Jeffrey the Seagull was sitting comfortably on a red buoy that could be seen from shore every now and then between the high waves. “Good thing I don’t get seasick!” he grinned, enjoying the rocking of the waves.
Despite the swell, two ferries sailed past him through the shipping channel.
“Hey, look at that seagull over there!” a passenger shouted.
Jeffrey watched as all the tourists rushed toward the rail, causing the boat to tilt dangerously to one side. “I hope the ferry doesn’t capsize,” Jeffrey thought to himself.
He found it quite amusing to be a photo subject. He enjoyed the attention and happily posed and changed positions, first looking south then north, then pausing mid-caw for that classic seagull look. He even flew over their heads, entertaining them with exciting maneuvers in the air.
When the boats moved on, he turned back toward the harbor. Just then, he heard a mournful howl.
“What was that?” Jeffrey wondered as he turned back towards the open sea. He flew in wide circles but he couldn’t see anyone or anything.
Jeffrey was about to give up when he saw two little gray seals straining not to be submerged with each wave.
Jeffrey flew a little lower to get a better look. Instantly, his feathers were soaked by the raging waves that splashed all around him.
“What are you two doing here all alone in this swell?” Jeffrey called out.
The two young seals looked at each other and told Jeffrey all about losing touch with their family.
“We were doing diving exercises when we saw a pretty big crab,” the first seal explained.
“We wanted to see where it was going so we decided to follow it. We dove so deep that we lost our bearings when we surfaced,” the other seal added.
“We’ve being trying to figure out where we are but everything looks the same,” said the first seal.
“When the waves are this high, you can’t see anything from the water,” Jeffrey agreed. “Let me direct you to a small sandbar nearby and then I can help you look for your family!”
Jeffrey instructed the two young seals to follow him. He slowed down his flying speed and kept a lookout for them so as not to lose them among the roaring waves.
Finally, the small sandbar came into view. “We’re almost there!” he called to the seals.
The seals let the waves push them the remaining distance onto the sand, happy to finally get some rest.
“You’ll be safe here until the tide comes in,” Jeffrey said. He knew the tides like the back of his own feathers. They still had a few hours before the sandbar would be underwater.
“Stay here and rest. I’ll go find your family!” The two seals nodded in relief and soon fell asleep.
Jeffrey flew several miles out to sea before he finally heard a familiar sound. He could see gray outlines of seals moving around on a large sandbank.
When he finally reached them, Jeffrey told them of his encounter with the two young seals among the high waves.
“Oh! We’ve been looking for those two for hours. We were so worried! We’ll follow you and bring our two adventurers back home!”
Jeffrey soared into the air and sailed gallantly through the gusts of wind. Down below, he could see the seals skillfully fighting their way through the churning sea.
“Ta-da!” exclaimed Jeffrey, pointing with satisfaction to the two young seals sleeping peacefully on the small sandbar. “Here are the two adventurers!”
Everyone rejoiced that they were reunited and began to share stories of their desperate search for each other.
“We’re finally all together again,” one seal said. They were all relieved.
Jeffrey the Seagull had long since disappeared between the waves to set off on his next mission!
