Daisy Dawson at the Beach (4 page)

“You see?” said Daisy, putting her hands down. “It’s not very nice, is it?”

“OK,” said the crab. “I get it.”

He looked at the tide pool for a moment as if he was about to jump back in. Then he seemed to change his mind.

“Wanna learn to walk sideways like me?” he said. “It’s fun. It’s sideways fun!”

“I already know how to walk sideways,” said Daisy.

“No, you do not,” said the crab. “Not like a crab.”

“I do too,” said Daisy. She walked sideways along the edge of the rock, did a little twirl, and then walked back again.

“Hmmm,” said the crab. “That was pretty good.” He scuttled closer and stared at her. “Are you
actually
a crab?”

“No.”

“But all that pinching and walking sideways. And, also, you speak the lingo.”

“Well, that’s another story,” said Daisy. “Talking to animals is just something I do.”

“And this is what
I
do,” said the crab, holding out his claws. “Pinchy, pinchy, pinchy. Even my name is Pinchy!”

He stopped and tapped his claw softly against the top of his shell. “I have an idea,” he said. Daisy carefully moved her foot away. “How about I stop the pinching and teach you how to dance instead?”

Daisy smiled. “Pinchy,” she said. “I think that’s a
wonderful
idea.”

“OK, then,” said Pinchy. “Watch carefully. First you put your claw in the air like you just don’t care.”

“You mean like this?” asked Daisy, waving a hand above her head.

“Exactly like that,” said Pinchy. “And now you gotta feel the rhythm, Daisy. You gotta listen to the wind and the waves and the earth and the sky, and then you move your feet like this, and your claws like this, and then you start to dance!”

He clacked his claws together, making a
ha-cha-cha
sound. “Come on! Get with the rhythm!”

Daisy raised her arms above her head and began snapping her fingers, shuffling her feet, and twirling around.

Ha, cha, ha-cha-cha! Ha, cha, ha-cha-cha!

“Look, Pinchy!” she cried. “I’m doing it!”

“And I’m loving it,” said Pinchy, lifting his legs up and down in time to the rhythm. “You’re making me crazy!”

“Come on, Pinchy,” called Daisy, still dancing. “Let’s do the dance together!”

Pinchy began copying Daisy’s movements.
Ha, cha, ha-cha-cha! Ha, cha, ha-cha-cha!

“That’s it, Pinchy!” Daisy giggled. “You’ve got it. You’ve got it!”

As they danced across the rocks, more crabs crawled out of the water to join in.
Ha, cha, ha-cha-cha! Ha, cha, ha-cha-cha!

One started a clackety rhythm in the background, one scraped his claws rhythmically across the barnacles, and another began thumping the seaweed. The sound was so catchy that after a while even the limpets started joining in, lifting their shells up and down in time to the beat.

Slurpy-slurp, slurpy-slurp. Slurpy-slurpy-slurpy-slurp.

Ha, cha, ha-cha-cha! Ha, cha, ha-cha-cha!

“Hey, Daisy!” called a voice behind her. “Whatcha doin’?”

Still dancing and
ha-cha-cha
-ing, Daisy turned to see Rabsy and Raberta skipping about on the sand.

“Come and join us!” she called, holding out her foot so that one of the crabs could play a solo on her toenails. Rabsy and Raberta hopped up onto the rock, and as the crabs moved back to give them space, Raberta began to rap:

Suddenly the music stopped and all the crabs plopped back into the water just as the two seagulls swooped down onto the rock, shouting:

“Eat-the-crabs! Eat-the-crabs! Eat-the-crabs! Eat-the-crabs!”

They stopped and stared at Daisy.

Then they flew away again.

“Sorry about that,” said Daisy. “I don’t think anyone’s ever taught them to be polite.”

“I don’t think anyone’s ever taught them how to rap, either,” said Raberta. “That was awful.”

“I liked the
Ark! Ark!
part,” said Rabsy, skipping from foot to foot. Then he saw the way Raberta was looking at him and added, “But yours was
much
better.”

Daisy looked around to see if any people had noticed the dancing crabs, but everyone seemed too busy swimming or sunbathing to pay any attention.

“Splosh!”
said Rabsy as a wave swept into the rock pool. “The blue uppy-downy thing has come to say hello!”

“The tide’s coming in,” said Daisy. “Stay here while I see if I’m allowed to go surfing.”

“How is the peanut-butter sandwich?” asked Dad, who was lying down reading a newspaper.

“I think it’s disappeared,” said Daisy, picking up her surfboard.

“Really,” said Dad. “I think there must be magic in the air.”

Daisy smiled. “I think there is,” she said.

“Well just be careful,” said Mom. “Do you want one of us to come with you?”

“No, I’ll be fine,” said Daisy, who knew that trying to explain about surfing rabbits would make life complicated. “I’ve got my lifesaver badge, remember?”

It was true. Daisy was one of the best swimmers in her class and had placed first in the swimming competition for three years running. But even so, her parents always wanted to make sure that she was safe.

“All right,” said her mom. “But stay where we can see you, and don’t go out of your depth!”

When Daisy reached the water, the incoming tide had already flooded the pools, and Rabsy and Raberta were standing by the waterline playing catch with a pebble.

“You brought the foam floaty thing!” said Raberta.

“I did,” said Daisy. “So who wants a ride on the blue uppy-downy things?”

“Me!” shouted both rabbits together, jumping up and down on the sand.

“OK,” said Daisy, “but first you need to calm down a bit.”

“Sorry,” said Raberta. She stopped jumping up and down and then held on to Rabsy’s ears until he stopped, too.

“Now,” said Daisy, “first of all we need to go through some safety procedures.”

“Do not talk to foxes,” said Raberta sternly. “NEVER talk to foxes.”

“OK, good,” said Daisy, “although I was thinking more about surfing actually.”

She did a quick check to make sure no one was watching, then waved the two rabbits toward the front of the surfboard.

“Now, go like this,” she said, holding her arms out.

As Rabsy and Raberta raised their front paws, Rabsy started swaying from side to side, pretending to lose his balance.

“Uh-oh,” he said. “Going . . . left! Going . . . right!”

“Rabsy, pay attention,” said Daisy. “When we’re riding the waves, that’s when you can try to stand up. But you have to put your paws out to help you balance. And remember, any time you think you’re about to fall off, just lie down and hang on to me.”

“Where will you be?” asked Raberta. “Right behind you,” said Daisy. “Now let’s practice. When I say ‘surf,’ you stand up and put your paws out, and when I say ‘drop,’ you lie down and pretend to be holding my arms. Are you ready?”

“Ready,” said Rabsy.

“Ready,” said Raberta.

“OK, and . . . surf!”

Rabsy and Raberta jumped to the front of the board and held their paws out just as they had been shown.

“And . . . drop!”

Rabsy and Raberta dropped to the board with a little
“Ooof!”
sound.

“Now pretend to be holding my arms,” Daisy reminded them. “That’s it, that’s it, and . . . surf! And . . . drop! And . . . surf! And . . . drop!”

Rabsy rolled off the board and lay on his back in the sand. “I’m tired now,” he said. “Can’t we play hide-and-squeak instead?”