Something in the Pond

It was a sunny Saturday morning. Maya, Tom and Leo went to the nature reserve. They wanted to go pond dipping.

They took their nets and buckets. Ranger Sam showed them the big pond. "Look carefully," she said. "What can you find?"

Maya dipped her net into the water. She found a frog. "Wow!" she said. Tom found some tadpoles. Leo found a beetle.

Then Maya saw something strange. It was moving slowly. It was long and pink. It had many legs.

"Look at this!" Maya called. Ranger Sam came to look. She smiled. "This is very special," she said. "It is a great crested newt. These animals are rare. We must look after them."

The children were happy. They put the newt back in the water carefully. "Goodbye, little newt," said Leo.

They walked home with big smiles. They saw something wonderful that day.