everything fell silent. The top half of the cone was by now an island basking in the heat of the tropical sun, its shores awash by a calm sea. The King was nowhere to be seen. Sea Plum and Sea Pearl looked around them in bewilderment.
They were lying on the ground. All around them were slimy, wriggling creatures, sliding into the sea on their bellies, and trying to climb out again. The mermaids realized that not only they, but all the other mer-people of the kingdom, had been outcast by the king and transformed into mud-skippers. They were terribly ashamed, but it was too late to be sorry now. Their recklessness had brought disaster not only on themselves, but on the whole mer-community.
However, all was not lost. The mud-skippers eventually learnt to live in their new home and soon Shilepo became a thriving island. Fisher-people moved there. Traders. Merchants. People came from all over to settle on this beautiful island, but no-one suspected the true story of how it had come about.
So, next time you see a mud-skipper, be kind to it. Remind yourself that you might be looking at Sea Pearl or Sea Plum, the adventurous mermaids, who along with their families and friends are still waiting to return to their own beautiful kingdom beneath the waves.
Long ago, on the island of Singapore, there were huge tracts of jungle, ancient trees and lots of wild animals. Tigers roamed the land quite freely. In those days, people hunted and killed the tigers, and soon there were none left.
At this time, gambier trees were grown in huge forests called plantations. One of the largest gambier plantations was by a village named Choa Chu Kang, in the north of Singapore. Hundreds of workers came to the plantations, to work planting new trees, or chopping down the old ones to be sold. Some collected gambier leaves to make dye. Sometimes the workers laboured in pairs or groups, but often they worked alone.
It was a very lonely job. In the evenings, the workers swapped stories. One evening, as they sat round chatting, one worker mentioned, "I heard there is a tiger around. It stole a goat from Choa Chu Kang village yesterday."
"Don't be silly—there can't be," said another, "there are no tigers left in Singapore. I heard from the villagers that a man named Peng Hoe has helped to track down and kill them all."
"Still, if it is true," said the first, "we'll have to be careful. An old and hungry tiger will be desperate enough to eat anything. We've got nothing to defend ourselves with."
Each plantation had a head man, or kangchu, and this one was named Wang. He was a busy and rather impatient man, full of self-importance. On this particular day he was also very worried, because he had heard some bad news. Two of his workers had been killed and eaten by a wild and hungry tiger during the week. It seemed that the tiger had stealthily crept up on each of them while they were working, pounced, and made a meal of them before they could even shout for help. The only thing the tiger left behind was their rather chewy leather hats.
Wang was not only worried for his workers, he was also worried for his own safety, and had no intention of having his life threatened by a tiger. He called a meeting of all the plantation workers.
"I'm sure you have heard that we have lost two men this week to a roaming tiger. No-one has seen him and lived to tell the tale, but his hungry roar has been heard many times. There will be a $ 10 reward for the person who can kill this animal, before he takes any more of our men."
One plantation worker raised his hand: "Sir, we all want to catch him for we're afraid out there in the plantation alone, but we have no weapons apart from our parangs. Can you supply us with guns?"
Now the only gun for miles around belonged to Wang himself, and he was too afraid to even think about trying to shoot the tiger himself, so he kept this information quiet. He would rather risk his men than put his own life in danger.
"There are no guns here," he lied. "Anyway, are you such cowards that you can't face an old tiger with a parang You are young. You are well fed. You are fit. This tiger is old. The reward will now be $20 for the man who gets rid of this tiger!"
And with that, he left the meeting.
The next day, two workers came to his office, heads bowed, gripping their hats in their shaking hands. "Master Wang, the tiger has struck again," one of them said, nervously. "This time we saw it happen. It was terrible. He leapt out from behind a tree and seized worker Li. Before any of us could get near, it had already dragged him into the trees. It all happened very fast and we can't find any sign of poor Li. There's just nothing left of him."
Wang was afraid. "Next time you see that tiger, don't just stand there—kill it!"
The two workers left his office, by now very angry with Wang.
"It's all very well for him to give us orders, but his servant told me that he owns the only gun in the village. He should stalk and shoot the tiger himself!"
"He's a coward," replied his friend. "He would rather we risked our own lives."
That evening, after work, the two men called some of the plantation workers together to form a plan.
"Men, this is a dangerous time for us. We must find that tiger and kill it before it gets any more of us," said one.
"But everyone knows that tigers are faster and stronger than humans," called out another worker. "They run fast, they climb trees, they can even swim—we don't stand a chance. We only have our small parangs. They are no match against a tiger's teeth and claws."
A young man stepped forward. He was from the local village of Choa Chu Kang.
"I can help you," he said. "My name is Peng Hoe, and I have helped the villagers of Choa Chu Kang hunt down the other tigers. I heard that Master Wang owns a gun. If this is true, I will ask if I can borrow it and I will track down the tiger myself."
The men were so relieved at his offer of help that immediately they took Peng Hoe to meet Master Wang.
"You're right," replied Wang, when asked, "I do own a gun and I am happy to lend it to you. I will give you bullets and $20 if you kill the tiger."
With that he placed a large rifle into Peng Hoe's hands and wished him the very best of luck.
Peng Hoe went back to the waiting workers and showed them the gun.
"I can do this alone," he said, "Or you can help me. If I do it alone, it may take some time. If I have 20 men to help me track down the tiger we can finish the job tonight. Once we know where it is, I will kill it with a single shot. We must not lose any more men to this animal. If I am killed, take the gun back to Wang. At least we will have tried."
The crowd clapped and cheered Peng Hoe, and many volunteered to help him. He selected twenty men and asked them to assemble at dusk.
That night, dressed in dark clothing, each of these men carrying an empty tin can and a stick, arrived at the agreed starting point for the tiger hunt. They followed their instructions faithfully
