From SECRET KINGDOM #4: MERMAID REEF "What's going on?" Ellie cried. The girls watched nervously as the water started to churn in front of them, foaming and frothing as something large and dark rose up out of the depths. Suddenly a huge green head appeared out of the water. Ellie and Jasmine gasped in fear and squeezed their eyes shut, but Summer broke out in a grin. "Look!" she cried, pointing at the animal's face. The creature blinked at them with sparkling brown eyes and gave them a lazy smile. "This isn't a rock we're standing on--it's the back of a gigantic sea turtle!" "A lift from a friendly turtle is the only way to get to Mermaid Reef!" Trixi said. The little pixie tapped her ring and a stream of purple bubbles shot out of it, flying all around the girls in a whirlwind, then bursting over their heads and showering them with purple glitter. "Hold on tight!" Trixi called, pointing to the top of the turtle's shell, where there was a ridge they could grab on to. "One...two..." "Trixi, wait!" Jasmine cried. "We can't breathe underwater!" But it was too late. "Three!" Trixi called, tapping her ring once more, and with a great lurch the huge turtle dived deep into the sea.

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Excerpted from Secret Kingdom #4: Mermaid Reef by Rosie Banks
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