Nia swam rapidly towards her.

 

“Hey, Layla, come and look!” she called urgently. “There’s a creature down there, trapped on the reef.”

 

Layla held her breath and followed her friend below the waves. Salty sea water filled the girls’ mouths and rough waves crashed above them on the surface. Still, they continued diving down until they finally saw it: a stingray trapped in a blue fishing net. The two girls were sceptical and nervous about the stingray but they both had their heart set on saving this animal. While Nia swam in front and held it in place, Layla bravely removed the tough net. Its thick fibre was suffocating the creature and kept tangling up in the current. Nia and Layla were becoming more agitated by the second but the stingray was extremely calm, as if knowing that they would save it.

 

Finally, the net was removed and the creature shot out of it like a bullet. The two girls swam to the surface to breathe the cool and refreshing air. Nia grabbed the plastic net and returned to shore while Layla stayed around it. It was extremely friendly and calm and didn’t flinch when Layla swam next to it.

 

Wow, thought Layla. She had just gone on a dangerous mission of rescuing this animal and now she was swimming next to it in the beautiful and vibrant coral reefs. Nia joined them soon and now they were laughing and playing happily along the peaceful waves with their new friend – a friendly stingray. Both girls were happy with saving a sea animal and vowed to never dump litter into the ocean and to try their hardest to protect and preserve the beautiful environment.

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