The Mystery in the Bottle Author:Val Willis, John Shelley (Illustrator) Bobby finds a mermaid and takes her to the school swim meet, with humorous results. — When his parents take him to the beach, Bobby Bell finds a mysterious bottle in the water that appears to contain a tiny mermaid. He takes the bottle home and frees the mermaid into his bathroom sink, but she grows too large and has to be moved to the bathtub. W... more »hen he finds out he is to compete in a swim race at school, he brings the re-shrunk mermaid and secretly releases her into the pool, where she grows back to full size. She helps his team win the race, but when he gets in trouble for cheating she turns the school swimming pool into an underwater wonderland full of fish, ocean floor creatures, dolphins, and finally Neptune. Neptune awards Bobby a silver cup, and then it all magically disappears.« less