There once was a very small Mercow (we shall call him Gordon) who lived in the sea with his mercow brethren.

One day Gordon ventured too far from the gentle grazing lands at the bottom of the sea, and drifted all the way to Santa Barbara. As the novel sights and sounds of the sea distracted him, he was caught by surprise and found himself stuck in a great sticky glob of tar. Trapped in the sticky mess, he washed up on shore and there he remained till Suman came across the sticky sea-bovine and freed him with the aid of a special tar solvent. Gordon was overjoyed, and as a token of his gratitude, he allowed Suman to remember the occasion, as Mercows have the magical power to erase memories (and they usually do).

For this is the reason Mercows have remained secret and undiscovered, but it came to pass that Suman recorded little Gordon in a drawing, and then a painting, and as that painting gained National Recognition, a great many people began to ponder the existence of the elusive Mercow. And so the President of the World assembled a great fleet of submarines to find them. They scoured the oceans of the world and drove the Mercows, at last, into the Marianas Trench. And in that trench, the poor creatures assembled a great council to find a solution to the problem. After much consideration, it was decided that Gordon would be sent to seek the advice of the Great Benevolent Sea Serpent, for it was he who had broken the Mercow Code (by allowing Suman to retain her memory).

Now, the Great Benevolent Sea Serpent lived in the deepest chasm of the Marianas Trench, and was a friend to all living creatures. So, as Gordon approached the Great Sea Serpent’s home, he heard a wise and kindly voice echo through the trench, “Who has come to seek my advice?”

“Oh! It is I, Gordon- I have come to seek your advice, for my people have been driven here by the President’s great fleets of submarines, and we wish once again to be free to wander at leisure.”

Then, the Great Sea Serpent said, “Well then. You must create a diversion, and distract the world. That is the only way.”

Gordon thought and thought. He thought and he thought for a great long time. And he came to the conclusion that he must distract the fleet in some manner so they would leave the Mercows in peace.

And so, Gordon built a flying machine. And he built it out of shells and seaweed. And he launched it out of the Marianas Trench, past the waiting fleets, and high into the heavens. And the President of the World gazed at it in awe (and so did all of the submarines) and thereafter decided to pour his efforts into the investigation of UFO’s. And the Mercows were finally forgotten by all. Except for one girl from Palo Alto. THE END