The Reef Rescue Read online

  About the Book

  Sign up for Sea Star Reef Summer Camp and join Olivia Ocean, Chloe Coral, Sophia Seashell and Willow Wave for another splashing adventure in MERMAID HOLIDAYS . . .

  The mermaids are off on a summer camp adventure. Olivia can’t wait! She loves camping under the waves, eating sea-cucumber sizzles and EXPLORING. But when the besties find themselves on the wrong side of the reef things start to go very, very wrong.

  Buckle up for a rip-roaring reef rescue!

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Mermaid Holidays: The Talent Show

  Mermaid Holidays: The Magic Pearl

  Mermaid Holidays: The Bake-Off

  Imprint

  Read more at Penguin Books Australia

  This story starts where the sea meets the shore, where the waves crash down with an almighty roar.

  There is an underwater world full of magic and fun, where the rays ride the tides and bask in the sun.

  But this isn’t a story about the sea and the stingrays, it’s about four special mermaids who are home for the holidays . . .

  With the arrival of summer, the crystal-clear waters of Turtleville were warming up once again. It was the first day of the holidays and Olivia Ocean and her marlin pal, Bruce, were on the platform of the Riptide Railway station waiting for her mermates to return home from school.

  This holiday was going to be MERMAZING! Olivia and her mermates were spending a whole week at SEA STAR REEF SUMMER CAMP!

  ‘Where are they?’ huffed Bruce. ‘I’m bored.’

  ‘Only BORING BLOBFISH get bored,’ Olivia giggled. ‘Are you a BORING BLOBFISH, Bruce?’

  ‘No, I AM NOT!’ snapped Bruce.

  ‘Only joking, Brucey. I wish they’d hurry up too so the holidays can FINALLY START!’

  Before Bruce could GRUMBLE another word, the 9.05 train to Turtleville pulled into the station.

  ‘THEY’RE HERE!’ squealed Olivia.

  As soon as the train came to a stop, the door BURST open and out tumbled Sophia Seashell and Willow Wave, along with their sidekicks, Smedley and Frida.

  ‘Happy holidays!’ cried Olivia as she hugged her mermates.

  ‘PIPPING PIPIS am I glad to be off that train,’ exclaimed Sophia.

  ‘Me too. It was CLAM-PACKED the whole way!’ puffed Willow.

  ‘Erm, Miss Olivia, where is Miss Chloe?’ asked Smedley.

  ‘Oh!’ gasped Olivia. ‘Thanks for reminding me, Smeds, Chloe has invited us for breakfast at the Tearooms.’

  ‘YAY!’ exclaimed Sophia.

  The mermaids collected their bags and WHOOSHED off to Turtleville Tearooms.

  ‘I’ve made all our favourites,’ said Chloe. ‘We’ve got seaweed scrolls, sponge pancakes and kelp smoothies.’

  ‘Thanks for having us over for brekkie,’ said Willow.

  ‘We need a good feed, because tomorrow we’ll be at SEA STAR REEF SUMMER CAMP,’ muttered Smedley, ‘and who knows what the food will be like there.’

  Sophia chuckled. ‘Ignore old Smeds. He’s got his TAIL IN A TIZZ because he’s nervous about camping.’

  ‘Camping is FISHTASTIC!’ said Olivia excitedly. ‘We’ll be EXPLORERS AND ADVENTURERS for a whole week!’

  ‘Exactly!’ snapped Smedley. ‘How TERRIFYING.’

  ‘Don’t be such a SCAREDY-CATFISH,’ said Bruce.

  ‘Talking of EXPLORING,’ said Chloe, ‘did any of you see the Turtleville Times this morning?’ She grabbed a newspaper from the counter and held it up.

  Olivia stared at the big headline.

  RARE DUMBO OCTOPUS SPOTTED AT SEA STAR REEF!

  ‘NO WAY!’ she gasped.

  ‘I’ve never seen a Dumbo octopus,’ said Willow. ‘I thought they lived in the DEEPEST, DARKEST DEPTHS of the ocean.’

  ‘They do. I wonder what it’s doing floating around the reef,’ said Frida suspiciously.

  ‘Maybe we’ll bump into the little Dumbo while we’re exploring at camp,’ exclaimed Olivia. ‘That would be MERMAZING!’

  Ever since Olivia was a tiny merbie, she had dreamed of being an OCEAN EXPLORER. Which is why she had suggested to her mermates that they go to the SEA STAR REEF SUMMER CAMP this holidays. Olivia and Bruce had already been looking forward to camp, but now, with the possibility of spotting a RARE DUMBO OCTOPUS, they were SUPER EXCITED!

  As they SLURPED on their kelp smoothies and tucked into stacks of sponge pancakes, the mermates chatted all morning about the MERMAZING adventures they were going to have.

  ‘Look at the time!’ gasped Sophia. ‘We should head home and pack our camping gear.’

  ‘Good thinking,’ said Willow.

  ‘Remember,’ said Olivia, ‘the SEA STAR EXPRESS leaves tomorrow morning at seven o’clock on the dot from Turtleville Lagoon.’

  ‘I can’t wait!’ squealed Chloe.

  ‘Me too!’

  ‘Me three!’

  That night Olivia and Bruce were sorting out all the essentials for their week away.

  ‘Okay, Brucey,’ said Olivia. ‘We’ve got a TENT, BINOCULARS, CAMERA and HEAD TORCHES . . . What else do we need?’

  Bruce scratched his chin. ‘An EXPERIENCED EXPLORER must be prepared for anything, so I think we should take our ADVENTURE SURVIVAL KIT with us.’

  ‘Good thinking,’ said Olivia. ‘Just in case we get in a spot of bother.’

  Once everything was packed, Olivia and Bruce went to bed. As soon as Bruce’s head hit the pillow he was SNORING LIKE A SNOTFISH. Olivia, however, was wide awake. After a little while, her head began SWIMMING with dreams of the MERMAZING reef and she finally drifted off to sleep.

  The next morning, Turtleville Lagoon was CHOCK-A-BLOCK with excited campers ready for an adventure-filled week.

  ‘ALL ABOARD THE SEA STAR EXPRESS!’ yelled the captain.

  ‘Come on, Brucey,’ said Olivia. ‘We’ve got to be quick if we want to nab the back seats.’

  After ten games of I-spy, the SEA STAR EXPRESS arrived at the camp site.

  ‘TRITON’S TRUMPET, Sophia – what did you pack?’ Olivia puffed as she handed out the bags. ‘This is heavier than a HUMPBACK!’

  ‘Blame that on Smedley,’ replied Sophia. ‘He brought his silly DANGERS OF THE REEF book.’

  ‘My book won’t be SILLY when I save you from all the REEF DANGERS!’ snapped Smedley.

  ‘Nothing on the reef is dangerous, Smeds.’ Olivia chuckled. ‘It’s the most BEAUTIFUL place in the WHOLE WIDE WATERS.’

  With a little HUFF, Smedley inspected their surroundings. ‘I don’t deny it’s beauty, but I will NOT be told there aren’t dangers,’ said the stubborn seahorse. ‘Just look at that REEF SHARK over there!’

  ‘He doesn’t look very dangerous to me,’ said Pam. ‘In fact, I think he’s waving at us.’

  Olivia laughed. ‘He IS waving at us, you SILLY SARDINE. That’s ROD, he’s the camp leader.’

  ‘Ah! You must be our little mermaids from Turtleville,’ said the friendly reef shark. ‘Welcome to SEA STAR REEF SUMMER CAMP! My name’s ROD and I will be your camp leader.’

  ‘Hi, Rod!’ cheered the mermaids.

  ‘This here is Tina, my deputy. And over there is Alan.’ Rod pointed in the direction of a very cross-looking anglerfish. ‘Just to warn you, he’s a bit of a GRUMPY GUPPY, but he knows all there is to know about the reef.’

  ‘Are you ready for a week of fun and FISHTASTIC adventures?’ asked Tina.

  ‘We can’t wait!’ exclaimed Olivia.

  ‘Follow m
e, I’ll show you where you’re camping – it’s a RIPPER little spot!’ said Tina. ‘When you’re all unpacked, come back here for a YUMMY SEA-CUCUMBER SIZZLE.’

  ‘Did you hear that, Brucey?’ Olivia high-fived her marlin pal. ‘SEA-CUCUMBER SIZZLE is our FAVOURITE!’

  Sophia, Willow and Chloe had never been camping before, but Olivia and Bruce had been HEAPS of times and were HAPPY AS A HALIBUT that they were finally camping with their mermates.

  Olivia plonked down her bags as Tina left them to set up camp. ‘This is MERFECT!’

  ‘Let’s get cracking,’ cheered Bruce. ‘I am STARVING!’

  Quick as a flash, Olivia and Bruce had unpacked and pitched their tent.

  Their mermates, however, weren’t finding it quite so easy . . .

  IT WAS CHAOS!

  Chloe and Willow had got TOTALLY TANGLED in their ropes. Meanwhile, Sophia and Smedley seemed to have everything under control . . . until their tent FLOATED AWAY.

  ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa!’ cried Olivia. ‘What in FLAPPING FLOUNDERS are you doing? I thought we were putting up our tents, not playing a game of MUDDLE-HEADED HERRINGS!’

  ‘We were trying to, but these ropes and pegs got all TWISTED round our TAILS,’ whined Chloe.

  ‘And I followed these instructions to a T,’ snapped Smedley. ‘So why is this tent FLOATING OFF?’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Olivia. ‘Bruce will untangle you, and I’ll get this tent fixed to the seabed in a JELLYFISH JIFFY!’

  With a FLICK and a SWISH of their tails, Olivia and Bruce got the camp SHIPSHAPE.

  Now there was only one thing on Bruce’s mind . . .

  SEA-CUCUMBER SIZZLE!

  Bruce WHIZZED through the camp and then came to an abrupt stop, right in front of Rod, who was manning the grill.

  Rod chuckled. ‘Keen for a sea-cucumber sizzle, I see.’

  ‘They smell MERMAZING!’ said Bruce.

  ‘Do you mind not DROOLING all over them?’ barked Smedley. ‘We’d ALL like to have one.’

  ‘Don’t worry, plenty to go round,’ said Rod.

  ‘So, Rod, what will we be doing tomorrow?’ asked Willow.

  As Rod listed all the fun activities, the mermaids chatted away about which one they would do. But Olivia wasn’t listening. She gazed out across the beautiful reef. Olivia knew what she wanted to do. From the moment she arrived, all she could think about was THE DUMBO OCTOPUS . . . SHE HAD TO FIND IT.

  Suddenly, Olivia felt someone TUGGING on her TAIL.

  ‘Hello?! Earth to Olivia! What activity are you going to choose?’ asked Sophia.

  ‘We’ve picked ours already, but you’ve been staring across the reef for AGES,’ added Chloe. ‘Why don’t you come to the cookery class with me and Pam?’

  ‘Or you could join me and Smeds at the music workshop,’ said Sophia excitedly.

  ‘I think you should come to art club with me and Frida,’ said Willow. ‘All the different colours of the reef will make a MERMAZING painting.’

  ‘That all sounds FISHTASTICALLY FUN,’ said Olivia, ‘but I REALLY want to explore the reef and –’

  ‘No reef trips tomorrow, unfortunately,’ interrupted Rod. ‘We do a big reef adventure on the last day of camp.’

  ‘What?!’ Olivia’s heart sank. All she wanted was to be an explorer for the day and find the Dumbo octopus.

  ‘Don’t get your TAIL IN A TWIST,’ said Rod. ‘If exploring is what you want then I’ve got just the thing for you . . . The NATURE TRAIL with Alan. It’s not a full reef tour, but you’ll still see a lot.’

  ‘Sounds MERMAZING,’ squealed Olivia.

  ‘But didn’t you say Alan was a GRUMPY GUPPY?’ asked Willow nervously.

  Bruce chuckled. ‘An ANGRY ANGLERFISH won’t stop us having fun!’

  ‘Exactly,’ agreed Olivia. ‘I can’t wait for the nature trail!’

  The next day, Olivia and Bruce woke up feeling rested and relaxed after their first night camped out under the waves.

  As they unzipped their tent, they could hear the SNORES and SNORTS of their mermates, who were still FAST ASLEEP.

  ‘Okay, Brucey,’ whispered Olivia. ‘Let’s wake up these SNOOZY SEA SLUGS.’

  ‘GOOD MOOOORRRRNING, SEA STAR REEF!’ hollered Bruce. ‘It’s wakey-wakey time, so get your GILLS INTO GEAR and SHAKE YOUR TAIL SCALES!’

  Olivia giggled as one by one her mermates poked their heads out of the tents. ‘Are you ready for a RIPPER DAY on the REEF?’

  ‘Haven’t you heard the saying “LET SLEEPING MERBIES LIE”?!’ snapped Chloe.

  Olivia shrugged. ‘Nope.’

  ‘What time is it?’ croaked Sophia.

  ‘Too early,’ moaned Willow.

  ‘Come on, you LAZY LOBSTERS,’ begged Olivia. ‘We’ve got a BIG day of ADVENTURES ahead of us!’

  As the mermaids sat down for breakfast, Smedley and Sophia struggled to keep their eyes open.

  ‘That was the most unpleasant wake-up call I have EVER had,’ grumbled Smedley.

  ‘Agreed,’ Sophia yawned. ‘You must NEVER interrupt a mermaid’s BEAUTY SLEEP!’

  ‘Sorry,’ Bruce sniggered.

  Just as Olivia was about to pop another seaweed waffle in her mouth, she noticed Alan the GRUMPY anglerfish hovering beside her.

  ‘Olivia Ocean, is it?’ asked Alan.

  ‘The one and only, and this here is Bruce,’ said Olivia cheerily. ‘It’s FISHTASTIC to meet you!’

  Alan didn’t seem to hear her as he stared at his clipboard. ‘I’ve got you two down for my nature trail.’

  ‘Yes, we want to be famous explorers when –’

  ‘Shhhhh,’ interrupted Alan. ‘We don’t have time for CHATTER. We need to get this show on the road. NATURE waits for NO ONE.’

  Alan really was a GRUMPY GUPPY. But Olivia and Bruce didn’t care; they couldn’t wait to go and explore. They finished their breakfast and followed Alan for their first MERMAZING ADVENTURE on the reef.

  ‘BYEEE,’ sang Olivia as she waved farewell to her mermates.

  Turtleville was beautiful, but Sea Star Reef was SPECTACULAR. Olivia and Bruce were MER-MESMERISED.

  ‘Now, listen up. I always start my nature trail with some FACTS,’ said Alan. ‘Fact number ONE. Corals are NOT plants. They are animals, and are actually relatives of JELLYFISH.’

  ‘MERMAZING!’ exclaimed Olivia as she snapped photos of all the colourful coral.

  ‘Fact number TWO . . .’ continued Alan.

  But Olivia wasn’t listening. She was distracted by what was in the background of the photo she had just taken.

  ‘PSSST,’ she whispered to her marine mate. ‘Brucey, is this what I think it is?’

  She zoomed in to get a better look, and they could not BELIEVE their EYES!

  ‘OH. MY. POSEIDON! It’s the DUMBO OCTOPUS!’ shrieked Olivia.

  ‘What’s all this shouting about?’ hissed Alan. ‘There is to be NO SHOUTING on the reef!’

  ‘Oh, I’m so sorry,’ said Olivia, ‘but I think I just saw the D –’

  ‘Ssshhhh!’ interrupted Alan. ‘I’ve already told you we don’t have time for CHATTER. Now, fact number THREE . . .’

  With a FLICK and a SWISH of his tail, Alan continued on the nature trail but in the OPPOSITE direction to the little Dumbo.

  Olivia and Bruce were as STILL as a couple of STUNNED MULLETS. They were so close to finding the Dumbo octopus. But if they followed Alan, they might never get to see it!

  The angry anglerfish WHIZZED around. ‘What are you GAWKING GUPPIES waiting for?’ he hissed.

  ‘Can we go this way instead, Alan?’ asked Olivia. ‘It looks like there’s HEAPS to explore a-and –’

  ‘Absolutely not,’ he said gruffly. ‘Can’t you read the sign? OUT OF BOUNDS! Did I not mention my number-one rule?’

  Olivia and Bruce shook their heads.

  ‘RESPECT THE REEF!’ snapped Alan. ‘There are DANGEROUS RIPTIDES on that side of the reef. It’s no place for a little mermaid.’

  With disapp
ointed sighs, Olivia and Bruce continued on the nature trail.

  ‘We might not have been able to find the little Dumbo today, Brucey,’ whispered Olivia, ‘but it is our duty as EXPLORERS to keep trying.’

  Bruce frowned. ‘How though?’

  Olivia thought for a second and then smiled. ‘We just need our MERMATES and a MERMAZING PLAN!’

  Olivia and her mermates were FISHTASTIC at working out MERMAZING PLANS. This plan, however, was NOT SO MERMAZING.

  When Olivia told her mermates about what she had seen on the reef, they were so excited! They were desperate to get a glimpse of the Dumbo octopus too, so they decided to sneak out early the next morning in search of the little guy.

  The only one who wasn’t on board was, of course, Smedley.

  It was still dark under the waves as the mermaids got ready for their secret mission to find the Dumbo octopus.

  ‘Miss Olivia,’ whispered Smedley, ‘sneaking out is against camp RULES!’

  ‘Smeds, old boy, we went over this last night,’ said Bruce. ‘We’ll WHIZ off to the reef, find the little Dumbo, then WHIZ straight back to camp in time for breakfast.’

  ‘I’m a STICKLEBACK for rules too,’ said Chloe. ‘But we’ll be back before anyone at camp even wakes up.’

  ‘Come on, Smeds. It’s an adventure!’ Willow giggled.

  Smedley sighed. ‘Fine, as long as I can take my DANGERS OF THE REEF book with us, and you must PROMISE we will be back by breakfast.’

  ‘Okay, EXPLORERS, we need to be SILENT LITTLE SQUIDWORMS!’ said Olivia. ‘Let’s go!’

  As the sun rose over the waves, the mermaids finally reached the heart of Sea Star Reef, and it was SPARKLING!