🏖️ Coco's Beach Day

It was the hottest day of summer, and Coco's family was going to the beach. Coco had never been to the beach. "Is it like a very big sandbox?" she asked.

When they arrived, Coco's eyes went wide. The sand was warm and golden, and it went on and on. And beyond the sand was the sea, blue and sparkling, with waves that went whoosh and splash.

Coco stepped onto the sand. It was warm and ticklish between her toes. She dug a little hole. Then a bigger hole. Then she was so deep that only her ears were showing.

The seagulls called overhead. A crab scuttled sideways past her nose. "Hello," said Coco. The crab waved one claw and kept going, sideways, sideways, sideways. Coco tried walking sideways too, and fell over, giggling.

The children built a sandcastle with towers and a moat. Coco helped by patting the walls with her paws. Then she sat on top of the tallest tower, which squished it flat. "Oops," she said. Everyone laughed.

Coco did not go in the water, because cats prefer to stay dry. But she watched the waves come in and go out, again and again, like the sea was breathing.

Under the big striped umbrella, in the cool shade, Coco curled up on a towel. The sound of the waves and the soft sea breeze made her feel very calm. Whoosh, splash. Whoosh, splash.

She fell asleep, dreaming of crabs and sandcastles, with a little bit of sand still stuck to her whiskers.