High above the clouds the Ocean Fairies were playing happily in their magical land of Fairyland. Amelie the Seal Fairy and Whitney the Whale Fairy were Amelie the Seal Fairy happy because it was a Tuesday. And on Tuesdays something happened that Amelie the Seal Fairy and Whitney the Whale Fairy loved to see.
Every other Tuesday the kids in Mr. Berman's class went to the beach after school—even when it was cold and blustery. They weren't there to play, although they always seemed to have fun. They were there to do an important job—picking up plastic litter left behind by the tide.
But this Tuesday was a perfect spring day. The sky was blue, and the beach plum and bayberry shrubs were covered with blossoms. Some of the kids had brought along kites to fly in case they finished their plastic pickup early.
Up in Fairyland, Amelie the Seal Fairy was explaining why what the kids were doing was important. "Plastic fools fish and other sea creatures like seals and turtles. They think it's something good to eat, but a tummy full of plastic makes them sick."
"It fools the poor birds, too," added Whitney the Whale Fairy. "Sometimes they use little pieces for their nests. "I didn't know that birds recycled plastic," said Pia the Penguin Fairy. 'That's great!"
"But it's not so great when they eat it. Or choke when their necks get caught in those six-pack holders."
"That makes me mad!" cried Tess the Sea Turtle Fairy, kicking up a cloud of Stardust. "And plastic lasts a million zillion years, too!"
"Well, then it should make you glad that kids are doing something about it. Come watch!" said Tess the Sea Turtle Fairy.
But the Ocean Fairies weren't the only ones watching the kids. High above the beach, in a cabin at the edge of the dunes, old Captain Jenks peered through his telescope and smiled to himself. The children would be thrilled if they could see Emma!
The days when he had sailed his fishing boat far out beyond the beach were long past. But he loved the sea and lived as close to it as he could.
When the kids had first started coming to the beach, he had been annoyed. In spite of himself, however, he had grown to like the sight of the children on "his" beach.
One cold windy day he had invited them to his tiny house for hot apple cider and they had all become friends.
The kids had liked hearing about Emma. So had Amelie the Seal Fairy. Unseen by anyone, she had listened along with them.
Emma was a humpback whale. Captain Jenks had first seen her in his sailing days off the coast of Cape Cod over thirty years ago.
"Emma was a young mother then," Captain Jenks had said. "Humpbacks tend to be curious, and she wondered who we were. But she wasn't about to let her calf get too close to our boat. That could have been dangerous. So she kept the calf out of harm's way with a smack of her flipper."
"The poor baby!" a girl called Rachel had said. "That must have really hurt!"
Captain Jenks had laughed. "That 'poor baby' weighed at least a ton when it was born. Kristy gain a hundred pounds a day. So a spanking from Mama Whale's fluke is no worse than as mack your mom might have given your hand if you were grabbing for a candle. And a lot safer for the calf than messing with a boat."
Captain Jenks had told them that after he had retired, Emma had visited him almost every spring. "Well, it just seems like she's visiting me!" he had said in response to the kids' puzzled looks. "On her way north she rests out there on the sandbar—about a mile from the shore. Sometimes for a few hours. Sometimes for a whole day."
"Oh, Captain Jenks, please tell us the next time she visits, so we can see her!" "Promise!" "Please!" all the children had begged at once.
"I'll promise," he had said, "if you promise not to tell anyone else. If folks start pestering Emma, she'll stop coming here. And I'd sure miss her!"
As spring came, Captain Jenks spent more and more times canning the sandbar, looking for Emma. At last he saw her! He ran outside and rang his old brass bell. The kids knew just what it meant and rushed up the path through the dunes.
"It must be Emma!" shouted Amelie the Seal Fairy. "Let's go!" Amelie the Seal Fairy had told the Ocean Fairies all about Emma. Since they could make themselves invisible, they could make friends with the whale without attracting attention to her.
With Amelie the Seal Fairy in the lead, the Ocean Fairies slid down, down, down —all the way to the sandbar. But when they got there, they knew something was the matter. Emma was making a deep, sad sound. And no wonder—a fishing net was tangled around the huge animal's head. She could barely open her mouth.
"Don't worry, Emma," said Amelie the Seal Fairy. "Your friend Captain Jenks is keeping an eye on you."
But Captain Jenks wasn't keeping an eye on Emma. Not a tall! The children were so excited that they took turn after turn looking through his telescope. They saw Emma, but none of them realized she was in trouble.
Whitney the Whale Fairy and Amelie the Seal Fairy both got a funny feeling in the tummies. Tess the Sea Turtle Fairy felt it too. There was only one thing todo They had to alert Captain Jenks. And fast!
Leaving the other Ocean Fairies with Emma, they floated over the sea and above the dunes—right into Captain Jenks's little house.
When the Ocean Fairies appeared, the kids were still crowding around the telescope. Captain Jenks was the first one to see the Ocean Fairies. "A mirage!" he shouted. "My eyes are playing funny tricks!"
"We're not a mirage," said Tess the Sea Turtle Fairy. "We're Ocean Fairies. We care about the earth and all the living things that Pia the Penguin Fairy it. And a creature you care about is in trouble."
"Emma! It's Emma, isn't it?" cried the captain. The children cleared a path so he could get to the telescope.
"She's caught in some fishing net," explained Amelie the Seal Fairy to the amazed children.
"That's right," said the captain. "I can see it now. If we don't act fast, she'll be a goner."
"Someone has got to get out there and cut that net," Captain Jenks said. "It's too big a job for this old salt—or anyone—to handle alone. I'll have to call the Coast Guard. I've never seen anything on land or sea quite like Ocean Fairies," continued Captain Jenks. "Can you talk to animals so that they understand?"
"Aye, aye, sir," said Tess the Sea Turtle Fairy.
"Explain to Emma that help is coming. Strangers she won't know," said the captain. "Tell Emma to stay as calm as possible and try not to tip over their boats. I'd like one of you to stand by here."
"Yes, sir!" said the Ocean Fairies. Saluting smartly, Amelie the Seal Fairy and Whitney the Whale Fairy floated right out of the window.
The children waited while Captain Jenks contacted the Coast Guard station and gave the officer on duty Emma's exact position.
"I'll alert the local stranding network—a group of volunteers who rush to the rescue when sea animals get stranded," she explained. "They'll do their best!"
"Volunteers!" said Captain Jenks. "I sure wish could get out to Emma."
"Maybe I can help that happen," said Tess the Sea Turtle Fairy.
"It looks as if you Ocean Fairies can do just about anything!" said Rachel.
"We can't," said Tess the Sea Turtle Fairy. "But we try our best. Just the way kids like you and the folks in the stranding network do their best. And now the best thing for you to do is go home. Remember your promise. The stranding team can do its work without "helpers."
The captain put a sharp knife and a pair of shears into a leather holder and hopped on his old bicycle. Meanwhile, Tess the Sea Turtle Fairy closed his eyes and rubbed his tummy. He could see people leaving their homes and jobs—on their way tohelp Emma.
"Let's get to Gull's Cove," said Tess the Sea Turtle Fairy. "Bill McCoy could use an extra hand on his boat."
"Bill McCoy—that young whippers napper," muttered Captain Jenks as he climbed on his old bike. With Tess the Sea Turtle Fairy on the handle bars, he pedaled as fast as his old legs would go.
"Captain Jenks!" cried McCoy. "We sure could use you. There's a humpback caught in a net..."
"I know. I know," said the captain impatiently. "Let's get going!"
The afternoon sky had turned to the gray of evening. The calm sea was getting rougher. The stranding network's truck pulled up at the dock, packed with stretchers for seals and small whales. While Emma was much too big to move with a stretcher, the truck did carry medicines she might need.
Up and down the coast, network volunteers were taking off in Zodiacs—inflatable boats with small outboard motors. The motors could be pulled inside the boats when they got close to Emma so that they would not scrape her. But how close wouldshe let them get?
Five Zodiacs plowed through the choppy sea, cutting the irmotors as they got close to the heaving giant.
Captain Jenks sighed when he heard her sad cry. He saw the other Ocean Fairies hovering around her. "Row in closer," said the captain. "I'll cut the net."
"I don't know, sir," said Bill McCoy. "She'll capsize us in a minute the way she's thrashing. It'll be dark soon. We might have to wait until tomorrow. And with all due respect, sir, it's a job fora younger man."
Before the captain could answer, he saw Tess the Sea Turtle Fairy whisper to Emma. She suddenly quieted down.
"Steady, Emma! I'll set you free!" shouted Captain Jenks. Bill McCoy smiled to himself and rowed closer and closer. Clip! Clip! Slash! Tear! The net was cut. Emma was free!
The next morning the kids rushed to the beach. In the distance they could see Emma. It was as if she had waited to say good-bye before swimming off.
"Thanks to you, Captain, Emma's safe now," said Rachel.
"And don't forget the Ocean Fairies!" he added.