Qualenya, the sting ray mermaid of Florida’s Gulf Coast

Qualenya

Long ago there was a boy who lived with his fisherman uncle in Florida. The uncle was very cruel and made the boy clean fish all day long and never let him play with any friends. Then one day the boy was emptying a bucket of fish and he heard a voice say “If you spare me, I will grant you any wish.” It was coming from a sting ray. The boy took the sting ray to the water’s edge where it transformed into a beautiful girl with the wings and tail of a ray. She told him her name was Qualenya, the queen of the sting rays. Before  swimming away she handed him a golden shell with which to call her for his wish. That night his uncle asked the boy to bring the ray inside to prepare for dinner. When the boy told him he had released it, the uncle got very angry. He chased the boy out of the house and down to the shore. The boy took out the golden shell and blew inside it. Immediately, Qualenya appeared and the boy asked her to take him far away. He climbed onto her back and they swam together down the Florida coast, followed by all the other rays. He never saw his cruel uncle or cleaned another fish again. Every year all of the rays in Florida make this same journey to celebrate the boy who saved their queen.