9 The Hungry Puffling

Chapter 9 The Hungry Puffling As Sofia crouched behind the rocky ridge, she studied the

sky, watching for puffins. The Puffin Patrol had spent the afternoon cleaning up the burrows. While most of the puffins were away fishing for food, the patrol had carefully picked up trash from the grassy mounds. No matter what happens, we tried to help the pufflings, Sofia reminded herself. We did what we could! "What time is it?" she asked Max for the third time. "Time for dinner—finally," he said. He pointed at the puffin landing on the burrows. As it waddled forward, a floppy fish swung from its beak. "Mmm, delicious," said Max. "No more plastic fish!" Sofia crossed her fingers, hoping she might recognize the puffling they'd seen earlier. As more birds returned from the sea, she waited. Then a flutter of wings caught her by surprise. A puffin landed a few feet away and dropped two juicy fish in front of a burrow. "Those are herring!" whispered Agnes. "What a tasty meal for the puffling." "But where is it?" asked Sofia, straining to see. When she heard a cheep, she held her breath. As the puffling popped out of the hole, Sofia grinned. Just like the others, the fuzzy-headed chick had a dark gray beak and feet, with none of its mother's bright colors. But it was so cute! It cheeped again and then began to

gobble up its dinner. "Yes!" whispered Sofia. "We saved the beached whale and cleaned up the puffin burrows." We did what we came here to do, she realized, her heart swelling with joy and pride. As more puffins landed among the burrows, Max spotted one bird that wasn't a puffin. He nudged Sofia. "Look!" The seagull landed on a rock and stared at them, bobbing its sleek white head. "Our gull!" whispered Sofia. Max nodded. "It must be time to go." "You're right," said Agnes with a sigh. She stood up. "It's getting late."

"But we did well!" said Gunnar, hoisting a full recycling bag. "Now we just have to keep the burrows clean." "And the beaches, too," said Gefn. She linked arms with Sofia. "Can you and Max help us clean the beach tomorrow?" Sofia sighed. "I wish we could! But I think we're leaving tonight." As she glanced at the gull, it seemed to agree. It flapped its wings and flew over the edge of the cliff, toward the water below.

Agnes patted the badge on Sofia's sleeve. "Well, you'll always be members of our Puffin Patrol." She gave Sofia a sweet smile. On the hike back to the beach, Max kept one eye on the rocky trail and one eye on the sea. Is our beluga out there? he wondered. Will the whales and puffins be safer now that the Puffin Patrol is working on the plastic problem? He hoped so. A short while later, he and Sofia were hugging their new friends and wading back out to Wind Rider. As they stood on the deck, waving goodbye to the Puffin Patrol, Sofia glanced at her badge. You'll always be members of our Puffin Patrol, Agnes had said. The memory made Sofia smile. Max heard the creak of the anchor lifting. The sails unfurled, and Wind Rider moved slowly away from shore. Then he spotted something in the waves below. "Whales!" Sofia joined him at the bow just as a beluga lifted its head. It whistled and sent a spray of water sky-high. Sofia laughed as she wiped the mist from her face. "That whale is swimming so close!" she said. When Max saw the dark scar above the whale's blowhole, his heart leaped. "It's our whale," he said. "The one we saved!"

As the whale surfaced again, Sofia studied its friendly face. It let out an excited squeal, and Sofia did, too. "It is our whale!" The other whales let out a chorus of chirps and squeaks. One rolled in the water, showing off its belly. Another slapped its tail against the waves. "Maybe they came to say thank you," said Sofia. "Maybe," said Max. "Or to say goodbye." When a brisk wind nudged him off-balance, he reached for the rail, ready for the journey back to Starry Bay. And as the helm began to spin, he squeezed his eyes shut. He felt Sofia beside him, bracing against the gusty wind.