CHAPTER ONE

“BEWARE!”

When Mona the Mermaid crashed onto Crescent Beach, she forgot everything she’d ever remembered.

She forgot about the before; she didn’t recognize the after.

A powerful wave had caught hold of the four-year-old mermaid during a violent summer storm.

It spun her into the air and launched her from deep within Lake Erie.

She was caught in a whirling water- spout that threw her up toward black storm clouds – and then down.

She landed – Thump! – on the hard sand along a rocky Canadian beach.

Mona was a mermaid.

Part human.

Also, part fish.

She couldn’t stay out of the water for long.

The small mermaid didn’t know where she was.

She knew only that she had to get back into the lake.

And fast.

Except her arms were bruised after slamming into the sand. And her shimmering tail was buried so deeply, she couldn’t see her fins.

“Help,” she cried. “I’m stuck.”

Mona didn’t have much time.

As she struggled to pull her tail out of the sand, a small animal limped to her side.

“Grab my neck,” a gruff voice barked.

Sand scratched Mona’s eyes and clouded her vision. She could barely see the outlines of the creature.

Was it a fox?

A dog?

Still, she did as she was told. She put her arms around the matted fur on the animal’s neck.

“Ready?”

“I guess,” Mona said. She was so scared her voice came out as a whisper.

“Hold tightly.”

Slowly, slowly, the creature dragged Mona across the rough sand.

The journey was bumpy.

The furry creature was much smaller than Mona. One of its front paws didn’t reach the ground. But even limping along with three of its legs, the creature was strong.

It pulled Mona inch by inch toward the sound of crashing waves.

A mermaid shouldn’t be out of the water so long.

Mona gasped for air; she felt dizzy.

Just when she was about to give up, a gentle wave washed over her, drawing her body into the shallow waters.

Mona the Mermaid dunked her head. She wiggled her tail in the cold waves.

Alive! She was alive!

When Mona raised her head out of the bay, the furry creature was gone.

She didn’t even know its name.

“Thank you!” she yelled into the early morning light. “Thank you for saving me!”

From far in the distance, she heard an answer.

“Beware of the jackal.”