6 The Smiling Fish

Chapter 6 The Smiling Fish Sofia took another step toward the beached whale. She had never stood beside such a large animal. But she knew

what she had to do. "It's okay, whale. I'm going to help you," she whispered. As she reached out a hand to stroke the whale's smooth, slippery skin, it let out a high-pitched squeal. "I'm sorry," Sofia whispered, pulling her hand away. "I won't hurt you." She reached slowly for the bag, careful not to spook the whale again. She stood on tiptoe, the sand sinking beneath her feet. Could she get the bag without leaning on the frightened whale? "Take my hand!" she said to Max. He gripped one of her hands as she reached for the plastic bag with the other. She wobbled once, twice... then clutched the plastic bag with her fingertips. "Got it!" Relief flooded through her chest. The whale seemed to calm down, too. Its sides rose gently as it took a long, deep breath. "Nice work!" said Agnes, her cheeks flushed. But as Sofia glanced down at the bag in her hands, she gasped. "Bay Fish Grill? That's the restaurant in Starry Bay!"

"No way. Let me see." Max stared at the Bay Fish Grill logo, and the smiling fish stared back. "Yep, I'd know that face anywhere," he said with a groan. "Bay Fish Grill is a chain of restaurants, so this might not be from Starry Bay. But it definitely traveled across the ocean to get here." Agnes sighed. "Iceland banned plastic bags like this," she said. "But we can't control what gets into the sea from other countries." "I'm sorry," said Sofia, gazing back at the whale. "Sorry to you, and sorry to the puffins who are feeding plastic to their babies." Then she began to pace, leaving a trail of footprints in the sand. "We have to get this whale back out to sea. But it's too heavy to push or pull. What do we do?" "Keep it wet!" Gunnar said, tucking his walkie-talkie into his pocket. "My friends say the vet wants us to keep the whale wet so that it stays cool and its skin doesn't dry

out. Then we need to dig a channel beside it. When the tide comes in, the channel will fill with water and the whale can swim back out to sea." Agnes sighed. "How will we keep the whale wet? We don't have hoses or anything to carry water in!" "Wait!" said Sofia, sliding the backpack off her shoulder. "Will these work?" She tugged the towels out of the pack. "Yes!" said Agnes, brightening at once. "Hand me one." Together, they rushed toward the surf to wet the towels. As Sofia carefully placed the first wet towel on the whale's back, she held her breath—waiting for the whale to squeal again or pull away. Instead, it chirped softly and relaxed its head onto the sand. "That feels good, doesn't it?" Sofia whispered. Max zipped open his own backpack, and soon all four kids were laying cool wet towels across the whale's back, steering clear of its blowhole. "Time to dig the trench?" said Max. "If only we had shovels..." He shot Sofia a grin and then reached for his backpack. "Oh, wait! We do have shovels!"

"Wow!" said Agnes, laughing. "You two are very prepared." It's easy to be prepared when you've got a magical sailboat, thought Max, as he dug at the sand beside the whale. It knew just what we needed.

Sofia began to dig, too, while Gunnar and Agnes made sure the towels on the whale's back stayed wet. The damp black sand was heavy, though, and hard to lift with the shovel. When Sofia stopped for a break, Agnes held out her hand. "My turn," she offered. "Thanks!" said Sofia, handing over the shovel. As she stepped away from the whale, it watched her with wise dark eyes. "You know we're trying to help you, don't you?" said Sofia soothingly. "You seem awfully smart." "Beluga whales are very smart," said Gunnar as he reached for Max's shovel. "Just like dolphins. They're in the same family." Sofia nodded. "I've read that they're really social, too." "And chatty," Max reminded her. "Remember how they were squawking, chirping, and whistling when we first saw them out at sea? They were communicating with each other—and maybe with us, too!" Sofia smiled, remembering. Then she glanced over her shoulder at the waves, where she hoped the pod of whales was still waiting. "When the tide comes in, you'll be free," she said, turning back toward the whale. "You can go join your family." But as the waves lapped against the shore, the whale