A Daisy at the Beach Read online

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1: Road Trip!

  Chapter 2: Seas the Day!

  Chapter 3: Dream Castles

  Chapter 4: Beach Kitty

  Chapter 5: Mermaid Dreams

  Chapter 6: Mer-mazing!

  Chapter 7: Shipwreck Garden

  Chapter 8: Sea Ghost

  Chapter 9: Hidden Treasure

  Chapter 10: Am I Dreaming?

  ‘The Bad Luck Day’ Teaser

  About the Author and Illustrator

  Chapter One

  Road Trip!

  “Wow, Daisy Dreamer! You look beachy cool!” I say to the me in the mirror. I am wearing my favorite bathing suit. It has colorful stripes and spaghetti straps. But not real spaghetti. Obviously.

  Why am I dressed in a bathing suit? Because today I’m going to the beach! And when you go to the beach, you have to go to the beach in style.

  I sway my hips and pretend to be a hula girl, moving my arms from left to right. I can almost hear the music playing, but my cat, Sir Pounce, looks at me like I’m a weirdo.

  Enough hula dancing for now! Time to pack my beach bag. I have a super-long list of things to take to the beach:

  Hmmm. I tap my head thoughtfully. Did I forget anything? Then I snap my fingers and write down: Book.

  And oh yeah! One more thing! I race out of my bedroom and lean over the railing. “MOM!” I shout at the top of my lungs. “Do you have my beach umbrella?” I wait for an answer.

  “All packed, honey!” Mom shouts back.

  I scramble to my room and . . . Oh no! Sir Pounce has packed himself in my beach bag. My secret spy cat has detected I’m going somewhere. I grab him around the middle and pull him right out of my bag.

  “You can’t go to the beach, silly!” I say, shaking my finger at him. “You might get lost.”

  “Mrr-row,” Sir Pounce meows.

  He doesn’t like packing, because suitcases and bags mean I’m going away. Sir Pounce doesn’t like it when I go anywhere. Obviously. One time my wild kitty tried to unpack my camp trunk and got my underwear stuck on his head. He looked like a masked superhero. Hilarious!

  “Hey!” I cry as Sir Pounce swipes my goggles and runs away. I chase him around my room. He hops onto my bed and . . . and whoa! Sir Pounce suddenly freezes in midair! He is floating above my bed.

  I put my hands on my hips and scan my room. This floating cat trick has imaginary friend magic written all over it.

  “Posey? Come out, come out, wherever you are!” I call.

  Then I spy an antler sticking out from under the dust ruffle.

  I tap it and say, “There you are!”

  Posey wiggles out from under my bed. He is my imaginary friend from the World of Make-Believe, and when he’s around, crazy things happen. Like cats floating in the air.

  He gives me a wave. “Hi, Daisy! Whatcha doing?”

  Before I can answer, there’s a loud “MEOW.” Posey and I look up at Sir Pounce.

  “I think he wants down,” I say.

  Posey snaps his fingers, and Sir Pounce drifts down to the bed and begins to purr. Silly kitty!

  Then I tell Posey that I’m packing for the beach, and I also tell him how much Sir Pounce dislikes packing. And you know what Posey does? He starts playfully meowing at my cat. They meow, hiss, and cough back and forth to each other.

  Finally Posey turns to me and asks, “Can we go to the beach with you?”

  I arch an eyebrow. “What do you mean, ‘we’?”

  Sir Pounce and Posey share a look.

  “Oh, did I say ‘we’?” Posey says nervously. “I meant ‘me.’ Can me go to the beach with you?”

  And even though he is totally using bad English, I can’t resist Posey’s awesome idea to join me at the beach. We’ll have twice the fun! Obviously.

  Chapter Two

  Seas the Day!

  First I make Posey promise me one thing.

  “You have to stay invisible at the beach,” I say, staring him right in the eye. “Because not everyone is used to seeing an imaginary friend.”

  Posey snaps his fingers and becomes invisible. Now only I can see him. Obviously.

  We finish packing up everything and drag my load of stuff—ka-bonk, ka-bonk, ka-bonk—downstairs.

  I help Dad pack the car, and Posey behaves like the perfect imaginary friend. He doesn’t get me in trouble once. Phew! Then we buckle up and wave to Sir Pounce, who’s sitting in the living room window. He’s pawing the glass.

  As we whiz down the highway, Posey loves looking out the window. He bounces up and down when we pass the curvy slides at the water park. He presses his nose against the window when we go by Santa Land. He even waves to the floppy, air-dancing tube guy in front of the car dealership.

  My dad hangs a left at the giant seahorse, and now I know we’re super close to the beach. I crack the window and breathe in the air. It smells like the sea!

  Soon we pull into the parking lot. I hop out of the car and slip on my flip-flops. Then I grab my bag and let Mom and Dad walk ahead of us.

  “Ready?” I ask Posey. He nods and steps onto the sand.

  “YEOWCH!” he yells.

  “Keep it down, dude!” I say.

  But Posey takes off, doing a hot lava dance all the way to the water.

  “Ahhhhhhhh,” Posey moans as he cools his hot feet in the sea. “Why is the beach made of hot, squeaky dirt?”

  I laugh and pick up a fistful of sand. “This is not dirt,” I tell him. “It’s sand. And you’re going to love it.”

  “I doubt that,” Posey complains as he steps carefully out of the ocean.

  “Suit yourself,” I say, picking a spot near the water to spread out my towel and set up my chair. My parents can see me, but Posey and I can also still be private.

  I plunk onto my chair, slip on my heart-shaped movie-star glasses, and put on my sparkly strawberry-scented sunscreen. Posey lies down on his own invisible towel beside me.

  “What do you think of the beach?” I ask.

  Posey rolls over and props himself up on one elbow. “Well, I like the sound of the waves, and the wind feels nice—but what do people do here? I’m bored.”

  So much for relaxing, I think. But that’s okay. I can’t wait to show Posey how much fun it is at the beach.

  “We can do you whatever you want to do,” I say.

  Posey pulls a shovel out of my bag and smiles. “I want to build a sandcastle!”

  Chapter Three

  Dream Castles

  “Not to brag,” I tell him, “but I am a master at sandcastles.”

  Posey hops to his feet. “Tell me your secrets of the sand!” he cries.

  I move back a little from the water.

  “First you have to find the right spot to build your castle,” I explain. “It can’t be too close to the water or the tide will wash it away.”

  Posey nods.

  “You also need water to make your castle,” I continue. “So I always dig a hole down to the water, like this.”

  I take my shovel and begin to dig a hole. Posey watches closely. I scoop and scoop the sand. The deeper I dig, the wetter the sand gets. Soon I hit water.

  Posey peeks into the hole. “Wow! Now what?”

  “Now we need an umbrella,” I say. I pull out my umbrella and twist it into the ground.

  “Umbrella?” Posey asks. “Are you expecting rain?”

  I laugh. “No, silly! This is a sun umbrella. It makes it shady so we won’t get too hot while we’re making our castles.”

  Posey gives me two purple thumbs-up.

  “The first thing you make is the castle’s moat,” I tell him, digging a big circle in the sand. “Then you build your castle
on the area inside the moat.”

  I reach into my water well and pull out fistfuls of wet sand and fill my bucket. I mix in some dry sand so it’s not too soupy. Then I pack the sand firmly and turn over my bucket.

  “Ta-da!” I cry. “One castle tower.”

  Posey frowns at my tower. “How are you going to build a whole giant castle with one bucket of sand at a time? It’ll take forever. And how will it fit in your tiny circle?”

  “Wait,” I say to Posey. “We are not building a life-size castle, silly. Sandcastles are miniature castles.”

  Posey taps the side of his head with his finger. “Ooooh, now I get it!”

  Then we both get to work. I make two more towers, an archway, and some drippy spires. Then I fill my moat with water and decorate my castle with seashells. That’s when I notice Posey’s castle.

  Oh. My. Gosh. His sandcastle is huge. It has watchtowers, arches, balconies, a working drawbridge, and actual windows. It even has a very tiny, but very real, king and queen! And a knight blowing a trumpet!

  “Meet the royal family of Oceana!” Posey says proudly.

  My mouth drops open like a drawbridge.

  “Did I do it right?” Posey asks.

  I gulp loudly. “To be honest,” I say, “most sandcastles do not have tiny people living inside them.”

  “Oh . . . sorry!” Posey apologizes as he flings magic dust on his castle, and—poof!—the king, queen, and knight turn to sand, but now I hear a soft “meow” come from inside his castle.

  Dear Posey. What have you done now?

  Chapter Four

  Beach Kitty

  Posey holds his hands out in front of me like a stop sign.

  “Before you freak out, I think you should know something,” he says. “I can speak cat.”

  I roll my eyes. “What does that have to do with building sandcastles?”

  Then the drawbridge creaks open, and Sir Pounce’s cat face peeks out.

  “Explain,” I say firmly.

  Posey talks fast. “It’s just that Sir Pounce really wanted to go to the beach. He doesn’t like to miss out on all the fun! And when he was pawing the window, he wasn’t saying good-bye, he was asking you to bring him along.”

  Sir Pounce looks at me. “Mrr-row!”

  I soften ever so slightly.

  Wow, I think. I had no idea Sir Pounce actually wanted to go with me on trips. That’s pretty cool. But wait! “Pets are not allowed at the beach!”

  Posey smiles slyly and asks, “What about invisible pets?”

  With a snap of his fingers, Sir Pounce disappears. Completely.

  “Mrr-row!” says the nothing space where my cat used to be.

  I roll my eyes again. “Can you at least make him visible to just us?”

  Posey tosses some imaginary friend dust at the castle door. And wa-la! Sir Pounce reappears on the drawbridge. I can almost see him smile.

  Then he hops over the moat and starts talking to Posey in cat.

  And I’m not going to lie—I feel super left out. I tap my foot on the sand. “What are you two talking about?”

  Posey turns to me. “We’re talking about the rules.”

  I keep tapping my foot. “What rules?”

  Posey puts his arm around Sir Pounce. “Your cat has promised not to run away, and he will also obey all your orders.”

  I sigh heavily. I just want a nice day at the beach. Then I realize that maybe having Sir Pounce here would be awesome. Just the thought of it gives me a little surge of excitement. Then I fling two fistfuls of sand in the air.

  “Okay,” I say, giving in. “Let the beach party begin!”

  Chapter Five

  Mermaid Dreams

  Sir Pounce thinks the beach is a giant kitty litter box.

  “No! No! No!” I keep reminding him, because I do not want to play next to a pile of . . . um, gross stuff in the sand.

  Finally Posey meow-explains everything in cat, and Sir Pounce nods.

  “He’s good,” Posey tells me.

  “It’s your first time at the beach,” I say. “What do you want to do?”

  Posey meows the translation. Obviously. Sir Pounce meows back.

  “He would like to dip his paws in the water,” Posey informs me.

  This may sound like an odd request, because most cats hate water. But not my cat. He loves water.

  “Race you to the waves!” I yell, taking off for the surf.

  Sir Pounce and Posey chase after me. I splash over the little waves and flop—stomach first—into the water. Sir Pounce jumps in beside me, and Posey stands by the water’s edge.

  “Come in!” I cry. “The water feels great!”

  But Posey doesn’t want to get wet. He says he doesn’t like to feel soggy and damp.

  “Use your magic!” I suggest.

  A smile spreads across his purple face, and he grabs a fistful of sparkly imaginary friend dust and flings it over his head.

  “Whoop-de-do!” he shouts.

  Then—poof!—Posey is magically wearing a scuba mask and fins. He charges into the water, and when he comes up for air, his fur is perfect.

  Now that’s some pretty fabulous magic! I think.

  We wander into the waves—but not too far. We can still touch the bottom. A swell comes, and we ride it all the way back to the beach.

  “Again!” I cry.

  Then we race out into the surf and ride another wave to shore. We’re on our way again when Posey points to something farther out.

  “Did you see that?” he exclaims.

  Sir Pounce and I look in the direction Posey’s pointing.

  WHAP! A fish jumps in front of us and slaps back into the water.

  “People live in the ocean!” Posey says with a gasp.

  I giggle. “Not people, but there are animals that do.”

  Can you imagine what it would be like if we lived in the ocean? Personally, I know I would love it. I decide to share a secret.

  “I know this may sound silly,” I say. “But I’ve always wanted to be a mermaid.”

  I wait for Posey and Sir Pounce to laugh at me, but they don’t laugh at all! Instead, a sneaky grin sweeps across Posey’s face. He gets this look when he’s about to say something wild. Okay, get ready for it, Daisy. Here it comes . . . !

  Posey raises his eyebrows and asks, “How would you like to be a mermaid for a day?”

  Chapter Six

  Mer-mazing!

  I don’t have to think about it at all. I just grab my head with both hands and shout, “Y-E-S spells ‘yes,’ ” and sha-zing!

  Posey makes my wish come true!

  There’s a blue-green fish tail where my legs used to be. It’s very soft and smooth to the touch. I gently wave the tail up and down, which makes me glide through the water.

  I can’t explain it, but I feel like I have been a mermaid my whole life!

  Swoooooshh! I dive underwater to admire my shimmering tail. It winks in the sunlight. I have become a graceful, bedazzled sea angel.

  Swish! Swoosh! I dart this way and that. I look behind me and spy a cute orange fish chasing my tail.

  “MRR-ROW!” says the fish as it catches up.

  Wait, I think. Can fish speak cat too?

  But when the orange fish nuzzles against me, I know that we’ve met before.

  “Sir Pounce!” I cheer. “Posey turned you into a fish!”

  “MRR-row!” the fish repeats happily.

  Posey flippers to my side and says, “You look mer-mazing!”

  I feel mer-mazing too. Not only because I am a mermaid, but because I am breathing and talking underwater!

  “What do we do now?” I ask.

  Posey motions to the deep, dark water around us. “Let’s watch the show.”

  In the distance, a group of jellyfish swims our way with pulsing bodies. Some have twinkly lights inside their umbrella-shaped bells. I watch their colorful stingers trailing behind them like party streamers. I steer clear of those stingers to be on the s
afe side.

  Next, a sea turtle swims up beside me with a curious look. We paddle side by side. Colorful fish dart all around us. Each fish is like a little work of art, with rings, spots, or stripes. Underneath us, pink, orange, and purple sea stars cling to a coral reef. A manta ray wafts along with the current.

  “This is so magical!” I cry.

  Posey nods as he sits on a rock watching all the fish. Then something silly happens. The rock Posey’s sitting on opens up! It’s a giant sea clam! Posey falls off, and I laugh so hard a stream of bubbles trails from my mouth.

  As I help Posey up, Sir Pounce darts from my side, chasing after a fish. With a swish of my tail, I catch up to Sir Pounce and shake my head.

  “You have to be kind to the sea creatures,” I tell him. “Remember, we are visiting their world.”

  So Sir Pounce turns around and chases me instead. Zip! Zoop! Za-room! We play hide-and-seek on the reef. Posey joins us.

  We are having so much fun! But then I see something huge and dark in the shadows, and I know it’s time for a new adventure.

  Chapter Seven

  Shipwreck Garden

  I swim a little closer to see what’s lurking in the shadows. Posey and Sir Pounce follow me.

  “It’s a shipwreck!” I cry.

  The old ship rests on its side. I count three masts. Long seaweed fronds have grown on the hull. They waft gently in the current. A school of small fish swims from the cabin.