The three sea-children had a happy life deep under the waves, watched over by their father, a Lord of the Sea, their gentle mermaid mother, and Billy Bones, the sailor who had followed her harp music down into the depths of the sea, and lived with the family ever after. They did their lessons, played with the little ones in the nursery cavern, listened to Billy's wonderful stories, made sand-castles on the ocean bed, swung in their sea-grass hammock, and romped with the sea-creatures. But they wanted more. No sooner had they been allowed a glimpse of the sea-shore, where land-children with brown skins and dark, or even auburn, hair walked and ran on human legs, than they longed to explore this strange new world. None of their parents' warnings of its danger could convince them. First to go was the younger sister, Laver, trapped in a fishing net as she dozed in the sunshine. Then Bubbles was thrown ashore by the plunging white horses of the waves, and sold to the horrible Zodiac Zoo. Then Emerald, the eldest girl, was caught up by the pierrots and carried inland, far from the sea. Children will be children the world over, said Billy Bones, as he brewed tea in the best pearly pot to comfort their poor mother, They mean no harm. But meant or not, the children got themselves into great trouble, and only the kindness of human friends brought them safely through the dangers of life on land. Ruth Ainsworth describes the sea-family and their world beneath the waves with the freshness and skill of a wonderful story-teller.

 

There are 128 pages in this book. This book was published 1980 by James Clarke & Co Ltd .

Ruth Ainsworth cannot remember a time when she wasn't writing. She filled many exercise books with stories when she was a child, and it became a life-long habit. She was in her teens when her first book was published. When she lived in a remote village by the sea with her three little sons, she told them endless stories during their walks, and they told her stories too. "Children find magic in the everyday life of play and family," she says. Her sources for her books lie in that belief. Prudence Seward went to Harrow Art School and then to the Royal College of Art in London. She was awarded the Rome Scholarship in engraving; and on returning to England in 1951, became a freelance illustrator. She has also lived and worked in Canada.