In a warm, sunny land by the big, blue sea, lived a queen named Cassiopeia. She was very beautiful, and she knew it! Maybe a little *too* much. One day, she boasted, "I am even more beautiful than the Nereids, the lovely sea spirits who swim in the sparkling waves!"

Uh oh. Those sea spirits had a very powerful friend, the god of the sea, Poseidon. He got so cross when he heard Cassiopeia's boast! He decided to teach her a lesson. So, he sent a huge, scary sea monster with big teeth and a swishy tail to splash and crash all over the kingdom. The monster, called Cetus, scared everyone and wrecked the fishing boats.

The King, Cepheus, and Queen Cassiopeia were very worried. They asked a wise old oracle, "What can we do to stop this terrible monster?"

The oracle looked very serious and said, "To make the sea god happy and send the monster away, you must give your daughter, Princess Andromeda, to Cetus."

Oh, how sad! Poor Andromeda. Her parents loved her very much and didn't want to do it, but they felt they had no choice to save their people. So, with heavy hearts, they took Princess Andromeda to a big, tall rock by the churning ocean and chained her there, waiting for the scary monster. She was very brave, but a little tear trickled down her cheek as she saw the waves getting bigger.

Just then, whoosh! A brave hero named Perseus came flying through the sky. He had special winged sandals that let him soar like a bird! He had just finished a very tricky adventure involving a snake-haired lady called Medusa, whose gaze could turn people to stone.

Perseus looked down and saw the beautiful princess chained to the rock, with a giant, shadowy shape moving towards her in the water. It was Cetus!

Perseus landed right away. "What's happening?" he asked the worried people on the shore.
When he heard the story, he turned to King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia. "If I save your daughter from the monster," he said, "will you let me marry her?"

"Yes, yes, of course!" they cried, overjoyed that there might be hope.

So, as the monster roared and opened its giant mouth, showing rows of pointy teeth, Perseus flew towards it. He was very clever. He took out the head of Medusa, which he carried in a special bag. He made sure Andromeda closed her eyes, then he showed Medusa's face to Cetus.

Instantly, the huge, writhing sea monster turned into a giant stone statue in the sea! It couldn't move or cause trouble ever again.

Perseus quickly unchained Andromeda. She was so happy and thankful! Everyone in the kingdom cheered and celebrated. They decided to have a big party, a wedding party for Perseus and Andromeda.

But wait! There was a little bit more trouble. Andromeda's uncle, Phineus, had been promised he could marry her before all the monster trouble started. He stomped into the wedding party with his friends, looking very angry. "She was supposed to marry me!" he shouted, and a fight began.

Perseus didn't want any more fighting at his wedding. He sighed, then once again, he carefully took out Medusa's head. "Everyone who is my friend, look away!" he called. His friends and Andromeda covered their eyes. Zap! Phineus and his grumpy friends also turned into stone statues.

Well, after *that* bit of excitement, the party could finally go on properly. Perseus and Andromeda got married, and they were very happy. They flew off on many more adventures together. And Queen Cassiopeia? She learned it’s good to be proud of how you look, but maybe not *too* proud, especially when powerful sea gods might be listening!

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