The Star Jewels by Abbie Farwell Brown
The Star Jewels tells how Wavilocks, a spoiled little mermaid and daughter of Triton, becomes dissatisfied with her splendid pearl necklace after seeing the diamond stars in the sky. Though she has a coral home, toys, sea-creature pets, sea-horses, and finer pearls than any other mermaid, she demands a necklace made from stars. Neptune forbids her even to think of the stars, declaring that such jewels belong only to the Sky Queen, but Wavilocks continues to sulk and cry. The wicked Sea Crab, once a sky-dweller and cousin to the Big Crab who guards the stars, overhears her wish. Having been cast into the sea for trying to steal stars before, he persuades Wavilocks to climb a silver moonbeam staircase with him to the sky. Riding on his back, she reaches the sky-land and gathers star jewels into a conch shell while the Crab helps her rob the treasure. The Big Crab discovers them and pursues them with snapping claws and fiery breath. As they flee, the Sea Crab’s shell melts, Wavilocks’ green hair is scorched, and the Big Crab tears away her pearl necklace, scattering its pearls among the stars. They tumble down the staircase into the sea. The Sea Crab, shriveled, shell-less, and helpless, becomes the Hermit Crab, condemned to hide in borrowed shells. Wavilocks cuts off her ugly brown hair and loses both her pearls and her hope of wearing a necklace. When she examines the stolen stars she has carried safely down, she finds that they have changed into living, wriggling star-fish, the first in the ocean. Horrified, she throws them away and returns weeping to Triton, who comforts her. The sea-stars remain colored like jewels but gaze upward through the water toward the sky from which they came, all because Wavilocks was too greedy to be content with her happiness.
By Abbie Farwell Brown · First published 1907 · Genre: Fairy Tale, Children's Literature, Mythological Fantasy · 3,788 words
First lines
Once upon a time there was a little mermaid who lived down at the bottom of the sea in a cave of pink coral. Her cheeks were as pink as the coral itself; her teeth were like a row of the pearls which hung around her neck; and her hair -- which was very long and wavy -- was as green as the greenest seaweed you ever saw. And though green hair sounds strange to us, it was accounted a mermaid's greatest beauty. Her name was Wavilocks. Also she had instead of two rosy feet a funny little scaly tail with which she steered herself through the water. She was a famous swimmer.
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Genres
- Fairy Tale — The story uses a traditional 'Once upon a time' opening, magical beings, an enchanted journey, supernatural punishment, and a clear moral about greed, obedience, and contentment.
- Children's Literature — Its simple, vivid narration, direct moral instruction, fanciful imagery, and focus on a childlike protagonist make it designed for young readers.
- Mythological Fantasy — It incorporates Triton, Neptune, a sky kingdom, magical celestial jewels, and invented supernatural explanations within a mythic sea-world.
- Etiological Tale — The narrative explains the supposed origins of hermit crabs, starfish, brown seaweed-like strands, and pearls visible among the stars.
Tags
fairy tale · children's literature · mermaids · undersea kingdom · mythological fantasy · Triton · Neptune · moonbeam staircase · sky realm · stars · starfish origin myth · hermit crab origin myth
What this Textopian page supports
The Star Jewels is listed on Textopian as a short story by Abbie Farwell Brown, dated 1907 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Abbie Farwell Brown
- Date: 1907 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Fairy Tale, Children's Literature, Mythological Fantasy, Etiological Tale, Moral Tale
- Length: 3,788 words
- Structure: 1 section, 54 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Star Jewels by Abbie Farwell Brown
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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