Out at sea thirty dolphins waited anxiously for their leader to arrive. Some of them whispered together in low whistles and clicks. Others stayed silent, scanning the horizon with bright eyes. One little dolphin couldnât keep still. He rolled in the water, butting his sister with his silver head, calling for her to play with him.
âMum,â squeaked Dream crossly. âBubbles is annoying me.â
âHush now,â their mother clicked back. âYour fatherâs coming.â
Bubbles stopped teasing his big sister.
âI see him,â he whistled, his tail smacking the water excitedly. âCan I go and meet him, Mum?â
âNo, darling. You must wait here with everyone else.â
Bubbles bobbed in the water, clicking impatiently, until the large dolphin with a striking yellow blaze along his side drew nearer, then he too fell silent. Spirit, the large dolphin, halted a tailâs length in front of the pod and slowly bowed his magnificent head.
âOur search is over,â he announced. âAt last we have found a new Silver Dolphin.â
An excited whistle rippled from the pod through the water.
âOur new Silver Dolphin is young,â Spirit continued. âShe has much to learn, but she is a very special child and I know she will serve us well. Be kind to her. Help her to fulfil her tasks and in return she will help us.â
âWhen will we meet her?â squeaked Bubbles, the words bursting from his mouth before he could stop them.
Spirit smiled.
âSoon,â he whistled. âVery soon.â
What are Lauren and Becky doing?â
Antonia Lee and her best friend Sophie Hastings were walking across the school field of Sandy Bay Primary after a game of rounders when Antonia suddenly changed direction.
âOh, thatâs mean! Theyâre teasing a frog.â Antonia broke into a run shouting, âLeave it alone. Thatâs cruel.â
Lauren laughed and continued poking the frog with her rounders bat, cheering each time the frog jumped forward.
Angrily Antonia squatted down and scooped the frog into her hands.
âThatâs Laurenâs frog,â said Becky, stepping towards her. âSheâs teaching it to jump.â
âYouâre cruel,â said Antonia hotly. âHow would you like to be poked with a rounders bat?â
âEeewww, thatâs gross! Sheâs touching it.â Lauren backed away. âCome on, Becky. Game over.â
Antonia cradled the frog in her hands. Its lumpy brown body quivered with fright and its eyes bulged with uncertainty.
âIâm going to put him in the school pond,â she told Sophie. âWill you come with me?â
Sophie sighed. âYou like all animals, donât you, even the ugly ones?â
âNot all animals,â Antonia grinned cheekily. âPeople are animals too, but I donât like Lauren and Becky.â
âBeckyâs all right when you get to know her,â said Sophie unexpectedly. âShe comes to one of Dadâs art classes.â
Sophieâs father was an artist who ran classes from his studio. When she wasnât busy daydreaming Sophie helped him out, setting up easels and handing round paintbrushes.
âPlease will you come to the pond with me?â Antonia changed the subject, not wanting to argue.
âOf course Iâll come.â
âWeâll have to be quick. Weâve got afternoon assembly next because a visitorâs coming in to tell us who won the poster competition.â
Carefully Antonia carried the frog to the pond and left it on the waterâs edge in the shade of some reeds. When she and Sophie returned to class, 5B were changing out of their PE kits and back into school uniform. Miss Brown frowned.
âWhere have you two been? Donât tell me, you stopped to have a chat. Hurry up, girls, or youâll make us all late.â
Antonia changed quickly, trying not to be the last to line up at the door. When everyone was ready Miss Brown led the class along to the hall. As Antonia filed in, she stared curiously at the woman sitting next to their head teacher. The visitor had a faraway look on her face as if she was thinking about something special.
âShe looks like a sea witch,â whispered Sophie dramatically. âOh, poo! Thereâs no room to sit together.â
The visitor had wild brown hair and seaweed-green clothes, but Antonia thought her face was too kind to belong to a witch. She stifled a giggle as Sophie, pulling faces, reluctantly started a new line. When the whole school was assembled the woman stood up, smiling broadly so that her green eyes disappeared into her wrinkled face.
âGood afternoon, children. My name is Claudia Neal and Iâm responsible for arranging the poster competition youâve all entered. The competition was held to launch Sea Watch. Itâs a local charity involved in marine conservation and animal rescue, and Iâm hoping that some of you might volunteer to help with it. There are many things to do at Sea Watch and lots of injured birds and animals to look after. Iâd be thrilled if some of you could come along. But right now Iâm going to tell you the winners of the competition.â