Sea Fairies

L. Frank Baum (1856–1919) was an American writer, a classic of children’s literature, and the creator of the magical land of Oz—adventures in which begin in the book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” In Russia, he is widely known for Alexander Volkov’s retelling, “The Wizard of the Emerald City,” published under his name with reference to the original. “Sea Fairies” is Frank Baum’s children’s fantasy novel. Oceans are vast and wide. I think two thirds of the Earth’s surface are covered by water. People on land have always been curious about who lives in these depths. Sometimes unusual creatures come up from the sea, and maybe there is still much more in the marine depths that mortal eyes have never seen. This story is fictional. In it, the inhabitants of the sea speak and act like we do, and mermaids are very much like the fairies we’ve known for a long time. But they are still real sea dwellers, and everyone except the magician Zog must stay in the depths of the oceans.

I was told that many scientists deny the existence of mermaids or sea snakes, but it’s hard for them to prove such claims if they haven’t lived underwater—like Trot and Captain Bill did in this story. I hope that readers who have been following Dorothy’s adventures in Oz will be just as interested in the equally captivating events in Trot’s life. The ocean has always seemed like a magical country to me, and this story was inspired by letters from many of my young correspondents. Very many children asked me to “write something about mermaids,” and I gladly fulfill their request.

Hollywood, 1911. Frank Baum