4 The Tiny Turtle

Chapter 4 The Tiny Turtle Carrying their fins and masks, Max and Sofia raced along the beach toward the girl. "Is everything all right?" Sofia asked as they approached her. Sofia leaned over to catch her breath.

The girl shook her head, her thick black braid swaying from shoulder to shoulder. "A baby sea turtle hatched from its nest." She pointed toward a low mesh fence in the sand. Sofia had seen fences like this before. They were noticeable enough to keep people off the nest but flexible enough for the animals that lived there to get in and out. "It's running the wrong way!" the girl said. "I'm trying to lead it to the water before it gets lost." "A baby sea turtle?" Sofia gasped. "Where?" She tiptoed forward, searching the sand. "Here!" said Max. He crouched low to get a better look at the baby turtle, which was only about the length of a stick of bubble gum. Its whole body wobbled back and forth as it scrambled across the sand on its flippers. But the girl was right—it was running for the trees instead of the water! Thinking quickly, Max gently blocked the turtle's

path with a piece of driftwood. Sofia used her foot to scoop a path through the sand. The path sloped downward, straight to the water's edge. "C'mon, little buddy," she said in a soothing voice. "This way." The girl with the braid squatted by the path to help keep the turtle on track. As Max watched in wonder, the turtle began to scurry down the beach, faster and faster, toward the water. "It's working," he said under his breath. "We did it!" When a wave rolled in, the water scooped up the baby turtle, and soon it was swimming safely out to

sea. "Yes!" cried Max. "Yay!" yelled Sofia. She turned to give the girl with the braid a high five. "Thank you," said the girl. "You showed up just in time!" She gave a shy smile. "I'm Laila. My mom and

I live just down the beach. Are you staying here at the hotel?" Sofia glanced up at the Aloha Inn. "Um, no, we're not. I'm Sofia, and this is Max." She pointed toward Max, and then realized he was gone. "Max?" "Over here!" He stood beside the mesh fence, staring down at the turtle nest. It looked like a mound of sand. "Why did only one turtle hatch?" he asked. "There should be dozens of eggs in there. But there's only one set of footprints—er, I mean flipper prints!" Sofia ran to join him. "Maybe it hatched early. My mom told me most sea turtles hatch at night." Max nodded. "I hope the other turtles don't hatch until after the sun sets. They look for the moonlight on the water, and that's how they find their way." Laila cleared her throat. "I don't think hatching tonight would be a good idea at all...," she said. Sofia whirled around. "What do you mean?" Laila twisted her braid around her finger and then pointed at the Aloha Inn. "The inn is having a grand opening party tonight. In a few hours, it will be all lit up!" Max sucked in his breath. "What?" asked Sofia. "What's wrong?"

"The baby turtles might get confused by the hotel lights," said Max. "They'll head away from the water instead of toward it!" He began to pace the length of the mesh fence. "It's called light pollution," he said. "It's one reason why sea turtles are endangered. And why there were so few turtles to see back home in Starry Bay." "So what do we do?" Sofia asked. No one answered. Silence fell over the beach. Beneath the late afternoon sun, waves lapped gently against the shore. Max kicked at the sand with his toe. "I wish there was a way to make the ocean brighter." Laila spun around slowly. "I think I have an idea," she said. As she stared up at the rocky cliffs surrounding the cove, a slow smile spread across her face.