The Treasure Cave: sea tales of Tiptoes Lightly (9 page)

“And who’s
their king?” asked Tiptoes.

“Neptune,” replied the keeper getting up suddenly. “That’s all I know. I have to check the
light,” and he climbed the stairs.

Tiptoes
listened to his footsteps going round and round the lighthouse tower until he
got to the top. He stayed there for a long time and didn’t come down.

~
Tuesday ~

Robber
Pirates and Sea Dragons

Tom Nutcracker
and June Berry spent a good part of the morning finishing their ship. They got
their dad to haul long pieces of driftwood from the next bay, and June found an
old rope with a float tied to the end. Farmer John said it had broken free from
a crab trap. They tied the rope from the mast to the front and sides of the
ship. When they were done they decided their boat was a battleship and called
it ‘Invincible’. Then Farmer John left with Lucy for a stroll down the beach.

Not long after
trouble began to brew. King Thomas and Captain Berrybug were standing on the
deck as their battleship heaved up and down over the waves. King Thomas had his
telescope to his eye, scanning the sea. Suddenly he saw robber pirates sailing
over the horizon, their ships dark and menacing. They had come to steal the
silver pearls.

“Captain
Berrybug,” said King Thomas sternly. “Set the sails, arm the men, full steam
ahead!”

“Aye-aye,
yessir,” cried Captain Berrybug. “Ladies and gentlemen, unfurl the sails—full
steam ahead!”

The mighty
battleship ploughed through the seas, bucking and heaving. It charged amongst
the robber pirates come to steal the silver pearls, and fought a dozen of them
off.

“Watch out!
Watch out!” shouted Captain Berrybug. “Others are attacking the sea castles,
Ragged and Jagged. They think the pearls are there.” She swung the ship about
and raced to the sea castles. Castle Jagged, surrounded by churning waves, was
safe, but pirates were crawling all over Castle Ragged for the tide was out.

“Save Castle
Ragged!” commanded King Thomas, leaping from the ship.

Captain
Berrybug leaped from the ship too. “With me, ladies and gentlemen,” she cried.
“Charge!” and together they charged Castle Ragged and won it back. They stood
on the highest peak and watched as the nasty pirates sailed away.

“But look,”
said Captain Berrybug, pointing. “A sea dragon! He’s coming! Oh, no! Watch out!
He’s sniffing! He smells the pearls hidden in the Treasure Cave.”

“Back to the
ship!” shouted King Thomas. “To sea! To sea—before he reaches shore.”

Back they ran
and set sail to sea. The dragon was pink and slimy with a long tail and
sniffing nose. It wrapped itself around the ship and munched on the sails.

“The ship will
sink,” groaned King Thomas. “Slay the slithery monster!”

“It won’t sink
our mighty ship, Invincible,” said Captain Berrybug. “I have my trusty sword,
Nervous Nail Biter.”

Whack-whack-whack
went Captain Berrybug’s sword as she fought the sea dragon.

“It’s falling
back into the sea,” cried King Thomas. “Hurray for Captain Berrybug! She’s
slain the slimy sea dragon. But watch out, another monster approaches. It’s Sea
Dog Lucy and his master, Pegleg John!”

“Woof-woof,”
barked the Sea Dog, leaping into the ship and jumping all over them.

“Help! Help!”
laughed Captain Berrybug. “He’s licking us to death!”

“Me too,”
giggled King Thomas. “What shall we do?”

“Come to lunch,”
cried Master Pegleg John. “It’s time! It’s time!

“Yea!” shouted
King Thomas and Captain Berrybug, jumping from the battleship. “Charge the
bluffs! Capture the cottage! We want lunch!” and off they ran with Sea Dog Lucy
chasing after them.

Tiptoes
meets the Sea King

Tiptoes went
down to the sea. Pelicans were heading southward in small flocks. They liked to
fly in long, sinuous lines a few feet above the waves. The waves pushed the air
up as they rose and kept the pelicans aloft. They could fly for miles and miles
down the coast, gliding and gliding and gliding from wave to wave. Tiptoes
followed a flock of five and tried to talk to them, but they were too busy.
They were heading south to spend the winter in warmer waters.

So Tiptoes
flew out to sea. Further and further and further she flew until the land sank
from sight. Below her the great rollers marched over the ocean deep, and she
could feel the strength and vastness of the sea. The wind blew—forever and
forever the wind blew. It told her of lands she had never seen; distant lands
soaked in the sun or covered in ice and snow.

She looked
into the water; Tiptoes’ eyes could see deep into the water. She saw fish
swimming in schools: mackerel, sardines, salmon, tuna and swordfish with long
pointy noses. She spied a pod of playful dolphins sporting in the distance.
Then the waves began to churn. A power moved through the ocean, a great power
and Tiptoes could feel it. The schools of fish fled and scattered, and the
dolphins dived for the deep. Out of the waves the King of the Sea rose with a
crown of glittering gold and a spear with three points in his hand. He searched
the horizon from north to south, and from east to west. Suddenly his gaze fell
on Tiptoes. She felt very small.

“Have you seen
her?” the King of the Sea boomed. His voice was like waves crashing on cliffs
and the wind sighing in the rocks.

“Who?” asked
Tiptoes in a tiny voice.

“The one I
seek—my loveliest daughter,” said the King of the Sea. “I have searched the
deeps and the shallow waters. I have searched the mountains miles below the
waves. I have searched the underwater caves and coral lagoons. I have searched
within forests of tangled weeds and amongst the seals and dolphins. Nowhere
have I seen her.”

“I haven’t
seen her either,” said Tiptoes. “What does she look like?”

The King of
the Sea glowered and raised his spear of three points. “She is beautiful like
the sea when the moon is rising; lovely as the ocean when the sun is glowing;
delicate as a breath of wind upon still waters. She must come home, home to her
palace under the waves.”

“I’ll tell her
if I see her,” said Tiptoes. “But I don’t usually come this far out to sea. I
live in a tree beside a river.”

“Tell my
daughter her father is calling,” cried the King of the Sea. “Tell her my home
is waiting. Tell her the Sea King commands her return,” and he turned and sank
beneath the waves.

Then the ocean
churned no more, the fish stopped fleeing, and the dolphins came up and
breathed fresh air.

How
the Sea King found the Royal Pearls

Tiptoes flew
back towards the land. The mountains rose into sight and so did Summer’s Fort.
She saw the lighthouse, slim and delicate, and the seal rocks and the beach.
She saw Farmer John walking with Lucy, and she flew low over Castle Ragged and
Castle Jagged. Tom and June were standing on top of Castle Ragged, waving their
swords and shouting at the top of their lungs.

“I wonder what
those two are doing?” thought Tiptoes, but she didn’t stop to find out. She
flew on to the cave and went inside.

“Obaro ...
Obaro,” called Tiptoes. “Are you home?”

“I am always
and always at home, at home,” said Obaro appearing in the half light.

“You have to
finish your story of the pearls,” said Tiptoes. “What happened after they were
seeded from the sand that fell from the Sea King’s daughter’s hair?”

“Oh, yes. The
pearls, the pearls,” said Obaro, his colors changing as he dug deep into his
memory. “Yes, the pearls, the precious ones. I will tell you of the pearls.”

Obaro became
still and his eyes turned inward. From far, far away he began the tale.

“Time went on
and time went on and the pearls grew in beauty and size. The mermaid princess
never went back to the sandy beach, but in her heart she found herself longing
to see the other world again, the world of solid land and men. Often and often
she remembered sitting in the warm sun and how the breeze touched her face and
played with her hair.

‘Why does my
father despise the world of land and men?’ she thought. ‘It seemed fair to me,
and as beautiful as ours,’—but she hid these things away in her heart and never
told anyone, not even her sisters.

One day the
King of the Sea came looking for his daughter. He entered her cave, but she was
not there. He looked at the floor and saw that seven of the oysters were closed
and not showing their pearly insides.

‘Open!’
commanded the King, and the oysters obeyed. Inside each one lay a pearl, a
royal pearl such as had never been seen before in size and beauty.

‘These are
treasures indeed,’ said the King, picking one up. ‘But how were they made?’

The oysters
stayed silent.

‘Speak!’
ordered the King.

‘From the sand
of a beach that fell from your daughter’s lovely hair,’ replied the oysters.

Then the King
of the Sea was furious. He swept up the pearls and stormed out of the cave.