Chapter 4

4 "Any ideas on where we might find… um, smart fish?" Zoe asked. "No ideas whatsoever," Grace admitted with a shrug. Sofia was about to say that unfortunately she didn't know, either, when she felt a gentle tugging

on her paw. Her bracelet! The shell was glowing. Zoe also noticed it. "Looks like you're the one to guide us this time, Sofia!" she said. "Listen to the shell. It will tell you where to go." Sofia brought the shell to her ear. A small voice began to speak. "The smart fish live in the lagoon. I will guide you there." Sofia had often listened to shells at the beach. But she had never heard a voice coming from one before! Sofia flapped her wings and began heading for the glade's protective barrier. "Follow me!" she called to her friends. "We're going to the lagoon." Soon the three Sea Dragons were back in the Magic Forest, winding through the thick foliage. Sofia kept an eye out for Fire Sparks. She had a feeling they were lurking close, watching them. Luckily, none appeared. The shell did as it had promised, and before long Sofia, Grace, and Zoe were at the lagoon where Sofia had first arrived.

"Wow!" Grace breathed. "This place is amazing." "Magical," Zoe agreed. Sofia hovered on the spot and looked around. She was happy her friends loved the lagoon as much as she did. And the lagoon looked even better than it had before. The light from the setting sun struck the tall cliffs, making them shine like gold. The water swirled with bright pinks, rich purples, and refreshing blues. The waterfall looked as though it was made from crystal, the water tinkling like musical notes as it flowed down. Sofia smiled. Her friends were right: This was clearly a magical place. "Hey, what was that?" Grace pointed to the middle of the lagoon. "Something jumped out." "I didn't see any—" Sofia started to say. But as she spoke, a flash of neon leapt out of the water. As it came back down, it belly flopped

onto the surface with a loud THWACK! A moment later, there were many more flashes. "They're little fish!" exclaimed Zoe. "Maybe they're the ones we're looking for?" Sofia nodded. "Could be. Let's go over and find out." She was curious to discover what they were doing. The belly flops looked painful. The Sea Dragons flew over the water until they were directly above the leaping fish. "Excuse me, are you the smart fish?" Sofia called. But the fish did not seem to hear her. "Maybe it's easier if we dive in and speak to them underwater," Grace suggested. "Good idea," Zoe said. She and Grace promptly dove into the water. Sofia dove, too, but she couldn't resist doing a quick somersault on her way down. She plunged through the smooth surface of the water, feeling the bubbles against her scales. The moment she

came to a stop, she found herself surrounded by little shimmery fish! "That was a great dive," one of them said. "Can you teach us?" another fish asked eagerly. "We've been trying to teach ourselves, but we can't get it right." For a moment, Sofia was too surprised to speak. She had never been asked to teach a fish how to dive before!

"She can teach you," Zoe said, swimming over, "but first, we have a question. Are you the smart fish?" The fish swished their glimmering tails. "We are!" they said proudly. "We are very, very smart. And that's why we must learn how to dive." Grace frowned. "Why does being smart mean you must learn how to dive?" "We are still in school," explained one of the little creatures. "Don't most fish swim in schools?" Sofia asked. It was all very puzzling. The fish swished their tails again. "Yes, but we want to be in college! And to get into Lagoon College, you have to pass a diving test. We might be smart, but we're no good at diving." Zoe gave Sofia a look. "Do you think you can teach them?" she asked in a low voice. "I only said yes because I was hoping they'd help us with our quest. But I'm not sure how hard it will be." Sofia shrugged. "I'm happy to try!"