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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Simon invite Maren to attend in Chapter 6?

2. In Chapter 4, when does Clara think that Scarff and O'Neill return?

3. What is Auntie making at the beginning of Chapter 6?

4. When Osbert comes to get the girls for dinner in Chapter 1, how long has Maren been in the water?

5. In Chapter 2, what type of flowers does Osbert knock the heads off from?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 8, what do Auntie and Clara tell Simon when he comes to take Maren to a dance?

2. In Chapter 5, how is Maren changing?

3. In Chapter 7, what has O'Neill sent to Auntie, Clara, and Maren?

4. In Chapter 4, what happens when Maren tells Simon that she wants a pair of gloves at the medicine show?

5. How does Clara describe the caravan that Scarff and O'Neill travel with?

6. In Chapter 9, how does O'Neill send a message and what news does he send?

7. In Chapter 12, why does Clara scold O'Neill for promising Osbert licorice lozenges?

8. In Chapter 1, how is Maren changing?

9. In Chapter 9, who makes a delivery and what do they bring?

10. How does Pilsner fit into the family in Chapter 10?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Maren is becoming a mermaid in the novel. How does Maren feel about becoming a mermaid? Why does O’Neill think that Maren becoming a mermaid is a problem to be fixed? Why does Clara believe that it is Maren’s destiny to become a mermaid? What is Maren’s destiny?

Essay Topic 2

There are several mysteries in the novel: the parentage of Maren, Clara, and O’Neill; the relationship between Auntie and Scarff; and the way that Maren is becoming a mermaid. What mysteries are solved in the book? How are those mysteries solved? What mysteries are left unanswered?

Essay Topic 3

O’Neill and Clara get discouraged, but they also encourage one another to have hope. How do O’Neill and Clara encourage each other? How successful are they in helping one another find hope and optimism in dreadful circumstances?

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