Sirena: The California Christmas Mermaid

Written and Illustrated by Cathy Hartt

Maia-N-Isaac Positive Psychology Short Stories for Kids 

Video version at bottom of blog

White was the color of Christmas Eve at Granca’s (that means Grandma Cathy’s) house.  She knew the white of Christmas would be gone by noon on Christmas day, though, and that it would be warm and springtime sunny again.  She sang a little Christmas carol to herself, as she packed her suitcase.  

The cats watched, suspicious of the whole thing.  Granca went to put a sweater in the suitcase, but there was no room.  “Hmmm,” she said to herself, “I have only put a couple things in that bag.  Why am I out of room?”  Then she saw something like her sweater moving in the suitcase, except it had two big green eyes.  “Oh, Galveston, I can’t take you with me on this trip.  I’m going to visit my California cousins on a big airplane.  You would not want to ride in that suitcase down the baggage conveyer belt, I assure you.”  Galveston jumped out and watched from the corner of the room, frowning just a little. 

 

When Christmas came, Granca got up way before the sun.  She waived goodbye to the cats, and drove off in her car, Mini Pearl, to the airport.  Mini Pearl was also a little sad because she had to spend Christmas in an icy, cold parking lot.  She preferred road trips and would not even honk goodbye to Granca.  

“Oh, Mini,” said Granca, you have a lot of cars here to keep you company.  And I promise to take you on a long road trip to California in the summer, when the roads are not so slick.  Mini watched her walk away.  When Granca looked back at her, she swore there was a little tear under Mini’s eye.  She waived goodbye and was sad to leave Mini Pearl looking so gloomy.

Then Granca got on the giant airplane (well, giant compared to Mini Pearl, that is) and flew for the whole morning.  When the plane landed, she got out in a place that was warm and sunny.  “Ah, I am in San Francisco, California” she thought.

Granca felt both scared and excited all at once, because she hardly knew her California cousins.   On the way to the baggage claim, she felt a little sick to her stomach.  But in a few minutes, she was riding happily down the road with her cousins and her Aunt Frannie to a special Christmas celebration.

Once they got to Aunt Frannie’s house, Granca got to visit the garden.  It was so beautiful that she could hardly believe she had just left Mini Pearl in an icy parking lot.  There were pink azaleas and geraniums blooming outside, with water flowing in a three-layered fountain.  In fact, there was even a tree with real oranges hanging from its branches.  “Those are California ornaments, for sure,” thought Granca.

Granca was born in California and lived there for a short time, once when she a baby and a once when she was a teenager.  But way before that, her own dad was born in San Francisco.  That’s why she has very special family to spend Christmas with this year – because her dad’s family still lived in this beautiful place by the Pacific Ocean.  Granca was always curious about her dad’s family.  

It was a fun Christmas day celebration.  This family gave something called white elephants instead of regular Christmas gifts.  When Granca first heard about the white elephant thing, she though an elephant was too big to fit on the airplane.  Why, that’s bigger than Mini Pearl!  But she found out that a white elephant is really giving away something you don’t want anymore to someone else.  “Oh,” thought Granca, “That kind of elephant will fit in my suitcase.”

The white elephants were hilarious.  And, with the game, people take turns choosing a gift . . . or they can steal someone else’s gift if they like what someone else had already opened.  Granca’s Cousin Ted got a port-a-potty.  That’s a toilet that folds up into a little box.  And her Aunt Frannie got two really wonderful gifts that were both stolen by other family.  She ended up with a ceramic lizard that she really didn’t want very much.  The white elephants were so hilarious, that they laughed and laughed until tears came running down their faces.  

After that, Granca started to feel more relaxed.  “This family has the strength of humor and playfulness,” she thought.  After the white elephants all had a new home, they ate German chocolate cake and then Granca went home with her cousin Sherri, and Sherri’s husband Alberto, for a few days.  

The first day, Sherri and Alberto took Granca for a long walk on the beach.  The waves were so pretty and relaxing. The sun was so warm that Granca took her long underwear off for the rest of the trip!  It was fun to look at all the birds.  Sometimes, they see dolphins and whales on that beach.  But not on the day after Christmas.  

The second day was a magic because it was the day that Granca met Sirena, the mermaid.  The day started with breakfast and lunch at Sherri and Alberto’s house on the beach.  But, then, in the afternoon, they took a long drive on the beach.  They went to towns named Monterey and Carmel.

At one point, they stopped on the beach for Granca to take pictures to share with her grandkids, Maia and Isaac.  It was like no beach she had ever seen before.  It had beautiful rock structures that looked like castles sticking out of the blue waves.  There were all sorts of seagulls flying around the rocks.

Granca walked down to the water to take some pictures of the birds.  And, that is when she met Sirena.  She thought it was a sea gull squacking at first.  She listened more closely and it was a voice saying, “come here, come here.” 

Granca went down closer and it looked like a little blond girl in the water.  In fact, it looked a little like her granddaughter , Maia.  Grandma did a little gasp.  Then the little girl said “Oh, it’s OK.  I don’t want to scare you.  My name is Sirena and I am a mermaid.”  “A mermaid?” asked Granca.  “I have lived in California and I have never met a mermaid.”  

When she went closer, she could see it was a real, live mermaid.  Granca gasped again!  Then Serina explained that she had come to find Granca because she wanted to meet Maia.  Granca said, “My granddaughter, Maia?”  “Yes,” said Sirena.  “Why?” asked Granca.  “Because I know you miss Maia and you want to send her a gift to remind her that you are thinking about her.”

“Ok,” said Granca.  “But you will dry out if I take you back to Colorado in the big plane to mail.”  Sirena laughed, “That is why I am turning myself into a little doll that you can put in your purse. No one will ever know I am a real mermaid, except for you and Maia.”  

And, with that, Sirena (that name means mermaid in Spanish) became a little blond mermaid doll and Granca quickly tucked the doll in her bag and headed back to find Sherri and Alberto.  They got in the car and drove to the town Carmel to go shopping.  

Granca still could not believe she had a mermaid in her purse.  Who carries mermaids in their purse to go shopping, after all?  Well, it was a good thing that Sirena was there, because she pointed to a little alligator outfit for Isaac.  I mean Granca was just walking down the aisle, minding her own business, and that little mermaid almost flipped out of the purse trying to get her to stop and notice.  

Sirena told Granca that Isaac needed a gift to tell Isaac that she missed him, too.  So Granca grabbed the little outfit and headed to the counter.  Then Serina almost flipped herself out of the purse to grab a special a special key holder for Granca’s daughter, Stephanie.  It had her name right on it, too!  “It is quite an adventure to shop with a mermaid in your purse,” thought Granca.

Granca looked at the gifts, knowing she wanted to savor  this trip with her special family.  (Savor means to share smiles about something you enjoyed doing.)  “It is important to savor things,” said Sirena.  It helps us to be happy, because we share our joy with others who we care about and everyone smiles.  So, Granca bought the gifts, of course.

The third day, Sherri and Alberto took Granca to the redwood forest.  Those trees are giant, I tell you.  They are as tall as a sky scraper in the city!  All Granca could think about was savoring her trip with her family so she took lots of pictures to share.  

Then, on the last day of her trip, Sherri and Alberto took Granca to pick up Aunt Frannie for a special journey.  They drove up the coast for a long time to get to a beach house.  There was a lady at the beach house who was friends with Aunt Frannie and Granca’s dad and uncle, Bert.  That was cool, because the woman was very old and wise to remember being a kid so long ago.  She was 86 years old!  That woman would need a huge birthday cake, I tell you!

Granca had put Serina in her purse, again, in case she would like a trip to the beach house.  There were a lot of people at the beach house who where kids and grandkids to the woman.  People were talking and laughing.  That is when Granca heard Sirena talking to her.  Granca looked at the doll and said, “I can’t believe a doll is talking to me.  You are not a real mermaid anymore.”  

Sirena looked kinda sad for a moment.  But then she explained, “I must be a mermaid.  I have no fear of depth and a great fear of shallow living.”  Granca scratched her head a little.  “What does that mean?” she asked.  Sirena explained that she was a teacher of living life in a way that made people feel really close to each other.  “People have to tell each other openly, and without fear, how they feel about things that happen.  And when they do, they need to be listened to and respected. Always!   “Even kids, like Maia and Isaac?” asked Granca.  “Especially kids, including Maia and Isaac,” replied Serina. "In fact," she replied, "They can always talk to me about anything because I'm not afraid of depth." 

Granca felt good about having spent the day at the beach house with her family, the wise woman and Sirena.  After a couple hours, they drove back to Sherri and Alberto’s house.  On the way back, they stopped in San Francisco.  Now, that city has class!  There are steep hills, cable cars and special chocolate! But the best thing of all was a gargantuan, world famous bridge, called the Golden Gate Bridge that they drove across in the car! It was an awesome site on Granca’s last day!

The next day, Alberto drove her to the airport.  Granca still had Sirena in her purse.  Well, that little doll came to life again in the airport, I tell you.  She almost flipped out of the purse again when they got through the baggage check point.  “Sirena, shhhh!” said Granca.  “You are going to get me in trouble for bringing a real mermaid on an airplane.  Besides, you will dry out if you become a real mermaid.”  Sirena just smiled and pointed to two things for Maia and Isaac.  One was a special San Francisco chocolate bar and the other was a Golden Gate bridge toy. 

“They can have fun sharing those,” said Sirena.  “The bridge toy is a good idea for them to share, but Isaac can’t eat chocolate, silly.  Don’t mermaids know anything about babies?”  Sirenna laughed, “Well, I bet your daughter can figure out who else Maia can share it with.”  “Your right,” said Granca.  And she bought the gifts.  

After the long airplane ride home, Granca was exhausted but Mini Pearl was all smiles when she saw her walking through the parking lot.  Mini honked happily.  That car has car-o-nality, I tell you!  Mini took Granca safely home, as always.  

Granca knew that her cat lady, Liz, had been there to take care of the kitties.  When she opened to door, she didn’t see them at first.  But she heard Serendipity singing for joy!  That cat is so afraid when she is left alone, even when Liz takes care of her.  Granca could not see the other kitties at first, but then she went into her room, and there they were all snuggled up in her bed.  “Well, at least I won’t need my electric blanket to warm my bed tonight,” she laughed. It felt so cold in Colorado after walking on the beach in California. 

She patted each of the kitties on the head and then carefully lifted Sirena out of her purse and put her in a bag with the other gifts.  “I will be sending you to Maia very soon as a way of savoring my trip,” said Granca.  The little mermaid looked like a stuffed cat toy that Sage might want to fish out of the drawer to play with, so she needed to be put away safely.  

Just before Granca closed the drawer that she had put Sirena into, the little mermaid did a quick wink at her.  Granca was glad she had picked Sirena and the other gifts to share the joy of her magical California with her family, who she missed very much.  “Savoring,” she thought, “is a good way of living life deeply just like a mermaid would want!”

The end.  

A Princess for Christmas

A Princess for Christmas

Written and Illustrated by Cathy Hartt 

(Both video and written versions below)

 

   

It was a cool fall morning and Grandma Cathy was tucked soundly under her covers, still asleep.  Then all of a sudden, she jumped up straight in her bed.  Even with her ear plugs in, she could hear a very loud and annoying noise.  And this time, it wasn’t her cats bowling their toy balls into her door to wake her up.  Oh, no, this time is was Mini Pearl.

Mini Pearl is Grandma Cathy’s car.  And she is not just a car; she has car-o-nality. That means she acts like a person.  And for some reason, today she wanted to go someplace so bad she was sitting in the driveway blasting her horn.  “Come on, let’s go,” she honked while Grandma Cathy stood in the doorway, less than amused.  “I was trying to sleep in, Mini Pearl,” replied Grandma.

Mini Pearl looked down at the ground and sighed a little.  Grandma Cathy stood in the doorway looking at sad Mini Pearl. “ Hmmmm,” she wondered, “Where did my silly car want to go so badly?”  Mini Pearl looked up at Grandma.  Well, Grandma Cathy could not resist THAT look.  “Mini Pearl,” she asked, “what on earth is so important that you woke the whole neighborhood up honking like that?”

Grandma Cathy had forgotten that it was the day that she always leaves for a special place called the Four Corners.  That is where the corners of four states meet – just like if you laid 4 big, white pieces of paper flat on a table so that the corners would meet in the middle.  Four Corners is where Grandma Cathy talks to the Native American Indians and buys special gifts for her grandkids, Maia and Isaac (and everyone else in the family).

Mini Pearl quietly pointed to her GPS – and there it was!  Right there on the screen was a picture of four states all bumped up together at the corners.  The road to get there was long and winding over some very tall mountains called the San Juans.  

Grandma Cathy squinted as she looked at the GPS screen as Mini Pearl continued to point.  “Oh, Mini Pearl,” replied Grandma Cathy, “I am so sorry.  I totally forgot that our trip was today.  I’ll go get packed and we can get started!”  

Then Grandma returned to the house and started to pack.  “This will be a great day.  I love going places with Mini Pearl,” she thought.  She through her stuff in her small red suitcase and went into the kitchen for a little bite of breakfast before the road trip. 

When she returned to the bedroom, her suitcase was totally unpacked and all the clothes where piled in a huge heap on the floor.  “Sage!” yelled Grandma Cathy, “Did you fish my clothes out of my suitcase, again?”  She didn’t hear anything, so she looked on the other side of the bed.  There they were, all five of them, looking at her like they knew nothing about how the clothes got all unpacked and rumpled into a heap.  Grandma sighed, “You guys!  I know you hate it when I go places without you.  But, seriously, you can’t take a cat on a road trip.  Especially, all 5 of you.”

 Grandma Cathy patiently went back into the kitchen and made sure the food and water bowls were full.  The kitties followed.  All but Sage, that is.  

The other kitties were happy to be fed and they promised to be good for a couple of days, and Grandma Cathy scratched them all on the head.  “Soksabai, Chaco, Galveston and Serendipity,” Grandma silently said to herself.  “Uh, oh, someone’s missing!”

Grandma returned to the bedroom to find Sage carefully fishing the last pair of socks out of the suitcase, carefully using her claw like a fishing hook to grab them out of a special pocket.  “Oh, Sage,” said Grandma, “I know you like to fish, but my socks are going with me to Four Corners.”  With that, Sage went to join her feline friends in the kitchen and Grandma Cathy repacked her bag and flew out the door.  “About time,” said Mini Pearl.

Grandma Cathy threw her bag in Mini Pearl’s hatch, jumped in the driver’s seat.  Mini Pearl honked with joy!  That car acts just like a barking dog, sometimes.  Away they went, down the road.

After about an hour, they came to the San Juan Mountains.  Mini Pearl sighed and let out a cough of smoke.  “It’s hard to climb a mountain with a person and a suitcase inside of you,” she complained.  “Oh, Mini,” said Grandma Cathy, “You were the one who woke everyone up to go this morning.”  “I know,” said Mini Pearl, “but I thought we were going to visit the Native Americans at the Four Corners.  I didn’t realize I had to climb a giant mountain to get here.”  “Oh, Mini,” exclaimed Grandma Cathy, “didn’t you see the Mountains on the GPS you were pointing at this morning?”  “Well, yea, I did,” said Mini Pearl, “But I had no idea they were so tall.”  

Grandma Cathy explained to Mini Pearl that the mountains are sacred (that means very special) to the Native Americans from the Four Corners because they protect the Native American lands.  “Oh,” replied Mini, “something like how my safety features protect you when we travel together.”  “Yes, Mini Pearl,” replied Grandma.  “If you need to go slow, that is OK because the trees are so pretty in the mountains in the fall.”  They stopped a lot on the trip so Mini Pearl could rest and Grandma Cathy could take lots of pictures of the brightly colored leaves.

After climbing the mountain, Mini and Grandma rested the whole night in a hotel before they went on their Christmas Shopping journey to the Four Corners.  When Grandma Cathy got to the parking lot that morning, there was Mini Pearl honking again. “Oh, Mini!  Shhhhhh!  People are trying to sleep in the hotel.”  Mini sighed and looked down kinda sheepish.  “Oh, let’s just get going, silly,” said Grandma.

They drove for a while, down to where the states all meet at the corners.  There were a lot of funny big red rock mountains, called buttes, along the way.  “Mini Pearl, this is Indian Country,” said Grandma.  Mini Pearl smiled just a little, with her eyes.  

A little while later, they came to a big, square building with lots of flags.  Grandma said, “here we are, Mini!  This is the Four Corners!  Mini parked right by the Indian taco stand.  “Ok, Grandma Cathy,” said Mini Pearl, “You go on in to the market while I check out the Indian tacos.”  “Oh, Mini,” replied Grandma, “Cars don’t eat tacos.”

Grandma Cathy walked around to several of the little Native American shops inside the big, square building with lots of flags.  There is one flag for each of the four States that touch there.  In fact, right in the center, you can put each of your hands and feet in a different State.  At the same time, even!  Lots of people take photos of themselves doing that.  

Each little stop has special things made by the Native Americans who sit behind the counter.  Grandma likes to talk to them, as she looks to see what she might want to buy for Christmas.  Then, after passing several shops, she came across a shop where the Native Americans had left to take a break.  The door was open and Grandma looked out to see if she could see the people who run the booth.  All she could see were the butte mountains and a Pepsi cup that someone had been drinking from recently.  

Grandma knew the shop owners would return soon, so she quietly looked at what was on the counter.  She wondered if they would have anything that Maia or Isaac would like for Christmas.  What caught Grandma Cathy’s eye was a beautiful Indian Princess doll.  She had a purple skirt, black shirt and a beautiful turquoise necklace.  “Hmmm, maybe Maia would like her,” Grandma thought.

Just then, a little breeze blew through the open back door and it seemed to breath magic into the little doll, because she started to rub her eyes and sit up.  Grandma Cathy rubbed her eyes, too, because she could not believe it.  “Hello?” said Grandma.  “Hello!” said the doll.  Then, like magic, a beautiful little purple shawl appeared on the breeze, and the doll put it around her shoulders.  There, in the distance, was the sound of Native American drum music.  The little doll began to dance, and dance and dance.  And the shawl swirled, and swirled and swirled.  Grandma Cathy could not take her eyes off of the magic little dancing doll.  

When the music finally stopped, Grandma asked the doll if she had a name.  “Yes,” replied the little dancer, “My name is Chipeta.  I am an Indian Princess and I was made especially for your special granddaughter, Maia.”  “You know my granddaughter?” Grandma asked, surprised.  “Yes, I am a special gift to her from you and the Native Americans.  I represent love, like the love you have in your heart for Maia, always.  Even though you won’t be spending Christmas with Maia, I will be there to hug her and I will be there for her whenever she wants to feel loved and special.” 

“Oh!” exclaimed Grandma Cathy, “You are just what I was looking for because I have felt very sad about not seeing Maia this Christmas.”  “I know,” said Chipeta, “But love is always there, in our hearts.  I am just there to remind Maia about that.” Grandma felt happy inside!

“Now, to find something just as special for Isaac,” Grandma said to herself.  Chipeta seemed to know just what Grandma Cathy was thinking because, without being asked, she said, “Can I suggest something for you special grandson, Isaac?”  “Of course,” Grandma said, kinda confused.  

Chipeta then walked across the little shop table to a small Native American turtle.  She said, “The turtle is a symbol of protection, long life (that means living to be very, very old), and of water.  In the West, we do not always have enough water, so turtles are a special gift.”  “I like the idea,” said Grandma Cathy, “In fact, I have gotten Maia several Native American turtles like this, but Isaac is still a baby.”

With that, Chipeta smiled.  “I know,” she said.  And she swirled around the turtle with her shawl and in an instant, the turtle became a wooden pull toy.  “There,” said Chipeta, “Now, this turtle is perfect for your special baby grandson, Isaac.”  “Wow, thank you Chipeta,” said Grandma Cathy.

And as quickly as she said it, another breeze blew through the door of the shop, and in walked the owner to ask if Grandma Cathy needed help.  Grandma looked down at the counter, and  the doll was  laying there,  just like she was when Grandma first saw her.  And the little turtle was back to being made of pottery.  But, Grandma trusted Chipeta and all she had said so she bought the little doll and the pottery turtle.  

Then something caught her eye.  There were all sizes and colors of dream catchers hanging above the counter.  “Hmmm,” she said to herself, “I wonder if Maia and Isaac would like one of those?”  Just then, she looked down, and the little doll did a small wink at her.  It was as if Grandma Cathy could hear Chipeta say, “Yes, of course they would.  Your grandchildren must always believe that their dreams can come true, especially when you can’t be there to tell them in person.”  With that, Grandma bought the dream catchers, because that is what hope is all about.

Then Grandma Cathy jumped with a start!  “Oh, no! I hear honking,” said Grandma.  “That Mini Pearl!”  Grandma Cathy ran to the parking lot with her gifts in a sack.  “Mini!  No honking in the parking lot!” she shouted.  Mini just grinned, kinda sheepish.  “I just want to get back to the hotel safely before dark,” said Mini Pearl.  Grandma was not mad anymore, because she knew Mini Pearl always wanted her to be safe. 

“Mini,” she said, “I have two new passengers.  One is a doll named Chipeta for Maia and the other is a turtle for Isaac. And I have two dream catchers, to remind them that their dreams are always important.”  “Very good,” said Mini Pearl.  And off they went, down the road and back over the tall, tall mountain to Grandma Cathy’s house.  

When they got home, Grandma went inside and put Chipeta, the turtle and the dream catchers away for Christmas.  The cats where glad to see Grandma had returned from her trip.  Chaco and Galveston were asleep on back of the couch, but jumped –up kinda startled when Grandma Cathy entered.  Serendipity, who is always afraid to be without Grandma, was so happy she started singing!  And Soksabai rubbed softly against Grandma’s leg.  

“Ok,” said Grandma Cathy, “You all look fine.  But where is Sage?  Oh, no.  Where is Sage?”  Grandma went in her bedroom, still carrying the bag of special presents.  “Oh, great!” she laughed.” Sage had fished every sweater  out of Grandma’s dresser drawer.  “Sage missed me most of all,” though Grandma.  And then Grandma Cathy put those special gifts in a very high drawer, where Sage could not get them, so they would be already to send for Christmas Morning with Maia and Isaac.

The end!