Darcy Dolphin and the Best Birthday Ever!. Sam Watkins

      

      First published in paperback in Great Britain 2018

      by Egmont UK Limited

      The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN

      Text copyright © 2018 Sam Watkins

      Illustrations copyright © 2018 Vicky Barker

      The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted

      First e-book edition 2018

      ISBN 978 1 4052 8424 0

      Ebook ISBN 978 1 7803 1758 8

       www.egmont.co.uk

      A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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      CONTENTS

       Cover

       Title Page

       Copyright

Week 1

       Lend a Fin!

       Week 2

       The Happy Abyss Retired Sharks’ Home

       Week 3

       The Best Party Ever!

       it’s me again, humans. I’m having a whale of a time, because it’s the SUMMER HOLIDAYS! This year it’s doubly exciting because I am also going to Sea Trouts. My best friends, Ozzie Octopus and Myrtle Turtle, have been going for a while and they persuaded me to join.

      Sea Trouts is an evening club for kids that’s on every Monkfishday night. We do loads of fintastic stuff like playing games and singing songs, and last week we even did scientific experiments! The experiments were mega-cool so I tried one out at home. Unfortunately it sort of exploded all over the kitchen.

      Mum totally flippered out and Aunt Ditzy had to come round to calm her down. Aunt Ditzy brought a book to help Mum called Inspiring Thoughts for Stressed Sea Life. The first Inspiring Thought is: ‘Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.’

      I didn’t think that was very inspiring, but I’ve decided that I’m going to write a Thought of the Day every day in my new diary. My first one is:

      Thought of the Day: ALWAYS MAKE A SPLASH!

WEEK 1:

       Lend a Fin!

      MONKFISHDAY

      Sea Trouts tonight, yippeeeee! Ozzie and Myrtle came to pick me up. We were all wearing our uniforms – neck scarves held on by wooden rings called woggles. When we got to the Trout Hut there were already loads of Sea Trouts there, screeching and chasing each other around.

      ‘SEA TROUTS – FREEZE!’

      Everyone froze as our leader, Brown Trout, swam out. Her main talent is Scowling Disapprovingly.

      ‘TO YOUR SHOALS!’

      Everyone shot into their Shoals. There are four Shoals – Blennies, Anchovies, Guppies and Minnows. Ozzie, Myrtle and I are the Minnows.

      ‘Before we begin, it’s time to change Shoal Leaders,’ Brown Trout said. ‘The new leaders are as follows . . .’

      She held up a list.

      ‘Blennies – Chris Codling. Anchovies – Lyla Longfin. Guppies – Reggie Ray. And Minnows . . . Darcy Dolphin.’

      ‘Yippee!’ I squeaked, quite loudly I think because Brown Trout gave me one of her Disapproving Scowls. I shut my mouth, but inside my head my brain was doing a happy dance. Myrtle had been Shoal Leader for aaaages. Well, two weeks anyway. Now I was the boss and could tell the others what to do for a change! I would be quite a strict boss, I decided, like Brown Trout. I twisted my face up and pulled my eyebrows together like she does when she’s being particularly disapproving.

      ‘What are you doing with your face, Darcy?’ Ozzie whispered.

      I stopped. ‘Nothing.’

      Myrtle giggled. ‘You looked like you ate a rotten sea slug!’

      ‘I am Shoal Leader now . . .’ I began. But Brown Trout was beckoning.

      ‘Shoal Leaders, over here!’ As I swam over, I bumped into Reggie Ray, the new Guppies leader.

      ‘Oops, sorry!’ I said.

      Reggie glared. ‘Watch it, big nose!’

      Big nose?! I was so surprised I couldn’t think of ANYTHING to say! I tried to think of something. Something really clever . . . barnacle brain? Squid lips?

      ‘FLAT FACE!’ I exclaimed, then realised that Brown Trout was staring at me.

      ‘Pardon, Darcy?’

      ‘She asked you what the Sea Trout motto is,’ whispered Lyla Longfin.

      ‘I mean, um, Lend a Fin,’ I mumbled.

      ‘Yes,’