It was a sunny morning and Ani the animal detective was just about to go the beach to see Starlight, a dolphin friend of Ani's. Ani was a ten year old girl in Mrs. Rosa's forth grade class in Palm Tree Elementary. She loved animals. She always helped any animal in need. Whenever an animal was missing or something strange happened, Ani was the girl you'd want to call. Ani's long brown hair matched the color other twinkling eyes. Her skin was the color of sand. Ani was as sweet as candy. She lived in Florida and was happy there because there were many animals everywhere.

That day, the streets were full of people shopping for groceries, riding bikes with friends, and parents sitting under palm trees with newspapers in their hands. As Ani biked down the bumpy road on her rusty blue bicycle that had "I'm an animal lover!" sign, she noticed that some unfamiliar people were building a pool. That was strange; most people in Ani's village swam in the ocean rather than buying a swimming pool. Besides, these men looked like they were from a different town. What could they be doing? Ani just shrugged and continued on her way to the beach.

The beach was a delightful place with animals wandering around on the soft, warm sand, people fishing, and best of all dolphins gracefully swimming in the ocean like ballerinas dancing on stage. Ani whistled, for that was how she told Starlight that she was there. Starlight didn't come. Ani whistled louder, Starlight still didn't come. "Where is Starlight?" Ani wondered. Ani dove into the clear Florida waters, which were only twenty feet deep.

In the warm waters the coral reefs were like pink, red, and orange fans keeping Ani cool. Long, green strips of seaweed were like trees swaying in the wind. It was just like a forest, except there were fish instead of mammals, reptiles, and birds, but there was a parrot fish. Dolphins like Luna, Speedy, Rose, and Splash swan over to Ani. It was a joyful welcome, but Starlight wasn't there. Ani then knew that Starlight was missing.

The other dolphins all pushed Ani deeper into the ocean making her shiver. Confused and tired Ani slowly came up to the surface to take a breath. Then Ani saw a helicopter hovering above the surface! On one side of the helicopter was a sign that said, "Animal Collectors". On the helicopter there was a familiar looking man wearing a dark mask, it was one of the men building the pool!

In a few minutes Ani realized that the man was a robber! Quickly, Ani dove under the water and saw a net with a dolphin inside. As Ani swam closer to the dolphin she realized that the dolphin was Starlight! That very minute Starlight was being pulled up, high into the sky! Ani pulled the net back down and took out her pocket knife. Then she cut a hole in the net, but it was too small for Starlight to escape out of.

Just then a huge wave collapsed on Ani! The strong current pushed Ani's pocket knife and made Ani cut her leg real hard! Down, down she fell, into the dark, frosty waters below. Ani knew that sharks would smell the blood and come dashing at her, trying to eat her until there would be nothing left in the water except fish, mammals, and plants.

A Great White Shark came in less than two minutes. As Ani prepared for the worst an even larger Great White Shark came, its teeth as sharp as knives! Instead of biting Ani, it bit the other shark. Ani wasn't too surprised, sometimes sharks eat other sharks; even their young. What surprised Ani was that the large shark just swam away while the smaller shark swam in the opposite direction. "Why didn't the large shark eat the small shark?" Ani wondered. This animal detective was just getting more puzzled.

Ani then realized how much pain she was. Ani accidentally breathed in when she shouldn't have and swallowed a mouthful of water. She began sinking, deeper and deeper into the unknown. When she finally opened her eyes she found herself in the hospital. Her parents and younger sister were so relived that she was okay. Ani's mother told Ani how a dolphin spotted her and pushed her to the shore where a lifeguard took her to the hospital. Ani thought that she was very lucky to have such good friends. Her family thought so too.

As soon as she was well again Ani went to the ocean to find Starlight after she promised her parents that she would be careful. On her way there she saw a sign saying, "Do Not Enter," where the men had been building the pool.

Ani was getting suspicious and determined to find out what was behind the gate. Slowly, Ani unlocked the gate and tiptoed in. As she looked around she saw the pool filled with filth. "THUMP, THUMP, THUMP! Ani heard footsteps, somebody was coming! "Where should I hide?" Ani wondered. Seeing no place to hide Ani silently dived into the filthy pool. "YUCK!" Ani thought. It seemed like no one had ever cleaned this pool for years. Just then Ani saw a glimpse of movement. Ani froze with fright. Who or what was that? Was it Starlight? It was!

Ani quickly slipped out of the pool and ran to the police station and told the police what had happened. Later that night a special truck came to the pool and took Starlight back to the ocean. The next morning the police arrested the men who had illegally stole Starlight. Everyone was happy that Starlight was safe, especially Ani. Ani had finally solved the case of the missing dolphin. Mission accomplished, at least until another animal needs help.