogers," he said. Andrew poked around inside the Super-Sniffer and dug out three rough black stones. "Got 'em!" Andrew announced. "Now the Super-Sniffer should be able to pick up the trail of the giant squid." "We'd better leave fast," said Judy. "Before Soggy Bob finds us again."