Crabby's Big Adventure

Crabby’s Tide Pool

Crabby loved his tide pool. It had a flat stone for sunning, a shady crack for hiding, and soft seaweed that waved when the water moved.

Still, Crabby often peeked over the edge.

“What is past the big rock?” he wondered.

His friend Hattie the hermit crab was polishing her shell nearby.

“A strip of damp sand,” Hattie said. “Then another pool with tiny shrimp.”

Crabby clicked his claws. “That sounds far.”

“It is five crab steps from this rock to the next,” Hattie said. “We can count them together.”

Five Steps

Crabby waited until the waves were low and the gulls were far away. Hattie stood beside the first rock.

“Step one,” she said.

Crabby moved one leg, then the next.

“Step two,” Hattie counted.

The sand felt strange under Crabby’s feet. It was not as smooth as his pool. A bit of seaweed brushed his shell, and he jumped.

“Just seaweed,” Hattie said.

Crabby breathed out. “Step three.”

By step five, he reached the next rock.

The Tiny Shrimp Pool

Behind the rock was a little pool no bigger than a dinner plate. Tiny shrimp flicked through the clear water like silver commas.

“I have never seen shrimp this close,” Crabby whispered.

“New places have new neighbors,” Hattie said.

Crabby did not touch the shrimp. He watched them dance between grains of sand. Then he noticed a smooth purple shell near the pool.

“A shell like sunset,” he said.

Hattie smiled. “You saw that because you came looking.”

Back Home

When the sun warmed the rocks, Crabby knew it was time to return. He counted the five steps back with Hattie.

“Was it too much?” Hattie asked.

“A little,” Crabby said. “But not too much.”

He settled into his shady crack and looked at his own tide pool. It still felt safe. Now it also felt like the beginning of a map.

“Tomorrow,” Crabby said, “maybe six steps.”

Hattie tapped his rock with one claw. “We will count them slowly.”