The Rescue Princesses #2: Wishing Pearl Read Free

shoulder. Putting out a hand, she felt smooth, silky skin pass beneath her fingers. She gave a shiver of delight.
    This was almost too good to be true. She’d only seen dolphins in pictures before, and now here she was, swimming with one.
    “Hello, friend!” she said softly as he glided past her.
    The dolphin clicked and squeaked, his black eyes shining. Then he gave a swish of his tail, flicking up drops of water that glittered like a rainbow.
    Clarabel pushed her feet off the bottom and paddled alongside him. Then she caught sight of the gash on his side again.
    Now that she could see it more clearly, she realized what a deep cut it was. It would probably take a long time to heal.
    “Poor thing! What happened to you?” she asked. “Are you all alone here?”
    But the dolphin couldn’t tell her. Tired now, he stopped swimming completely and his tail flopped in the water. He made a low, sad whistle, as if he was trying to tell her how sick he felt.
    “I’ll bring you some fish,” promised Clarabel. “Maybe that’s what you need to get your strength back. You’ll be safe here in Ampali’s wildlife zone.”
    She turned and swam back toward the bank. But just as she reached the shallows, she felt another nudge. Twisting around, she saw the dolphin diving down next to her.
    Following his movement, she caught a glimpse of something shining beneath the water. He returned, then dived down again as if he wanted Clarabel to follow.
    She plunged her face into the clear water, diving side by side with the dolphin. There, on the sandy bed of the lagoon, was a pure-white gem.
    Clarabel put out one hand, grasped the sphere between her fingers, and shot to the surface again.
    The dolphin bobbed up next to her.
    “You found a pearl,” said Clarabel, admiring the perfect white gem. “Thank you.”
    The dolphin clicked and squeaked.
    Clarabel waded to the bank. “I’ll bring you those fish to help you get better,” she called back.
    Picking up her basket of shells, she climbed back up the sand dunes. The tropical sun began to dry her summer dress and golden hair.
    Clarabel opened her hand to look at the smooth pearl. It glowed white with the tiniest gleam of a rainbow. She couldn’t wait to show it to the other princesses. It was beautiful, and the fact that a dolphin had found it for her made it even more precious.

Clarabel hurried down the sand dunes and back along the beach.
    The white palace with its square turrets loomed up ahead of her. It was so different from her castle in Winteria, which had thin, pointed towers jutting up into the sky.
    Rushing along, she tripped over a small figure crouching down next to a rock. She lost her balance and fell sprawling onto the sand.
    Picking herself up, she tried to shake the sand off her dress just as the figure hid something behind his back.
    “Oh, it’s you!” Clarabel said, recognizing Prince Samuel, who was looking sulkier than ever.
    “Go away!” said Samuel.
    But Clarabel had already seen what he was hiding, a metal shovel much too big for making sand castles.
    “What are you doing?” she asked, peering around him to look into the large hole he’d made in the sand.
    “None of your business!” Samuel cried, his face reddening. “The Nosy Princesses, that’s what I’m going to call you and your friends.”
    But Clarabel wasn’t listening. She leaned over the hole. Right in the very bottom rested a whole clutch of smooth white eggs.
    “Those are turtle eggs!” She gasped. “You can’t dig them up. This is part of the wildlife zone. These creatures are protected.”
    “Who’s going to stop me?” sneered Samuel. “Not you! You spend all your time falling over.”
    “At least I care about the creatures around me,” said Clarabel sharply.
    Turning away so that Samuel couldn’t see what she was doing, she brought her hand to her lips and pressed the sapphire in the center of her ring.
    “Calling all princesses. This is Clarabel speaking. Urgent message: