My daughter was afraid of mermaids when she was little. She'd seen too good a portrayal in the 2003 PJ Hogan Peter Pan movie with Jason Isaacs. She'd heard the fairy tales read at bedtime. Those two were enough to make her suspicious and help her recognize Disney's Little Mermaid as mermaid-lite. She would have been right at home in this darker neo-fairy tale and things might have turned out differently for all involved if she'd been our witness and trusty narrator . . .

but alas that was not to be, so this twisty-turny tale in less than 60 pgs will suffice 'til the story writes itself again in some watery place.