Coral and the Very Loud Whale

Down in Shimmer Reef, everyone was trying to sleep. But every night, a huge, booming sound shook the seaweed: “WOOOOO-OOOOM!”

“Who is making that racket?” grumbled Grandpa Turtle. Coral the mermaid and Bubbles the seahorse decided to find out.

They swam past the sleepy clams, past the glowing jellyfish, out to where the water turned deep and blue.

There, all alone, was a baby whale. She took a giant breath and sang: “WOOOOO-OOOOM!” Coral covered her ears. Bubbles nearly flipped upside down.

“Excuse me,” called Coral. “Why are you so loud?” The baby whale blinked her big eyes. “I’m Wanda. I got lost from my family, and I’m calling for them. But they never answer.”

Coral’s grumpy feelings melted like sea foam. “Then we’ll help you,” she said. “Everybody can help!”

Back at the reef, Coral told everyone. The crabs clacked their claws. The dolphins clicked. Grandpa Turtle tapped his shell.

“WOOOOO-OOOOM!” sang Wanda, and the whole reef joined in: “CLACK-CLICK-TAP-WOOOOM!” The sound rolled right across the ocean.

They waited. And waited. Then, from far, far away, came a deep answer: “wooooo-ooooom.” Wanda’s tail flipped with joy. “That’s my mama!”

Out of the deep blue came a whale as big as a hill. She wrapped a flipper around Wanda. “There you are, my little song.”

Now Wanda visits Shimmer Reef every week. And when she sings, it isn’t loud and lonely any more. It’s soft and slow: the perfect reef lullaby.

The End