One day, the family was going to the beach.

During the car ride there, Calvin told Hobbes, "I love going to the beach! Swimming is my favourite."

"I just hope I finally manage to find a mertiger!" whispered Hobbes.

Calvin blinked. "What's a mertiger?"

So Hobbes explained, "A mertiger is kind of like a tiger, only she had pink fur and a green mermaid tail. Only very few people in the world have ever found one in the last century!"

But Calvin refused to believe Hobbes, for he was certain that mertigers weren't real.

When they finally got to the beach, Hobbes put on a wetsuit, some flippers and a glass helmet.

"What are you doing?" Calvin asked.

"I'm preparing myself to go and search for the mertiger," Hobbes explained. "I even got some equipment for you, Calvin."

Calvin still refused to believe Hobbes.

"Hobbes, there's no such thing as mertigers," Calvin explained.

"There is!" replied Hobbes. "A lot of people say they've seen it!"

Calvin glared at Hobbes.

The tiger sighed. "OK, they claim they've seen a mertiger, they just don't have any proof. I still think it would be nice to find one."

"OK, then," said Calvin, "let's prove it. I'll go with you and if we don't see a mertiger, you owe me a dollar. If we do see a mertiger, I'll pay you a dollar."

"Got it," Hobbes replied. "Now put this on."

So Calvin and Hobbes put on their equipment and walked down the beach.

"Hey, maybe if we're lucky, we can ride some sharks," Calvin suggested.

On the beach, a man had just finished putting his umbrella up when he saw a boy wearing a glass helmet, a small wetsuit and some flippers, and he was carrying a stuffed tiger wearing the same thing. The man watched in surprise as the boy carried the tiger into the sea. They continued walking into the ocean until they disappeared beneath the waves. The man rubbed his eyes. "Huh?"

Calvin and Hobbes continued walking into the water until they were completely under the water. They decided to have a look around. There no sign of a mertiger. Just a bunch of rubbish.

"Don't they ever clean the ocean?" Calvin asked.

Hobbes ignored him. "Let's go and find that mertiger!"

The pair of them swam off and their quest began!