Baby Barney Barnacle was floating in the warm quiet lagoon when it was released from

its mother into the sea with hundreds of its tiny brothers and sisters.

He heard a voice that sounded soft and familiar, but he could not tell where it was

from. The voice told him to eat the plankton that floated around him and wait until

he could find a large hard surface to attach himself to and rest. The voice became

louder and told him to move away when a school of fish passed by to eat a few of his

brothers and sisters. When the tide washed out, the voice told him he had to look

out for crabs that thought he would make a tasty snack! He dreamed about how he

would rest for the rest of his life on that hard surface. It would become his

forever home and he would never have to leave. He would not have to work to look for

food like some of the other sea creatures. He would not have to fight for his food

or go hungry like some of the creatures in the sea and he would not have to worry

about being eaten. He could travel and see the world and eat the different foods

that the sea offered and he would be safe. While he was eating his meal of plankton,

a piece of wood floated by, it looked nice, but the voice told him it was not large

enough, so he let it float by. Some of Barney’s sisters attached themselves to a

boat that slowly passed by, but there was not enough room for Barney, so he

continued to float in the lagoon and eat his plankton and algae. Some of Barney’s

brothers attached themselves to the baby sea turtles as they swam from the beach to

the lagoon on their way out to sea. A lot of the sea turtles did not get very far

because the seagulls and the fish ate them! So Barney just stayed in the lagoon

eating his plankton.

One day, the lagoon became dark and the water churned and the waves crashed into the

lagoon! Oh my! Baby Barney thought. He had never been through this before! All of a

sudden, he felt a large pull and before he knew it, he was out of the lagoon and

floating on the large rough waves of the sea! The voice he usually heard was loud

and told him to hang on, things were about to get better. So Baby Barney continued

to float on a large wave out to one of the sea currents. Then the water became calm

and clear again. Everything looked new and different now. There was a large, gray,

slow-moving, flat surface coming close to him. The voice that usually spoke to him

told him go now and hang on. It was time for him to attach himself and ride. It was

a gentle ride and he was able to see lots of places and eat different food and he

was safe. He lived on the side of a large whale. Barney traveled for many years on

the whale. Barney was on his forever home.