“Hey everyone, I just read a notice. There’s going to be a shell contest.” Shelly shouted to anyone that would listen.
“What kind of contest?” yawned Connie Conch.
“It didn’t say.”
“That’s no contest then,” Connie went back to sleep.
“Yes it is. And I’m going to win.” Shelley would not listen to Connie.
Shelley went back to the sign. It said. SHELL CONTEST TODAY. WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE COMPETITION. Shelley had to admit that the contest was very vague. “I’m entering anyway.”
“Me too,” said Sally Slipper.
“You’re very small.” Shelley thought that Sally would be overlooked.
“So, small can win,” Sally went with Shelley to the competition.
Sally and Shelley were amazed at the turnout. “There are a lot of shells here.”
“Can we join?” two starfish walked up.
Shelley wasn’t sure. She had not made the rules. “You can try,” she finally said.
“Can we compete as a group,” the tiny coquinas asked.
“I do not know any more than you all do but why not try,” Shelley thought maybe she would drop out. But no, she wanted to win.
“What’s going on? I want to play.” A skate egg case looked at everyone.
“It’s a contest.”
“For what?”
“We don’t know. But it is for shells only.” reminded Sally. “You are not a shell.”
“I am important. The baby skates would die without me.”
“You have a point.”
“I have four of them.”
“Line up everybody. The competition is about to start.”
“What are the rules?” asked Shelley.
“There are no rules. The beach children wanted a shell contest. They will pick the winner.”
The children looked at all of the shells. “Starfish are not shells.”
“But they are pretty."
“Can we have a lot of winners?” asked the youngest judge.
“No only one,” the oldest judge picked up a shell. “This one has a hole.”
“That’s to make it into a necklace. I vote for it.”
“We have to all agree.”
“Pick the biggest.”
“Pick the smallest”
“It is hard to agree.” Just then a big wave came along and swooped up all of the shells and even the starfish and the skate case.
“The wave picked the winner,” the children were excited and raced into the ocean to find the winner but of course that was impossible and so they played jump the waves instead.