12 A GIFT!

CHAPTER 12 A GIFT! Once we were in the forest, I couldn't hold back my questions anymore. "Why did the merhorses send for me? What's the news? Are the mayfly nymphs back?" "You'll see for yourself in a moment," Pip called down from my head as he gave it a little pat. I slowly waded across the stream while Sassafras grumbled and sat on the shore to wait. We made it to the log, and Pip leapt into the water. I set my things down, pressed my underwater

viewer into the water, and gasped. I would never get used to the beauty of the shimmering rainbow glow from deep under the log. I could only see the entrance to the cave from up here (I wasn't quite brave enough to stick my whole head under the cold stream water yet), but it was breathtaking. Each small stone sent out rays of light. The colors smoothly changed from red to orange to yellow... all the way through the rainbow and back to red again. I couldn't take my eyes off the magical light show. At least not until Pip cleared his throat. "Zoey, I

know the rainbow cave is really something, but I've got someone here who'd like to talk to you." Of course! The merhorses! I quickly put away my underwater viewer and turned my attention to the water. There, waiting patiently, was the merhorse. I set my hands in the water, and he swam into my palms. I smiled. Since the first time I'd met him, his eyes had grown so much brighter, and his whole body seemed to have a new sparkle to it. It was such a relief to see how much the merhorses had improved since we'd fixed the stormwater problem. The merhorse spoke. I turned to Pip. "He says, 'I have wonderful news to share with you, Zoey. The mayfly nymphs have begun to reappear. Our stomachs are full, and we are happy once again. We are so grateful to you for saving us. We want to present you with a gift to show our thanks.'" I nodded eagerly and opened my hands underwater so he could swim away. I was so excited. I love presents. And I couldn't think of anything more amazing than a present from a

merhorse! I didn't realize that I was holding my breath until I saw a whole wave of shimmering motion in the stream. "Woooooowwww." Pip and I both exhaled. At least a dozen beautiful, healthy merhorses swim-galloped toward me, their long manes waving in the water. All of them seemed to have bigger cheeks than usual, like chipmunks with mouths full of seeds. They lined up and paddled in place,

looking up at me with big, bright eyes. I held out my hands in the water. One by one, each merhorse carefully placed a magically sparkling rainbow stone in my hands. Pip leaned so far forward, he fell in the water by accident. His cheeks were red as he hopped back onto shore and brushed off the stream water. For a moment, all I could do was stare open- mouthed at the amazing scene before me. Merhorses. Rainbow stones. It was all too much! But then I remembered my manners. I looked each merhorse in the eyes and said, "Thank you so much for the beautiful gift."

I leaned back a little to take a closer look at the stones and bumped into my camera. Oh! My camera! "Would you mind if I took a quick photo of you to add to my science journal?" I asked nervously. The merhorses looked at each other, nodded, and then faced me. I could see bubbles coming out of their mouths, but I had no idea what they were saying. Pip pointed toward the water. "Aren't you going to take the photo? They're saying, 'Cheese!'" "Oh!" I carefully placed the rainbow stones in my pocket, scrambled for my camera, and snapped a picture. I smiled down at the photo of my sweet little magical friends. "Thank you, merhorses!"