Juvenile Fiction
Upload Author Photo
Joseph Hinshaw

The Dolphins

On a bright and sunny day on Florida’s Gulf Coast Old Joe took his grandsons, Bradley and Barrett, to Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida. They all loved the stories of the pirates that sailed in the waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico in those days past. The Pirate life was always exciting with lots of adventures. They hoped to sample this at Disney. Once inside the Disney Park they made their way to “The Pirate's League” attraction and got into line. Once inside they would dress in their pirate clothes that were provided as a part of the experience. They would be given a pirate name, taught the ways of the pirate and then set sail for a pirate adventure. Old Joe and the boys would find their own adventure to be more magical than what was planned by the Disney Park as the day progressed. They did not know this yet though!
Old Joe and the boys got into their pirate clothes. When they were dressed they were instructed to go to the dock to board the pirate ship when they were in their proper costumes. They were in awe of the ship but as they approach the gangplank the air started twirling like a whirlwind. They were lifted way, way up into the sky. The whirlwind moved away from the dock and away from Disney World itself.
They did not know where or how hard they would land.
They flew through the air at great speed and high in the sky for some time. They could see the ground below. They watched as their ship and Disney World grew smaller and smaller into the distance until they could no longer see it. They were flying over the water. The view was breathtaking but the fear of falling or being slammed to the ground was a constant worry. After a while the speed of the whirlwind slowed and they felt themselves being slowly lowered closer to the ground and it eventually gently set them down on a white sand beach. They looked all around them to determine where they were but could not find anything familiar to help them with their location. During their search for landmarks they spied an entrance to a cave hidden behind some bushes and rocks along the beach.
They decided to walk to the cave and see if it offered any clues. As they approached, they found only a very dark tunnel. Fearfully they entered and move forward. They had to feel their way along by running their hands along the walls and watching every step in the darkness. They continued on until they found a large cave room. It was bathed in light and when their eyes focused from the darkness they looked in and found a waterfall with a rainbow hovering over its top. The rainbow came to the ground on both sides of the waterfall. They had all heard the folklore that said there was a pot of gold at the end of each rainbow protected by a Leprechaun so they hurried to the spot. Where the colors of the rainbow touched the ground the stones on the floor of the cave had turned to the colors that touched them there from the glow of the rainbow. The boys had long collected unusual stones and they had never seen any like these. They started to pick up the stones and put them into their packs. It was then that they heard an angry voice come from behind the waterfall
The voice said “What are you doing with me rainbow rocks?”