61. Marina and the Forest

Marina the old mermaid lived in Atlantica for years. She never wants to leave it. She likes every place. The farms and seasides. But one place Marina liked most of all, well, her worker liked it too. "Come along, Marina. We've done all our work. Let's stop by the forest." Marina enjoyed it. The forest was filled with lots of trees. Marina had a flashback to the day when she and Swifty got new trees, and Mater and Rafiki brought them into their place. Now, she saw the beautiful trees growing near the others. Marina loved this place. She ddn't really know why, but her worker did. "Quite peaceful. " she told Marina. But one night, it all changed. The sea creatures were in bed. "Can you hear it?" asked Ariel. "It's a very strange noise." "That's the wind from outside, I say!" Swifty said. "It's extreme tonight." "Listen." Flounder said. "If Scuttle was not here, I would say it was him, going by with the wagons." Everyone laughed, but Marina. "I hope the wind didn't destroy the forest." But when morning came, there was a lot of damage done. Marina's worker arrived. "Some trees fell on the ground!" he reported. "We have to clear everything!" Tip went with the Hanger, and Marina went behind. Lots of trees were on the ground. The hills looked very bare. Marina was upset. "What will happen to the creatures around here?" When Marina's carts were full of logs, she took them to the timber place, where they were turned into useful, renewable things. Marina was glad the logs were behind restored, but began to cry because her forest was halfway gone. "Oh, no!" Swifty said to Ariel. "I want to make things better." "Yes, we must!" agreed the mermaid. "But what SHOULD we do? We can't fix old trees!" "Hi, Swifty!" King Triton said. "You look very sad." "I'm very upset about the trees, your Majesty." Swifty explained. "Marina is too! The forest is her favorite place. Now half of it is gone." "We can fix that." replied King Triton. "I've got an essential job for you, Swifty. You take some carts to the forest." When the carts came, Swifty was happy. They were filled with nice, young trees. "Best job ever!" shouted Swifty. When Marina came, she was shocked. Mater and Rafiki were taking away the old tree stumps. "Look, Marina!" Mater called. "We're doing it again!" "The hills will look amazing! You'll soon see!" Now when Marina goes near the forest, she can hear all the beautiful sounds and enjoy the peaceful views. Other times, she'll hear leaves falling, or birds chirping. She often hears little kids laughing. by Julian Ayele Cumberbatch