Shelly nodded. “She wore a sparkly cloth today, didn’t she?”

Echo laughed. “That’s right, she did.”

“I bet my grandfather can get that pot off,” Shelly said, finally glad to be telling Echo her plan.

“That’s a great idea!” Echo yelled. “He is, after all, an expert on human things.”

Shelly shrugged. Not only was Echo fascinated with human stuff, but so was Shelly’s grandfather. He was the director of the People Museum and knew more than anyone in Trident City about human beings and what went on above the sea. There had been many afternoons when Echo had been content to wander around the museum with Shelly’s grandpa, looking at useless human tools. But Shelly had been bored to tears.

“And if he can’t get your pot off, then I’ll find one to put on my tail so we’ll match,” Shelly said. “We’ll have a pot-tail club.”

Echo smiled at her friend. “You are the best merfriend in the whole world.”

“Come on, let’s go find Grandpa,” Shelly said.

GRANDPA SIREN TOOK ONE LOOK AT ECHO’S tail and grinned. “Are you sure you want it off? You never know when a good pot could come in handy.”

“Grandpa! She really wants it off,” Shelly pleaded.

Grandpa Siren rubbed his chin. “I wonder … ,” he said as he floated off to his storeroom of extra human gadgets.

Bang! Crash! Bang!

“What’s he doing in there?” Echo asked.

Shelly shrugged. Her grandpa came out of the storage area with a large wire basket full of small glass bottles, which he immediately began searching through.

Echo picked one up labeled DANGER: MOTOR OIL. “Will this help me?” she asked.

Grandpa immediately snatched the bottle away. “It would help, but it would also pollute our water. It’s deadly to ocean life.”

Echo gulped and backed away from the bottles. Grandpa continued looking until he held one up. “This should do the trick.”

He poured the tiniest amount of yellow liquid over Echo’s tail, and immediately the water filled with round blobs that bounced off each other. “What is this stuff?” Echo asked.

“Vegetable oil,” Grandpa explained. “I just applied a drop, but I think it worked.”

Echo squealed as the pot slid off her tail. She gave Grandfather a hug. “You’re the greatest!”

“Now we can finish our projects,” Shelly said. “And look! You’ve already caught two shrimp.” Sure enough, two glowing hinge-beak shrimp floated in the bottom of the pot.

Grandpa raised his furry eyebrows. “Girls, do you need any help with your assignment?”

Shelly looked at Echo. Echo giggled. “No, we’re supposed to do it on our own.” And that’s exactly what the friends did.

AFTER THE GIRLS HAD WORKED FOR several hours, Echo said, “I don’t want to go to school tomorrow.”

“But our projects are turning out great,” Shelly answered. “We even found two snapping shrimp.” Shelly almost wished they hadn’t found the loud creatures. Their popping noises were driving her crazy.