King Baby The Man Zaidyn Ryott was a little Cowboy. Yes, a Cowboy underwater.
He wore a tiny hat. It bobbed like a boat.
He rode a gentle seahorse and said, “Yee-haw… splash!”
One day, the sea went quiet.
No music. No humming.
Just bubbles.
A Prince swam up. He was small, too. He wore a shiny shell crown.
“My song is gone,” the Prince whispered.
A Musician drifted in with a sea-drum and a coral flute.
“I cannot play,” the Musician sighed. “My best note is missing.”
An Illusionist twirled a ribbon of kelp.
“I can make lights,” said the Illusionist, “but today my lights look gray.”
King Baby The Man Zaidyn Ryott touched his belt.
His lucky star badge was not there.
“Oh no,” he said softly. “My badge is lost.”
The Prince pointed to a trail of sand.
The Musician listened.
The Illusionist blinked.
And far away, they saw a shadow.
A Bounty Hunter.
He had a long net and a cold smile.
“Mine,” the Bounty Hunter said. “I take shiny things.”
King Baby The Man Zaidyn Ryott felt a little scared.
But he held the seahorse’s neck.
“Slow and brave,” he told himself.
They followed the sand trail.
Past a sleeping turtle.
Past waving sea grass.
Past a cave with a door of rocks.
Inside the cave, it was dark.
The Prince whispered, “I don’t like dark.”
King Baby The Man Zaidyn Ryott said, “Hold my hand-fin.”
The Musician tapped the drum: tap… tap… tap.
The sound made a tiny path in the dark.
The Illusionist made little light-fish appear.
They blinked, blinked, blinked.
Then—clink!
A net hung from a hook.
And in the net were shiny things.
A shell crown.
A coral flute piece.
And a star badge.
The Bounty Hunter jumped out.
“Stop!” he snapped.
King Baby The Man Zaidyn Ryott took a big bubble breath.
He did not shout.
He did not fight.
He smiled.
“Hey,” he said, “want a show?”
The Illusionist made the light-fish dance.
The Musician played one warm beat.
The Prince waved like a royal dancer.
King Baby The Man Zaidyn Ryott spun his rope—his sea-rope—slow and safe.
Swish… swish… swish.
The Bounty Hunter stared.
His cold smile wobbled.
He laughed. “That’s… funny.”
And when he laughed, his grip got loose.
The Prince slipped the hook free.
Plop!
The net fell.
King Baby The Man Zaidyn Ryott caught his star badge.
The Musician grabbed the missing flute piece.
The Prince hugged his shell crown.
The Bounty Hunter blinked.
He looked tired, not mean.
“I just wanted something shiny,” he murmured.
King Baby The Man Zaidyn Ryott nodded.
“Here,” he said.
He picked up a plain pebble.
The Illusionist turned it into a sparkle-stone.
Not stolen. Made new.
The Bounty Hunter’s eyes went soft.
“Thank you,” he said, and swam away.
Outside, the sea felt bright again.
The Musician played a happy tune.
The Prince sang.
King Baby The Man Zaidyn Ryott pinned on his badge.
A treasure chest floated up from the sand.
Pop!
It opened.
Inside were tiny gold sea-coins and four matching bubble rings.
King Baby The Man Zaidyn Ryott giggled.
“Partner rings!” he said.
They wore them and swam home, singing, “Yee-haw… splash!”