Laura bent down to pick up one half of a shiny clam shell.
“I’ve never seen so much seaweed on land before,” she exclaimed. “There are
shells, bottles, cork floats and driftwood everywhere. I feel as if I’m on a
treasure hunt.”
“A smelly treasure hunt,” Kevin commented. He wrinkled his
nose. “There must be some dead fish up ahead.”
“Let’s climb over the rocks on the point and check out the
cove,” Laura suggested. “Maybe we’ll find out where the smell is coming from.”
Kevin and Laura picked their way around the objects on the
beach. Wet sand crunched beneath their shoes. Beside them the blue-green ocean
lapped gently at the shore as the tide continued to go out. Except for the mess
on the beach, no one would have guessed that a huge summer storm had blown in
and out just the night before.
They climbed carefully over the rocks and rounded the bend
into the hidden cove.
Suddenly Laura stopped. “I can’t believe it!”
“No wonder!” Kevin added. “Dead fish. Thousands of them!”
“Those aren’t fish,” Laura said. “They’re sea stars! And,
there are so many of them. They must have washed up on shore during the storm.
Without water, they’ll all die!”
