meja mermaid – mermaid mayhem at school (independent
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Meja Mermaid – Mermaid Mayhem at School
(Independent Reading Vol. 1)
By Erik O. Lindström,
illustrated by Alexandra Langenbeck
6+ / 72 pp. / 4colour print
Englishlanguage translation © Catherine Wolterman
A letter from school
What’s this?
It’s still early, but a message in a bottle has already arrived for Meja Mermaid. Eagerly, she pulls out
the cork. Whoosh! Lots of little fish swim out. Together, they spell out a message for Meja. Fish ABC!
Dear Meja,
Please come to school. I would like to meet you. It’ll be fun, I promise!
Mrs Dotta
‘What does it say?’ asks Lille, the little starfish. Meja got him as a present from her parents and she
takes him with her everywhere she goes. But unfortunately, she can’t answer his question. Meja
can’t read very well.
‘Padson, help me,’ Meja asks the tortoise who takes care of her. ‘Read me the letter.’
Padson shakes his head. ‘You’re really supposed to read for yourself.’
But then he reads her the letter anyway.
Meja listens carefully. ‘Who is Mrs Dotta? I don’t know her,’ she says.
‘What happened to Mrs Black?’
Mrs Black used to be Meja’s teacher. She’s an enormous squid and is rather strict.
‘Mrs Black isn’t teaching anymore,’ explains Padson. ‘She’s the headteacher now. The new teacher in
the Shell Class is called Mrs Dotta. She’s supposed to be really nice. Swim over there and see for
yourself.’
Meja rolls her eyes. Then she sits down on her hammock and swings back and forth.
‘Mangy mussels! There’s no way I’m swimming over there. School is really stupid. Swish swash!’
Which letters do you know?
Colour in those fish with a colouring pencil.
A visit from Bollarbi and Caspar
Later on, Meja and Padson are eating their dinner. Lille the starfish clings to a rock above the table,
looking on as they eat. Padson looks after Meja when her parents are away. Today, he’s made
seaweed salad. He bought the seaweed fresh from the market.
‘Fat flounders!’ Meja stares at her plate. ‘Does it always have to be so healthy?’
She much prefers seaweed burgers and mud cookies. You can buy those at the market too.
Brillo the blowfish sells them at his kiosk. Unfortunately, Padson always steers clear of that stand.
Padson is just about to answer when they hear loud voices.
‘Meja? MEJA?’ Bollarbi sticks his head through the door. He is a young grey seal and Meja’s friend. ‘I
have something to tell you.’
He swirls around the table in excitement. Once, twice, three times... seven times!
Meja feels dizzy just watching him.
‘What is it then?’ she asks.
Bollarbi grins. ‘Picture this, Meja. I went to school today. And it was great! We even did somersaults!’
‘Somersaults at school?’ Meja said in disbelief.
‘That’s not all!’ Caspar the dolphin comes in. He’s another one of Meja’s friends. ‘Everyone is allowed
to go to school now. Even seals, dolphins and blowfish – everyone is welcome!’
‘And look, Meja,’ Bollarbi continues. ‘Mrs Dotta even gave me an awesome satchel. She got it in
Jellyfish’s bag shop. And she got it for free. For children who don’t have much. Mrs Dotta wants to
help those children in particular.’
Meja stares. Bollarbi’s satchel really is super cool. Sea blue with lots of fish on it.
Padson nods. ‘Mrs Dotta wants all children to be able to go to school.’ He polishes his glasses. ‘And
her lessons are supposed to be great.’
Meja looks from one to another. ‘You’re having fun without me? That’s mean!’
Bollarbi puffs himself up. ‘But you could come to school too, you know.’
‘Exactly.’ Caspar flicks his tail. ‘Mrs Dotta is always in a good mood. She...’
‘Stop, both of you!’ shouts Meja. ‘I don't believe a word. You’re just trying to trick me.
Padson must have talked you into it.’
‘What? No way!’ shout Caspar and Bollarbi in outrage.
Padson raises an eyebrow, insulted. ‘Think what you like, Meja.’
Meja swishes her tail.
‘I’ll go to school tomorrow and have a look. But just once!’
Padson cooks lots of delicious things for Meja. In the human world, there is healthy and unhealthy
food too.
Circle what is good for you!
Somersaults through the classroom door
The next morning, Meja really does swim over to the Shell Class. When she gets there, she is met by
the sound of laughter. Meja can hear it through the open window.
‘Well, I never,’ she murmurs. ‘They really are having fun. We never laughed in Mrs Black’s class. Her
lessons were as boring as algae breakfast cereal. Maybe I will take a look. Hey everyone, here comes
Meja Mermaid!’
Meja pushes the door open. And she can’t believe her eyes. ‘What has happened here?’
The room has changed completely. The tables and chairs are no longer in rows. All the sea children
are now sitting together in little groups. There is a cosy hammock for break times. And there are
pictures of colourful sea creatures everywhere. Two little mermaids are leafing through a book
together, chuckling and giggling happily to themselves.
‘Hello, Meja Mermaid,’ Meja hears a cheerful voice. ‘I’m Mrs Dotta.’
Meja is flabbergasted. So this is the new teacher.
She’s a reallife water nymph!
Meja has never seen a water nymph before. You see, they live in the far north and are very reclusive.
They are supposed to be really good at painting. And singing. And making things.
And looking around the classroom, this seems to be true.
Frau Dotta’s hair is bright green. Wild curls stick out from her plait. Her face, her arms, her hands –
everything is green. She is wearing a yellow dress with purple spots. And her fishtail is peeping out
from underneath it. Meja has never seen such a colourful teacher before.
‘Have a look around,’ says Mrs Dotta. ‘But then you’ll have to go again.’
Meja can’t believe her ears. ‘What did you say?’
Mrs Dotta nods. ‘I’m sorry.’
Meja’s eyes are as big as saucer shells. She can’t speak. For some reason, she suddenly seems to have
a fat sea toad in her throat. The new teacher doesn’t want to have her in her class. Fat flounders!
But then Mrs Dotta turns to face the other children. ‘Why does Meja have to go out? Who can tell
her?’
Several hands and flippers shoot up.
‘She didn’t come through the door in the right way,’ giggles a mermaid called Pernilla.
‘Meja forgot something important!’ shouts Bollarbi.
Caspar the dolphin scolds: ‘Meja didn’t do a somersault into the classroom!’
Meja looks confused. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Quite simple, Meja!’ Mrs Dotta laughs cheerfully. ‘If you want to take part in the lesson, you have to
do a somersault through the door. Like everybody else. So – out you go!’
Meja feels a lot better. Now she understands! ‘I need to do a somersault? Nothing could be easier!’
Meja flits out of the door, full of energy. She puts her arms on the ground and lowers her head. She
reenters the room with a masterful somersault.
‘Hey, here I am!’ she shouts.
All the children clap and cheer.
Mrs Dotta rests her hand on Meja’s shoulder. ‘Well done. Now you truly belong. The lesson can
start.’
Start your day with a few somersaults or forward rolls. It will wake you up straight away and put you
in a good mood. Or try a forward roll right now – but make sure you’ve got enough space!
Ready... steady... go!
Trouble in the Shell Class
‘Excuse me! What is all this noise?’ Mrs Black bursts into the classroom. The headteacher brandishes
her tentacles. ‘Be quiet! Why are you making such a racket? This is not what I call a lesson.’
She gives the pupils a stern look.
They all flinch and immediately fall silent.
Whoosh! At lightning speed, they all sit down smartly on their chairs. Including Meja!
Mrs Black is really angry. She huffs and puffs. Even Mrs Dotta looks rather pale all of a sudden.
‘Mrs Dotta, what is this mayhem?’ Mrs Black demands.
Mrs Dotta gulps. ‘Mrs Black, movement is very important to me. That’s why we always have an active
start to our morning. With a somersault. It stimulates body and mind, and it helps the children learn
better.’
‘It’s true as a shark’s tooth!’ yells Meja. She leaps out of her chair and does a somersault. ‘Now I can
think much more clearly, Mrs Black!’
The headteacher’s eyes widen. ‘Meja Mermaid, here at school?’ Mrs Black polishes her glasses. Is she
dreaming?
‘Very well, movement never did any harm, of course. Please continue, Mrs Dotta. But quietly,
please!’
‘I promise.’ Mrs Dotta gives a relieved smile.
‘Now we are going to look, listen, feel, smell and taste. We will be using all five senses!’
‘Oh yes?’ Mrs Black frowns. Then she leaves the classroom.
Everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Thank goodness for that.
‘Look this way,’ Mrs Dotta says to the children.
Intrigued, Meja and the others look to see what is going to happen. Mrs Dotta takes a handful of
glitter out of a little bag and throws it up above her. Suddenly, pictures appear before the children’s
eyes.
‘Those are the warning signs next to the seaweed!’ shouts Meja loudly.
‘Correct!’ Mrs Dotta conjures up another picture.
‘That’s the dangerous chasm in the sea,’ Bollarbi says.
Mrs Dotta nods. ‘It is important that you know about all of these dangers.’
After that, the children are allowed to listen to a shell. They can hear whale song coming out of it.
They can also hear mussels chirruping and dolphins grunting.
‘That’s how we talk to each other,’ Caspar explains in excitement.
‘Exactly,’ says Mrs Dotta.
Then Meja and her friends get to feel shells of different sizes, sand in every colour you can imagine,
jagged starfish and spiky sea urchins.
‘You can’t just swim wherever you like. Always pay attention to the seabed,’ Mrs Dotta explains.
‘Fibbing fishes, this is fun,’ marvels Meja. If it carries on like this, she’s going to really enjoy coming to
school. But what is Mrs Dotta doing now? She holds mouldy blue algae under the children’s noses, so
that they can smell it!
‘You must never eat this.’ Mrs Dotta wags her finger. ‘They are poisonous!’
‘I know that already,’ says Meja. ‘From my parents. They are sea explorers, after all. And they’re
always exploring the world’s seas. I even went with them once.’
‘How exciting,’ says Mrs Dotta. ‘You must definitely tell us about that next time.’
Meja is all smiles. She suddenly feels really proud.
‘Deal!’ she shouts.
Finally, Mrs Dotta lets the children taste water from different seas.
‘They taste really different,’ Bollarbi notices.
Mrs Dotta licks her lips. ‘Some types are very salty, some taste almost sweet. Every ocean is
different.’
What an exciting lesson!
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