In the Deep (Prefix)
Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Anika wants to go in the sea, but she is a bit frightened. Her mum tells her that she will be ok. If she does not like it, she does not have to keep going. She should just give it a try.
Anika ducks her head under. She does not see how to use the spout well yet. She gets the salty water in her mouth and spits it out. She tries again a few times before she heads any further out.
She looks down. She can see bits of algae and other things floating in the water. They are almost like balloons. They look like they might deflate if she touches them.
She finds a baby turtle. It is just a hatchling! The baby turtle went from the sand into the sea like Anika did. She follows it further out into the deep.
Wow! A flying fish! Anika follows the fish up to see it jump through the waves and into the air. It soars along and then plops back into the water.
She has found a reef! There is coral in all colours. There is a lionfish and a cuttlefish. There is also a big, golden rock.
Oh! It's not a rock. It's an octopus! It detaches and shoots off, but Anika tries to keep up. She wants to see what it does. It keeps changing colour and shape! It moves in such an odd way. Anika gets closer.
It's gone from gold to red to blue to purple. Anika watches as the water rushes through its mantle. The octopus is scared. It gives her a nip.
She takes a detour to give the octopus room. It just wanted to get away. She will keep that in mind with the other animals. Anika lands on the seabed.
A ribbon eel darts out. She has learned her lesson. She gives it room so that it can flee. It is such a cool thing to watch sea animals. She feels very lucky.
She starts to head back. Then she sees a manta ray! It looks like a bird flying in the sky, but it does not leave the water. It does not have wings like a bird, but it looks like it.
As she gets to the top, she sees dolphins. They can see that she wants to get back to the shore. The dolphins swim with her and keep her safe.
Anika had such a great time in the sea! She has a debrief with her mum and tells her about all of the things that she saw. Her mum is so proud that she gave the sea a try.