A Fin-tastic Surprise

• Splishy, Splashy Fun!
• The Beachcomber
• The Ship
• An Even Nicer Surprise
• A Conspira-sea of Kindness
• For Parents

Splishy, Splashy Fun!

It is a hot and sunny day. Camille has an idea. Maybe they should all play mermaids. Bryan says he can be a mer-boy, and Pegeen can be a mer-pig. Willa nods her head… they can all be mer-friends. Camille instructs everybody to hold hands, and she sings to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”:

  Splish, splash, swim so fast,
  Underneath the sea!
  Make a wish
  To be half fish.
  Come along with me!

Together, the WellieWishers chant:

  Close your eyes, stand in a row,
  All hold hands, and off we go!

Once they’ve transformed into mer-friends, the happy group live under the sea. Mermaid Camille tells them all to race to the reef! The mer-friends swim so fast, their quick, shimmery fish tails glimmer as bright as silver. Their race leaves a trail of bubbles behind them.

Mermaid Emerson wins the race. Mermaid Kendall slips a beautiful lei of pearls, kelp, and seashells around her neck.

The mer-friends love taking care of the coral reefs and cleaning up the tangled plastic. They chat with dolphins, and they cheer up cranky crabs. At nights, the gentle whales keep watch as the mer-friends all say goodnight to the moon. They sing sleepy songs to help them fall asleep:

  Sing, sing, sing along,
  Sing a sleepy tune.
  Say good night,
  To all the stars
  And the smiling moon.

The Beachcomber

One day, as Mermaid Willa combs her hair, which has become so tangly, Mermaid Emerson suggests going by Madame Tresses’ beauty salon. All the mer-friends swim over to see Madame Tresses, whose salon is called The Beachcomber. Madame Tresses, an octopus, can do it all. She can trim whiskers on the catfish and walrus, untangle a jellyfish’s tentacles, curl a seahorse’s tail, and smooth a gull’s feathers all at once.

Madame Tresses keeps her customers laughing and happy, so no wonder her salon was always a popular spot. In fact, her customers are packed in like sardines. She dolphin-ately needs more space.

Madame Tresses finishes Mermaid Willa and Mermaid Camille first. They leave to make room for other customers. They wave goodbye as they swim off together. Mermaid Camille confesses she loves Madame Tresses, but she always feels crammed in her salon. So they decide to go on a nice swim to stretch their fins.

The Ship

As they swim along the ocean bottom, they come across a wrecked ship along the seabed floor. Its masts are broken and its sails are tattered. The mermaids decide it would be a wonderful clubhouse, so they realize they can make a beautiful surprise for their mer-friends.

Mermaid Willa and Mermaid Camille dive right in. They sweep, clean up sand, and scrub the walls. As they work, they sing a song:

  Sweep, sweep, sweep, and scrape!
  Clear the mess away!
  Make the ship the perfect place
  For our friends to play.

The next day, the mermaids’ other mer-friends are curious about what they were doing all day. Mermaids Willa and Camille are bursting with excitement about the clubhouse. Secretively, they say they’re working on a project, and can’t wait to share it with them when it’s ready. Their friends understand, and they push them away in order to finish the surprise.

As they swim past Madame Tresses, they see it crowded inside as usual. The mermaids have a laugh about it, and continue onward.

An Even Nicer Surprise

When the mermaids arrive back at the shipwreck, they find the ship in even worse shape than they left it. It’s wreckier, and the mess is messier. So, Mermaid Camille and Mermaid Willa get right back to work on fixing it up. Whenever they feel tired, they think of their mer-friends. They sing:

  Yes, yes, yes, we can!
  We’ll fix up the ship!
  When we spring our nice surprise
  All our friends will flip!

Two days later, the ship is finally ready! Mermaid Willa leaves to go find their mer-friends while Mermaid Camille stays to put the last finishing touches on their clubhouse. When Mermaid Camille is done, she makes her way back to the reef. As she passes The Beachcomber, she sees a line that’s gone out the door. “Poor Madame Tresses,” she says to herself. If only they could do something to help her, since she’s so squished all the time in her salon.

Then, Mermaid Camille has an idea. With a mighty swish of her tail, she powers forward. She swims as fast as she can. Finally, she catches up with Mermaid Willa just as she’s reaching the coral reef.

Mermaid Camille tells Mermaid Willa the idea. Mermaid Willa loves it!

A Conspira-sea of Kindness

Mermaids Camille and Willa finally make it back to the reef to get their mer-friends. They lead their mer-friends all the way back to the shipwreck. On their way, Mermaid Emerson comments how, yet again, Madame Tresses is packed. Mermaids Camille and Willa smile at each other.

When they arrive at the shipwreck, Mermaids Ashlyn, Emerson, Kendall, and Mer-boy Bryant all gasp. They love every inch of the ship. When they ask what it is, Mermaid Camille says that it was originally intended to be a clubhouse. But, they realized Madame Tresses needs a bigger space for her salon. So, they decided to gift it to her. In fact, Mermaid Camille already has a plan for how to distract Madame Tresses so that the mer-friends can move all of her equipment in secret. The mer-friends all chuckle. Mermaid Ashlyn confidently says it’ll be the perfect conspira-sea of kindness.

The next day, Madame Tresses opens her salon to find that she has no customers. Mer-boy Bryant comes forward, explaining they’re all in a tangle. Mermaid Camille offers for them to come inside and help. While Madame Tresses is using all her arms to untangle the customers, the mer-friends quietly pick up all of her equipment and swim off with it.

When the customers are untangled again, Mermaid Camille offers to escort the walrus, who feigns exhaustion, back home. Mermaid Camille leads everybody all the way to the ship. When Madame Tresses enters the door, everybody yells “SURPRISE!”

Madame Tresses gasps. Mermaid Willa explains the shipwreck is the new Beachcomber. It’s exactly the same, but in a bigger space. This way, there’ll be enough room for everyone.

Madame Tresses is thrilled. She wraps all the mer-friends into a huge hug, and they happily say “You’re whale-come!”

For Parents

Discusses how kids love surprises, and how to incorporate them into kids’ lives. Topics include:

• Secret messages
• Treasure hunts
• Picnics with unexpected locations
• Scavenger hunts
• Decorations that are put up while the child is sleeping
• Backward day
• Surprise treats
• Letting children plan the surprises, too