Mazy The Dolphin™
by Virginia "Joy" Smith

Jonah sat looking out at the horizon waiting anxiously for the dolphins to spin into the air. This was the third year in a row that Jonah and his family had returned to the Big Island of Hawaii. The family had just arrived, and Jonah did not waste anytime walking down to the beach where he could watch for his dolphin friends.

It was three years ago that Jonah, an only child five years old, was feeling very lonely. He had just started kindergarten that September, and wanted a friend so bad, but no one at school was interested. He had felt so sad. Jonah had practically skipped to school that first day smiling and hoping that he was going to make many new friends. As the days passed and still no friends were made, he became very discouraged. Then that December his parents thought a vacation in Hawaii might perk up Jonah’s spirits. It did, but not in the way his parents had anticipated.

One morning while playing by the water and making sandcastles, Jonah was drawn by how many of the adults were looking out to the ocean pointing and calling. One of the men yelled in alarm, “Look out there, those are sharks!” Jonah stood up and peered out to the black shapes frolicking in the ocean. He felt differently than the adults, could hear their telltale high-pitched sounds and knew they weren’t sharks. He had just gone to the aquarium with his class and learned about dolphins there. Didn’t dolphins make the high-pitched sounds and calls he was now hearing? Suddenly a funny feeling began to swell in his stomach. It was the same happy and excited feeling he had when his soccer team won a big game.

Jonah searched for his mom and dad. He spotted them pointing at the water with the others and getting upset. Jonah ran over and took his mother’s hand. “Mommy, you don’t need to be scared, those are dolphins not sharks.” His mother glanced down at him and asked how he knew. Jonah said, “I can hear their high-pitched sounds. Can’t you hear them, mom?” She listened very carefully and then told him, “Jonah, you must be mistaken. I don’t hear anything.” Jonah felt lonely and isolated again, but this time by his special knowing that he couldn’t share with others. This was what friends shared. When was he ever going to find such a friend? Later that night he went to bed and dreamed of dolphins.

The next morning he woke up knowing he had to hurry down to the beach. Jonah told his mother that he didn’t have time for breakfast. She shook her head and said that he had to eat his cereal. Jonah ate so fast that it gave him a stomach ache, but nothing was going stop him from making his dolphin appointment. “Come on, please let’s go!” He urged his parents.

The three of them strolled down to the beach with Jonah running in front. When they finally arrived, Jonah told his mother where he was going to play and then took his pail, shovel, and truck and headed off. While he was playing in the sand, he began to feel his heart beat really fast. Jonah thought for a moment that it was going to explode inside his chest. So he sat in the sand very still and wondered if he should tell his mom. When he looked up to find her, something in the ocean caught his attention. He stood up and looked out, and his eyes grew to the size of saucers as he saw three dolphins spinning in the air.

Excited he called out to them with his thoughts, as he didn’t want anyone to hear him. “Do it again,” he asked, and they did. “Do it again,” he said, and they did once again. Jonah was so excited watching the dolphins spin in the air. Sometimes the sight was funny as they came down splashing on their backs. He wanted to tell someone, but he was worried no one would believe him. Finally, he decided to tell his mom he wanted to go for a swim. He ran over and asked her, and she said yes. He put on his life jacket and ran to the ocean edge as fast as he could. He was a good swimmer, and as long as he had his life jacket on, his mother wasn’t concerned, but she still watched him.

Jonah waded out, jumping into the first wave. The water had a very different feeling. It was as fine as air, and he felt that he was flying like Peter Pan. He was so excited and smiled from ear to ear. He had never felt this happy in his life. Jonah was busy lying on his back and kicking his legs when all of sudden something touched his hand. He wasn’t even scared, and he just turned around and right next to him was a beautiful dolphin. “Wow”, he thought. There is a dolphin next to me, and then the dolphin swam down into the water and circled around and around him. Jonah began to laugh out loud. He felt like he had finally found a friend. He decided to call the dolphin Mazy, or Amazing Mazy. He liked the sound of it.

Jonah was brought back from his memories of Mazy when she announced her arrival in the present by splashing him and spinning her beautiful body in the air. Jonah’s heart leaped with glee. This was his dear friend Mazy, and she would never leave him. He called out to her, “Hi Mazy, I love you.” Mazy leaped in the air once again. Jonah knew he would see her the next day, and in the days to come she always knew when he was coming and would be there waiting for him. That’s what good friends did.

This article was reprinted with permission from the August/September, 2005 Collin County Kids Newspaper, www.collincountykids.com . Signup for their free newsletter.

This story was written and is copyrighted by Virginia "Joy" Smith, The Dolphin Lady™ www.thedolphinlady.net. For more information about Mazy the Dolphin™ and her adventures visit www.amazingmazy.com. You can also send Mazy your amazing story!

For more information about Mazy The Dolphin™, please contact Virginia "Joy" Smith at 480-797-7746, or email her at