Isabella



Chapter 1 Jasmin was a little eight year old girl who had no brothers or sisters. Her best friend was a small blue bird named Paco. Jasmin was a very smart girl, so she only had to go to school on Wednesday and Friday. When she did not have school, she would help Paco with his reading. On the days that Paco could not come to her house, Jasmin would go down to the sea and play with the crabs. Her mother always told her, “Now Jasmin, never go into the water at Silver Beach. There are dangerous plants and animals there.” Jasmin would always reply with the simple, “Yes mama.” When Paco was with Jasmin at the beach, he would fly over the water to make sure that nothing was there and Jasmin would dip her toes in the water.  Chapter 2

One beautiful Saturday afternoon, Paco surprised Jasmin by coming to her house. She was very excited and the two of them went down to the sea. While they were there, Jasmin read to Paco. After a while, Pace wanted to go into the water and Jasmin thought it would be okay. As usual, Paco flew out over the water to make sure it was safe. He did not see anything so Jasmin went in the water – **WAIST DEEP. **She was a bit scared of the shells and seaweed at her feet, but with Paco on her shoulder, she felt a little safer. Jasmin was walking out farther and the water was almost up to Paco. Jasmin was getting very scared so she began to turn back. Suddenly, she felt something brush against her foot. //It is just a fish //, she thought. Then she felt something grab her ankle. “Paco, Paco!!” Jasmin wailed, “Something has my foot! HELP ME!!” Paco flew over Jasmin to see what it was; he was very surprised at what he saw.

Chapter 3

“I-i-it’s a-a-a MERMAID!!” Paco yelled. Jasmin finally calmed down. She went under the water, grabbed the hand, and pulled the mermaid up. “Hello,” Jasmin whispered. The mermaid said, “Oh my gosh, it’s a human.” Jasmin replied, “And you are a mermaid.” “What is your name?” the mermaid asked. “My name is Jasmin. And this is Paco my bird,” Jasmin replied. “I’m Gema and this is Ellie,” she replied when a little grey dolphin popped her head out of the water. “Hi Ellie,” Jasmin said patting the dolphin’s head. “You should come to my house. We would have so much fun.” “Oh I would love to! But how would I get there?” Gema asked. “You should go and ask your parents first though,” Jasmin said. “Well, I don’t have any parents. I live with Ellie,” Gema replied. “If I go with you, she also has to come. You see, many boats have been coming by lately and we could get seriously hurt.” Jasmin thought for a little while. “I have a plan,” Jasmin finally said. “Come back to this exact spot tomorrow early in the morning.” Gema nodded and swam under the water with Ellie right behind her and Jasmin ran out of the water. Jasmin loved her plan thought it would work very well. When she and Paco got back home, Jasmin told Paco to come to her house early I the morning. Paco agreed and flew off. Then Jasmin gathered up all of her supplies and went to bed.

Chapter 4

Jasmin woke up early the next morning from the cheep of Paco. “Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!” he said flying around her room. “Good morning Paco,” Jasmin replied sleepily. “Okay, let’s go get some breakfast and then go to the beach.” Paco nodded and flew into the kitchen. For breakfast, they had eggs and pancakes with freshly squeezed orange juice. They both thanked Jasmin’s mom and ran to get ready. Paco got the ropes and Jasmin got the wheel barrows. They both went to the shed outside and got the buckets off the shelf and a shovel. It was very early in the morning so the sun was just peeking over the mountains. Jasmin and Paco had to hurry or else there would be too many people on the beach. They ran back to the house and loaded up the wheelbarrows. They ran out the back door and headed to the beach.

Chapter 5

Jasmin and Paco went right back to the spot where they met Gema and Ellie yesterday. Gema and Ellie were waiting there. When Jasmin saw them, she ran to the water. No one was on the beach, but they still had to hurry. “Hi!” Gema called out. “Hello. I have the supplies but we really have to hurry,” Jasmin replied, unloading the wheelbarrows. By now, the sun was almost all the way over the mountains. Jasmin filled the buckets with water and dumped the water into the wheelbarrows. The she dug a hole near the edge of the water for the wheelbarrows to be lowered into. The Jasmin tied the rope around the wheelbarrows and the other side around her waist. She lowered the wheelbarrows into the hole so Gema and Ellie could get into them. Paco helped them climb into them and once they were both in, Jasmin began to walk up the beach and up the road. Jasmin was getting worried because the sun was all the way over the mountain and that meant that people would start to some outside. Nobody was out yet, but Jasmin began to walk faster.

Chapter 6

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Once they were about half way to Jasmin’s house, the first sign of movement was in the window of a tall house. A man opened his window and took a deep breath of the fresh air. Then, a woman walked out of her house with a dog. It seemed like they both saw Jasmin, Paco, Ellie, and Gema at the same time. The man in the window called to his wife, “Darling, you have to some and see this! There is a little girl with a mermaid and a dolphin in wheelbarrows and a bird on her shoulder.” His wife came to the window almost immediately to see if her husband was telling the truth. “Oh my,” was all she could say when she saw the scene herself. When Jasmin finally realized what was happening, she realized that they were almost at her house. “ //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Just up the hill and around the pond and we will be safe,” //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">she thought to herself. “ //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Just a little bit longer.” //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> She leaded forward and began to walk again. “Hey, little girl, what in the world are you doing?” The man in the window’s wife called out to Jasmin. Jasmin just ignored her and kept on walking. “Little girl, hey you there, little girl!” She called out again. “What are you doing?” Again, Jasmin ignored her and walked faster. The woman did not call out to them anymore, but in seconds, Jasmin heard soft footsteps behind her.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Chapter 7

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">She did not look back but Paco did and he said, “Jasmin – //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">gulp – //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">she is running to us.” Hearing this, Jasmin quickly turned her head and saw it for herself. The woman was running towards them. She was an older woman with her silver hair still in a braid from when she went to sleep and she was still in her silk night gown, with a small shawl over her shoulders and no shoes on. It was quite a sight. Once the woman was about five feet away from them and she began to slow down. “Little girl,” she said panting, “What are you doing with those two animals?” Jasmin just looked at her and began to cry. “She’s not an animal,” Jasmin sobbed. “She is my friend and she has to get to that lake up there because the ocean has gotten too dangerous for her and her friend Ellie – she’s she dolphin – and I wanted to help her without anyone seeing her but your husband saw them and told you and now I am scared and sad and I just want them to go to the lake.” The woman just stared at her with a sympathy expression on her face. “Sweetie, I am so sorry that we saw you but are you sure that you can do this all by yourself?” Jasmin wiped her eyes and said, “I don’t really want any help. But thank you.” “What is your name sweetie?” The woman said softly. “My name is Jasmin and these are my friends, Paco, Ellie, and that’s Gema.” When she was saying all their names, they waved at the woman. “Hi everyone, my name is Katherine Joes but you can call me Kathy. I have a two sons and a daughter, but they are all grown up. My daughter used to be just like you Jasmin. She had a very kind heart too.” Jasmin just stared at the ground. “Well,” she said slowly and quietly, “Maybe, just maybe, you could just help me bring them up the hill. But just up the hill, I want to do the rest by myself.” Kathy patted her on the head and stroked Paco’s belly. “C’mon. Do you want something to eat?” Jasmin replied quickly, “I thought we were going to bring Gema and Ellie up the hill. The sun is rising fast and we have to hurry.” Kathy agreed and ran back to her house. She came back out with two blankets in her hand and she looked a lot better than before. Her hair was all tucked away in a small bun and she was wearing a pair of jeans and a cream sweater over a light blue blouse.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Chapter 8

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">“Are you ready?” She asked once she reached them. Jasmin nodded and asked, “What are the blankets for?” “Oh the blankets, right, I thought we could maybe cover them animals with them.” Jasmin agreed to the idea but quickly corrected Kathy on calling Gema an “animal.” They covered Ellie and Gema with the blankets and began to walk down the road. Gema’s wheelbarrow was attached to the rope around Kathy’s waist and Ellie’s wheelbarrow was attached to the rope around Jasmin’s waist. Paco was taking the lead, flying about five feet I front of Kathy and Jasmin. Many people were giving them strange looks as they were walking and pulling two wheelbarrows with blankets over them. Kathy and Jasmin walked all the way to the hill that lead up to Jasmin’s house, and they were getting a little tired. There was a little bakery at the corner of town and everyone was thirsty. Kathy untied the rope from her waist and ran in to the bakery. She came back out with two cokes, two waters, and a diet coke. Jasmin and Gema enjoyed their cokes, Kathy practically chugged her diet coke, and Paco and Ellie silently sipped on their waters. Once everyone was finished, they threw away the cups, and continued on.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Chapter 9

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Kathy and Jasmin were about half way up the hill, when the woman who had the dog on the street earlier, was in her car coming towards them. She stopped next to them and got out of her car. She had changed out of her work out clothes, and in to her work clothes. She looked very sharp with her black skirt, white blouse, black sunglasses, and little black shoes. She walked over to Jasmin and said, “Hello there, my name is Sandra Underwood. I am with the local town paper, //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Syfron Times //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">. I was just wondering, little girl, why do you have a mermaid and a dolphin in those wheelbarrows?” Jasmin looked at Kathy and Kathy shrugged back. “Hello, Ms. Underwood. My name is Jasmin and this is my friend Kathy. I was just on my way home when she spotted me and came to help me. I am taking my friends to the pond near my house. It is much safer there for them. I would really appreciate it though, if you kept this a secret, too, just like Kathy is. I don’t want people treating them like animals, and that is what they would do if they found out.” Sandra just stared at Jasmin, note book and pen in hand, amazed. “Well, um, I… um… yes… but… wait.” As she was searching for the right words to say, Kathy butted in. “We all know that your job is to get all the new news that is around town, but we would really appreciate if you just didn’t have this story as this week’s – well, any week’s – big story. Please?” Sandra finally stammered out, “Well it is a very good story, and my boss will be very disappointed in me if I don’t have a good story, but I do have a good idea. I won’t give away your secret or anything, don’t worry, but this…this is brilliant.” Sandra got back in her car, jotting down some notes, and got in to her car. As she drove away, Jasmin looked at Kathy with a worried face. “It’s okay, Jasmin,” She said, “Ms. Underwood said she would not tell the secret.” Jasmin nodded and kept trudging up the hill.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Chapter 10

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Jasmin and Kathy finally reached the house. They were both exhausted. Jasmin’s mom wasn’t in at the moment, but she left the back door unlocked. They all went inside and had some water and cinnamon bread. After about ten minutes, they went out back to the lake. Gema and Ellie were so excited to see it. Kathy and Jasmin slowly lowered the wheelbarrows into the water. Gema and Ellie dove in and began to splash around together. After Jasmin watched them for a few minutes, she ran inside to put on her bathing suit. Jasmin came back outside really quickly and jumped in with her new friends. Kathy found a rock high enough up that she wouldn’t get splashed, and watched them play. Everyone got really tired, so Jasmin went in to put dry clothes on and Kathy went inside to make sandwiches. They came back outside and had lunch together.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">It was getting late in the afternoon and Kathy needed to get home and Jasmin’s mom would be returning home soon. Kathy said her goodbyes and began to walk home. She said she could come back tomorrow morning, so they could see the paper together. Kathy was all the way down the hill and Jasmin said good night to Jasmin and Ellie. She took Paco inside and they had a small dinner. Once they were all done, Jasmin went to bed and Paco sat on the book shelf next to her bed, and they both fell asleep.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Chapter 11 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> When Jasmin got up the next morning, she ran to look out the window. Kathy was already coming up the hill with the paper in her hands. “Paco, Paco! Come here! Kathy has the paper and she is walking to the house,” Jasmin exclaimed. Paco jumped off the book shelf and flew to the kitchen, where he heard Kathy come in. “I’ve got the paper,” Kathy chimed as she stepped in the house. “I haven’t read it yet because I wanted to wait for you.” The three of them sat around the kitchen table, and Jasmin opened the paper.