Following the Dolphins

Ugo is fifteen. It is summer. He works on his uncle's fishing boat. The boat is called the Blue Gull. It is old and small. The crew has four people. Ugo is the youngest.

His job is easy. He cleans the deck. He coils the ropes. He makes the tea. He does not touch the nets. Only the older men do that.

This week the sea gives nothing. For three days the nets come up almost empty. The men are tired and quiet. The captain looks at the sky each hour. She says little.

On the fourth morning the boat leaves the harbor early. The water is flat and grey. Ugo sits on a box near the front. He drinks tea and watches the waves.

After two hours the captain stops the engine. The men drop the nets. They wait. The net comes up. It holds a few small fish and some seaweed.

"Again nothing," says one man. He throws the seaweed back.

Ugo looks away. He does not want to see their faces. Far out on the water something moves. A bird dives. Then another. Then ten birds dive at once.

"Look," he says.

Nobody hears him. The men are busy with the net.

"Look!" he says again, louder.

The captain turns her head. "What is it?"

"Birds," says Ugo. He points. "Many birds. They go down, and they come up with fish."

The captain shades her eyes. A dark line moves on the water beside the birds. Grey backs rise and fall. Dolphins.

"Dolphins eat fish," says Ugo. "So the fish must be there."

The older men look at each other. One of them shrugs. "A boy's idea."

"A good idea," says the captain. She starts the engine. "Everyone, hold on."

The Blue Gull turns and moves toward the birds. The wind is cold on Ugo's face. The boat jumps on small waves. Water sprays over the front. Ugo laughs.

They stop near the dolphins. The sea is alive. Silver flashes shine under the surface. The captain looks at the men. "Nets. Now."

The men work fast. The nets go down. Ugo hands them rope and holds the boxes. Ugo stands at the side. A dolphin jumps right next to the boat. It looks at him with a bright black eye. Then it dives.

The nets come up. They are heavy and full. The fish are silver and fat. They jump on the deck like coins.

"Pull!" shouts the captain.

Ugo does not wait for permission. He runs to the rope. He grabs it with both hands. The man next to him moves over.

They pull together. The net lifts higher. Fish pour into the boxes. In an hour the deck is full.

On the way home the men are loud and happy. They sing. One of them gives Ugo a big piece of bread.

"Tomorrow," the captain says, "you do not make the tea. Tomorrow you stand at the net."

Ugo picks up the rope again. He ties a knot, and it is a good one.