## The Little Submarine: A Deep Ocean Adventure
If you walk down to the busy sunny docks at Marina Bay past the big cargo ships and the fast sailboats you will find a very special boat bobbing in the water. His name is **Sammy the Submarine**.
Unlike the grey military submarines that look like giant iron whales Sammy was small and round. Sammy was painted a banana yellow. Sammy had a glass dome on his front that looked like a friendly eye. Sammy had two metal arms folded against his sides and a shiny silver periscope that popped up and down to look at the world above.\
Sammy was built for one job: **deep ocean exploration**. While the other boats loved to skim across the top of the water Sammy dreamed of what lived below. Sammy wanted to see the trenches, the hidden underwater mountains and the glowing creatures that live where the sun cannot reach.
### Leaving the Safe Harbor
One Tuesday morning Captain Barnacles—a wise old pelican who liked to sit on the periscope of Sammy—tapped on the glass with his beak.
"It is a day for an ocean adventure, Sammy!" squawked Captain Barnacles. "The sea is calm. The tide is just right. Are you ready to explore?"
The engines of Sammy hummed with excitement. "I am ready Captain! I want to go than I have ever gone before."
With a toot* of his horn Sammy moved away from the wooden docks. Sammy glided past the breakwater and out into the open ocean. When the water changed from blue to a deep dark blue Sammy knew it was time.
Sammy opened the valves to his ballast tanks. *Whoosh swoosh, gurgle!* The tanks filled with seawater making Sammy heavy. Slowly and gently the brave little submarine began to sink under the waves.
### The Colorful Coral Reef
The first stop on the trip for Sammy was the **Sunlight Zone**. The water here was warm and clear. Golden rays of sun shone down from the surface.
It felt like flying through a jungle under the sea. Sammy cruised past coral reefs that looked like castles made of pink, purple and green stone. Thousands of bright fish darted around Sammy like confetti. Sammy waved a metal arm at a group of clownfish. Blinked his lights at a gentle sea turtle named Coral. Coral was busy eating some sea sponge.
> "Enjoy the sunshine, Sammy!" Coral the turtle called out. Her voice echoed through the water. ". Be careful down below. The ocean is huge and full of surprises!"
Sammy. Kept going down. The deeper Sammy went the colder the water felt. The golden sunlight began to fade. The water turned into a dusky blue. Sammy was entering the **Twilight Zone**.
### Surviving the Midnight Zone
Down down down went Sammy. Soon the blue light went away completely. It was pitch black. Sammy had reached the **Midnight Zone** a place in the ocean where sunlight never reaches.
For a moment the little yellow submarine felt a shiver in his metal frame. It was very dark and very quiet.
"Do not be afraid " Sammy whispered to himself. "The dark is a place for a different kind of light."
With a loud *click* Sammy turned on his bright LED headlights. Two big beams of light cut through the dark water. Sammy saw a strange world.
The deep ocean was not empty! It was full of creatures that make their own light. This magic is called bioluminescence. Sammy watched in awe as glowing jellyfish drifted past like umbrellas. Sammy saw an anglerfish with a little glowing lantern on its head. Sammy even saw a giant squid flash red and white as it swam away into the shadows.
Sammy realized that the deep ocean was not scary; it was a different kind of beautiful.
### The Push and Pull: Facing the Waves
As Sammy continued his journey along the sandy ocean floor Sammy noticed something strange. The water around Sammy was starting to move. It was not a small current; it was a huge strong force.
Up on the surface the moon was pulling on the ocean creating **tidal waves** and deep currents. Even though Sammy was hundreds of feet below the surface Sammy could feel the power of the tide.
Suddenly a strong underwater current caught Sammy. *Whoosh!* Sammy was spun around like a toy in a bathtub. The tidal push was dragging Sammy toward a wall of rocks!
Sammy had to act. Sammy reversed the propellers. Pushed the engines as hard as they could go.
*Rrrrrrrrrr!* The tiny motors of Sammy whined as they fought against the ocean tide. Sammy used the side thrusters to stay steady pointing the nose directly into the rushing water. It took all the strength and battery power of Sammy. Slowly inch by inch Sammy pushed forward. Sammy moved safely away from the rocks and into water.
Sammy was breathing heavily—. At least the fans on Sammy were spinning very fast! Sammy had survived the deep-sea currents.
### The Giant Ocean Storm
Just as Sammy thought the worst was over the water pressure started to change. The alarm on Sammy beeped a warning: **DANGER. STORM APPROACHING.**
Far above Sammy, a hurricane was hitting the surface of the ocean. The wind was. Giant waves were crashing. While the deep ocean is usually quiet during a storm Sammy was in a canyon wall that was being hit by the water above.
The storm made underwater swirls called eddies. The water churned like a washing machine. Sand and seaweed were flying around like a blizzard. The headlights of Sammy could not see through the swirling mud. Sammy was being tossed up and down. The heavy metal hull of Sammy groaned under the weight of the storm waves.
> "A brave explorer knows when to push forward and when to find shelter!" Sammy remembered Captain Barnacles saying.
Using sonar—a machine that uses sound to 'see' in the dark—Sammy sent out a signal. *Ping... Ping... Ping...*
The computer screen of Sammy showed a deep cave in the canyon wall to the left. Fighting with all the power Sammy had left Sammy steered the yellow body through the stormy water. With one push Sammy slid into the dark quiet cave.
Outside the cave the ocean storm raged and tossed sand everywhere.. Inside Sammy was safe and snug. Sammy turned off the engines to save battery. Sammy kept a small nightlight on and waited for the storm to pass.
### The Rescue Mission
hours later the noise outside stopped. The water became still. Sammy slowly turned the engines on and looked out of the cave. The sand had. The water was clear again. The storm was over!
Sammy was just about to start the trip to the surface when the radio picked up a strange sound.
*Woooo-weeeeee. Woooo-weeeeee.*
It was a high cry in the deep ocean water. Sammy turned the headlights toward the sound. There hiding behind a piece of kelp was a baby humpback whale.
The poor little calf was scared. The storm waves had pulled him away from his mother. He had swum deep into the dark water to hide. Now the baby whale did not know which way was up.
Sammy slowly moved over to the baby whale. Sammy did not want to scare him. Sammy flashed the headlights in a way and played a soft happy hum through the speakers.
"Do not worry, guy " Sammy said through the underwater speaker. "I know the way to the sun. Follow my shell!"
The baby whale saw the friendly yellow submarine and nudged the glass dome of Sammy with his nose.
Together they began the trip up. Sammy kept the lights bright to act as a guide in the Midnight Zone. They swam up through the dark blue Twilight Zone. Finally broke into the warm golden Sunlight Zone.
Soon as they reached the sunlit water Sammy heard a huge happy sound.
*WOOOOOOOOOM!*
It was the mother humpback whale! She rushed through the water. Wrapped her big fins around her baby. The little calf made sounds and swam in circles around his mother. The mother whale looked into the glass eye of Sammy and nodded her giant head. It was a silent "thank you" to the little submarine.
### A Hero Returns Home
With the battery running but a very happy heart Sammy blew the water out of the ballast tanks. *Psssssh!* Sammy floated all the way up. Sammy popped through the surface of the ocean just as the sun was setting. The sky was orange and pink.
Sammy chugged happily back, into Marina Bay. Captain Barnacles was waiting on the dock flapping his wings.
"Sammy! You were gone a time!" the pelican squawked. "Did you see the ocean? Did you survive the storm?"
"I did, Captain " Sammy smiled, his paint sparkling in the sunset. "I saw glowing monsters I fought the waves I hid from a giant storm and I even helped a friend find his way home."
Sammy was docked, cleaned and plugged in to recharge. As the stars came out over the harbor the little submarine closed his eyes. Sammy was small. The ocean was impossibly big but Sammy learned that with a sturdy shell, a bright light and a brave heart you can survive any storm the ocean throws your way.
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### What We Learned from Sammy’s Deep Ocean Adventure
Courage in the Dark:** like Sammy in the Midnight Zone things that are dark and unknown are not always scary. Sometimes you just need to shine a light on things to see their beauty!
Patience during Storms:** When the ocean storm hit Sammy did not panic. Sammy found a place and waited patiently. In life when things get stormy and messy sometimes the best thing to do is find a place and wait for the storm to pass.
Helping Others:** Even when Sammy was tired after surviving the storm and the tidal waves Sammy still took the time to help the baby whale. Helping others makes us the truest heroes.
Mighty:** Sammy was not a giant military ship but the bravery of Sammy made Sammy the strongest vessel, in the sea.
***Goodnight sleep tight. Dream of wonderful ocean adventures!***
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