Big waves rolled across the sea. The water was grey, reflecting the stormy sky above.
A thunderstorm was moving towards the shore, where Seb and the other seals were resting and catching small fish for dinner.
Seb swam happily through the water, feeling free and light. As he picked up speed, excitement fluttered in his stomach like tiny butterflies.
Suddenly, the cheerful seal spotted something colourful floating ahead of him.
It looked like a small island.
Seb hesitated for a moment, but curiosity soon took over. He swam around the strange island a few times and prepared to climb onto it.
Then he heard a frightened cry.
“Don’t come any closer! This isn’t an island. It’s a plastic bag that humans dropped into the sea, and I’m trapped inside it!”
A little bird peered out from underneath the plastic. Its eyes were sad, and its small yellow beak was trembling.
Seb gently took the bag in his mouth and tried to pull it away from the bird, but it would not come loose.
He tried again, pulling as hard as he could.
Still, the bird remained trapped.
Then Seb had an idea.
“Wait here,” he told the bird. “I’m going to get help.”
He hurried through the water and returned to the other seals.
By the time Seb came back with his family and friends, the storm had begun to clear. The sea grew brighter as the group swam together towards the trapped bird.
Working as a team, the seals pulled at the plastic bag until the bird finally wriggled free.
“You saved me!” the little bird cried happily.
Seb and his friends then collected the pieces of plastic they found floating nearby and carried them towards the harbour.
A young girl standing near the water spotted them.
Her eyes widened when she saw the seals and the rubbish.
“I’m going to make sure this plastic is taken away,” she told her mum. “I don’t want any animals to get hurt. They are my friends too.”
Seb watched from the water and smiled.
As he swam back to his family, he thought about what had happened.
Being brave did not mean doing everything alone.
Sometimes, being brave meant asking for help.
