"It's all tangled up in fishing line!" My heart pounded as I swam even closer, trying to get a better look. A tangle of what looked like heavy-duty braided line was wrapped around the dolphin's midsection and part of its tail, pretty much lashing it to the rocks behind it.The dolphin stopped struggling for a moment, staring at me with gentle, curious dark eyes. There was a large, half-healed wound zigzagging across its face, starting in front of one eye and ending just short of the blowhole atop its head. "Easy, easy," I murmured, using an eggbeater kick to steady myself as the current carried me toward the dolphin. "I'm your friend, okay?"The dolphin let out a funny little chirping sound, but it stayed still as I tentatively reached toward it. I couldn't take my eyes off the dolphin. I'd never seen one up so close like that, not without a thick pane of glass between us, anyway. The dolphin seemed bigger than I would have expected, and maybe a little wilder, too. Somehow, though, I didn't really feel afraid, just weirdly shy. Holding my breath, I leaned forward and touched the dolphin's side.Its skin felt rubbery and smooth. The dolphin chirped again, its gaze never leaving my face. I couldn't believe it was letting me pet it it made me feel honored and sort of breathless, like the first time Emma's mom asked my opinion on one of her paintings. As I ran my hand up toward its dorsal fin, an extra-large wave washed past me, splashing up and making the dolphin thrash once more. I winced as the line dug deeper into that smooth gray skin.I turned to see Jacob still bobbing in the water twenty yards back. "He's really stuck," I called. "The tide's coming in, and soon he won't be able to keep his blowhole above the surface. He'll die if we don't help him!"

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Excerpted from Heart of a Dolphin by Catherine Hapka
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