The Boy and the Sea Otter

A young boy stands at the edge of a dock with his notebook and a stub of pencil, hoping to witness something wonderful. Ranger Mira rows him out over a kelp forest, where long brown stalks rise from the sea floor like trees and fish and crabs move among the leaves. There he meets a sea otter floating on its back, cracking open a sea urchin on its chest, and begins to fill his notebook with what he observes.

As the boy draws the kelp, the spiny urchins, the otter, the fish and the crab, Mira explains why one stretch of rock lies bare and gray: too many urchins can strip a kelp forest down to an urchin barren. The otter keeps the urchins in check, and plenty of kelp means shelter for many ocean animals. Following her questions, the boy draws arrows between the creatures and works out a food web. This tale by Çınar BİBER can be read on Masalcı Baba.