by Asia Citro
HYPOTHESIS:
The pollution is coming from a car wash!
Dad buckled in and started the car. He turned to Mom. “Where do you think I should drive first?”
I piped up from the backseat. “Shouldn’t we start at Sam’s Car Wash in town?” I mean, that seemed like a pretty obvious answer to me.
“Ah,” my mom replied. “What would happen if the town car wash dumped soap into the storm drains all day long?”
Oh, I thought. “We would’ve had this problem from the beginning,” I said. “There wouldn’t be any merhorses in our stream!”
“Did you say . . . merhorses?” my dad asked.
“I meant to say mayflies,” I said quickly. “There wouldn’t be any mayflies.”
“Correct,” said Mom. “Which is why car washes like the one in town have special drains. All their soapy water travels through special pipes to a water treatment plant. There they remove the soap and grease from the water to keep our streams safer.”
“So what are we looking for then? A person washing a car at their house?” I sighed. “That will be impossible to find!”
“No, something bigger than that. Although you’re right, if you wash a car with a lot of soap at home, that soapy water goes down the road into a storm drain and into their local stream or ocean. But with all the damage to that part of the stream, I’m guessing we’re looking for a group of kids running a car wash.”
At first I was kind of mad at the kids. They were killing the mayfly babies and hurting the merhorses! Who would do that?
But then I realized I hadn’t known that a car wash in town could hurt our stream, either. It’s not like you can even see the stream from anywhere in town. Whoever these kids were, they probably had no idea what they were doing to our stream.
My dad drove up and down the streets in town. We looked everywhere. Just when we were about to give up, I saw a flash of neon. A sign that said . . . CAR WASH!
CHAPTER 10
YOU’VE GOT TO STOP!
The kids running the car wash were cleaning up for the day. We’d caught them just in time. We got out of the car and walked over. As we got closer, I realized they were big kids. Maybe even high schoolers.
One of the kids turned to us, and my mom sort of pushed me forward. Ummm, she expected me to talk to them? But they were so . . . tall.
The tall girl smiled down at me. “Oh, hi. We’re all done for the day, sorry. But we’ll be here again next Saturday.”
I swallowed. I glanced back at my parents, who nodded at me to go ahead. I took another step forward and cleared my throat.
“Uh, you can’t do your car wash anymore,” I squeaked out.
Now all the kids turned and stared at me. One boy laughed. He looked at my parents, but they didn’t say anything. So he bent down to me and asked, “Oh? Why not?”
“It’s hurting the stream. It’s killing the stream bugs, and it’s really bad for the, um, creatures that live in the stream.”
A few of the kids looked around. The girl who’d first talked pointed up and down the street. “But there’s no stream here. See? It’s just a parking lot. If anything, it’s making the ground nice and clean.”
I turned to my parents again, but they only smiled at me. They really weren’t going to help me out here, huh? Well, OK then.
“I know it sounds weird,” I continued, “but here, come with me.” I gestured and the kids, now curious, followed me. “If we follow the soapy water from your car wash, you’ll see what I mean.”
I led them to the sidewalk and pointed down in the gutter, where a stream of soapy water was still traveling. We all walked along the sidewalk until I spotted the storm drain. The soapy water disappeared into the pipe right before our eyes.
“See? The soapy water travels in pipes underground, and then it pours into our stream. The soap foam from your car wash is polluting the water. The things that live in the stream aren’t used to the soap chemicals. It’s killing them.”
“Whoa,” said the boy. He looked up at my parents, who’d followed us to the storm drain. “Does this really go to the stream?”
“Yes, everything she said is true,” said my mom. “We do need you to stop the car wash.”
“Aw, man,” said the boy. “We were doing such a good job raising money for our class trip, though.”
“We’re almost halfway to our goal.” The girl sighed. “But we don’t want to pollute the stream. We had no idea.”
“Honest, we didn’t,” added the boy.
I looked up at my mom and dad. “Isn’t there something they could still do? Like maybe they could move their car wash to the parking lot at Sam’s Car Wash. It has the special drains that don’t take the soapy water to the stream, right?”
Mom thought for a minute. “Well, I don’t think they could use the parking lot at Sam’s Car Wash. Although I seem to remember hearing that Sam’s offers a fundraising program. Something about selling coupons.” She turned to my dad. “Does that sound familiar?”
“I think I saw an article about that in the paper,” he said. “Do you want me to call Sam’s and check?”
The kids and I all said, “Yes!” at the same time. This would be great. A solution that helped the stream and the kids!
My dad called and talked to someone at Sam’s. There were a lot of “mmm-hmms,” and finally he flashed us a thumbs-up.
After the call, Dad gave the kids all the information, and my family headed home for dinner. I was starving after all that mystery-solving!
On our way home, though, I began to worry. We had stopped this car wash, but what about others? How could we keep other people from making the same mistake? Would the mayfly babies ever come back? And were we too late for the poor merhorses?
CHAPTER 11
PAINTING THE STREETS
“Ready?” I asked Dad. I balanced the can of white spray paint in my slippery gloved hands.
“Yep, you’re all set.” He pressed down the edges of the stencil one more time. “You shook it really well, right?”
“Yes, of course I did!” I stuck out my tongue.
He laughed and stepped way back next to my mom. I pressed down the top of the spray paint can, and white mist flew out. I kept spraying until you couldn’t read the stencil anymore.
Next up was my favorite part. The big reveal! I set the can down and carefully peeled back the stencil.
My parents clapped. “Beautiful work!”
Right in front of the storm drain in bright white letters, there was now a message: DUMP NO WASTE. DRAINS TO STREAM.
I’d been so worried about the stream getting polluted with car wash soap again that my parents and I came up with a plan. Our city even had stencils and paint all ready for us. They just needed volunteers to drive around and paint the message on the storm drains.
Over the last several weeks, we’d spent an hour or two each Saturday and Sunday labeling storm drains in town. This was the last one!
As we drove home, I felt a great sense of relief. Now instead of the water from the gutter mysteriously disappearing, people could read about where it goes. They’d understand that whatever they put down there would end up in our stream.
We pulled into our driveway, and Mom let out a giant laugh. She quickly clapped her hand over her mouth.
“Are you OK?” my dad asked.
“Uh, yes. I, uh, thought I saw something on our doorstep.” Mom reached back and squeezed my knee.
Something on our doorstep? Oh! Something! I squished my face against the window searching for Pip.
There he was, right on our doorstep. On Sassafras’ head. I could tell that Sassafras was not pleased. His ears were out to the side, and he had a sour look on his face. I looked away so I wouldn’t start cracking up.
Once my dad parked, I bolted out of the car. I pretended to bend down to tie my shoe. Pip hopped up onto my head. Sassafras let out a big breath of relief and bumped against me, purring in thanks.
“I thought you’d ne
ver get home!” Pip exclaimed. “The merhorses are requesting you down at the stream, Zoey.”
“Are they OK?” I whispered up to Pip.
“Yes. They have news for you!” Pip said excitedly and gave a little jump on my head.
I sighed with relief. Pip had been able to find some grubs from the forest monsters to keep the merhorses comfortable. But apparently the merhorses weren’t fond of forest grubs. We’d been trying to wait patiently for the mayfly nymphs to return.
Pip looked excited, so it had to be good news. I was hoping it was the best news! Which meant this would be the perfect time to finally snap a photo of my new friends.
I’d been down to visit the merhorses a few times, and I’d somehow managed to forget my camera every time. I desperately wanted a photo of the merhorses to add to my science journal.
I spun around to my parents and asked, “Can Sassafras and I go down to the stream?” Oops! I could feel Pip hanging on for dear life.
“Mmm-hmm,” my mom managed to get out. She was pressing her lips together tightly to hold the laughs in.
I grabbed my underwater viewer and my camera from inside and — careful not to make any more sudden turns — Sassafras, Pip, and I set out for the stream.
CHAPTER 12
A GIFT!
Once we were in the forest, I couldn’t hold back my questions anymore. “Why did the merhorses send for me? What’s the news? Are the mayfly nymphs back?”
“You’ll see for yourself in a moment,” Pip called down from my head as he gave it a little pat.
I slowly waded across the stream while Sassafras grumbled and sat on the shore to wait. We made it to the log, and Pip leapt into the water.
I set my things down, pressed my underwater viewer into the water, and gasped. I would never get used to the beauty of the shimmering rainbow glow from deep under the log. I could only see the entrance to the cave from up here (I wasn’t quite brave enough to stick my whole head under the cold stream water yet), but it was breathtaking. Each small stone sent out rays of light. The colors smoothly changed from red to orange to yellow . . . all the way through the rainbow and back to red again. I couldn’t take my eyes off the magical light show.
At least not until Pip cleared his throat. “Zoey, I know the rainbow cave is really something, but I’ve got someone here who’d like to talk to you.”
Of course! The merhorses! I quickly put away my underwater viewer and turned my attention to the water. There, waiting patiently, was the merhorse. I set my hands in the water, and he swam into my palms. I smiled. Since the first time I’d met him, his eyes had grown so much brighter, and his whole body seemed to have a new sparkle to it. It was such a relief to see how much the merhorses had improved since we’d fixed the stormwater problem.
The merhorse spoke. I turned to Pip.
“He says, ‘I have wonderful news to share with you, Zoey. The mayfly nymphs have begun to reappear. Our stomachs are full, and we are happy once again. We are so grateful to you for saving us. We want to present you with a gift to show our thanks.’”
I nodded eagerly and opened my hands underwater so he could swim away. I was so excited. I love presents. And I couldn’t think of anything more amazing than a present from a merhorse!
I didn’t realize that I was holding my breath until I saw a whole wave of shimmering motion in the stream.
“Woooooowwww.” Pip and I both exhaled.
At least a dozen beautiful, healthy merhorses swim-galloped toward me, their long manes waving in the water. All of them seemed to have bigger cheeks than usual, like chipmunks with mouths full of seeds. They lined up and paddled in place, looking up at me with big, bright eyes.
I held out my hands in the water.
One by one, each merhorse carefully placed a magically sparkling rainbow stone in my hands.
Pip leaned so far forward, he fell in the water by accident. His cheeks were red as he hopped back onto shore and brushed off the stream water.
For a moment, all I could do was stare open-mouthed at the amazing scene before me. Merhorses. Rainbow stones. It was all too much! But then I remembered my manners. I looked each merhorse in the eyes and said, “Thank you so much for the beautiful gift.”
I leaned back a little to take a closer look at the stones and bumped into my camera. Oh! My camera! “Would you mind if I took a quick photo of you to add to my science journal?” I asked nervously.
The merhorses looked at each other, nodded, and then faced me. I could see bubbles coming out of their mouths, but I had no idea what they were saying.
Pip pointed toward the water. “Aren’t you going to take the photo? They’re saying, ‘Cheese!’”
“Oh!” I carefully placed the rainbow stones in my pocket, scrambled for my camera, and snapped a picture. I smiled down at the photo of my sweet little magical friends. “Thank you, merhorses!”
The first merhorse I’d met came close again and said something. Pip translated, “‘We must head back to our young in the rainbow cave now. But we thank you for saving us. We hope you will visit us again.’”
Pip and I sat on the shore and watched the herd of merhorses gracefully swim-gallop into the darkness under the log. I pulled the magic stones out of my pocket and stared some more.
Pip reached out a webbed hand and rolled one of the rainbow stones around in my hand. “I have never heard of the merhorses giving these away. You’re very lucky.”
I thought for a moment, and then took one of the stones and held it out to Pip. “You were a big help, Pip. I want you to have one.”
Pip’s eyes teared up a bit, and he grabbed my wrist in a big hug. “Thank you, Zoey! I’m going to take this straight home so I don’t lose it.” He popped the stone into one of his cheeks and gave me a big smile.
I kissed the top of his head, and then waved as Pip hopped back to his home in the forest.
Sassafras was waiting for me on the other side of the stream. Before I put my socks and shoes on, I carefully set the rainbow stones next to me on the sandy shore. Sassafras stared at them, and his eyes got really big. He started to purr. It was so beautiful and calming to watch the rainbow lights.
“Oh man, Mom has probably never seen rainbow stones. We’ve gotta go show her, Sassafras!” I grabbed all my stuff, and we set off for the house at a run.
CHAPTER 13
A RAINBOW ROOM
I burst through the door and hollered, “Mom! Where are you? You’ve got to come see these!”
I smiled up at Mom and held out two closed fists.
“What is it, Zoey? Was everything OK down at the stream?” Mom asked.
Instead of answering, I turned my fists over and opened my hands to reveal the rainbow stones. The room filled with rays of shimmering rainbow light.
“Ohhhhhhh.” Mom reached a finger out to touch them. “What are those?”
“A gift from the merhorses,” I whispered. “Enchanted rainbow stones. Their caves are decorated with these. Aren’t they the most beautiful things you’ve ever seen?”
Mom carefully rolled one into her hand and stared.
We were so mesmerized by the stones that we jumped when Dad walked over to us.
“What are you two up to?” Dad asked. He glanced at the stones in our hands and gave us a strange look. “Um, why are we staring at these little rocks like they’re precious gems?”
Poor Dad! He couldn’t see the rainbow at all. He was really missing out.
“Oh, I got them down at the stream. I think they’re really special,” I said. “I’ll go put them in my room.”
“Sure. Dinner’s almost ready.” Dad picked up one of the stones and turned it first one way and then the other. “Huh,” he said and placed it back in my hand.
I went to my room and set the rainbow stones in a line on my desk. I turned off the light and stared in awe at the rainbow that shone on my walls. “This is so cool,” I whispered.
Sassafras jumped up on my desk and started rolling one of the rainbow s
tones around between his paws.
“No, kitty! I don’t want to lose them!” I plucked him off the desk.
His legs spun around like a windmill as he tried to get back to the stones. One of his legs bopped my science journal and flipped it open. I grinned as the rainbow light shone down on a blank page, ready for our next adventure.
GLOSSARY
Algae: A green, slimy plant that grows in water. You can find a lot of algae in water that gets a lot of sun or that has pollution.
Caddisfly: An insect that lives in water when it’s a nymph and builds a shelter on its back out of mud and rocks, sticks, or leaves.
Hypothesis: What you think is going to happen.
Mayfly: An insect that lives in water when it’s a nymph and is very sensitive to pollution.
Nymph: A kind of baby insect.
pH: A way that you can check for pollution. If the pH in water is too high or too low, that means something has been added to the water.
Storm drain: Where the water and stuff from streets and sidewalks goes. It ends up in streams, lakes, or oceans.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR
ASIA CITRO used to be a science teacher, but now she plays at home with her two kids and writes books. When she was little, she had a cat just like Sassafras. He loved to eat bugs and always made her laugh (his favorite toy was a plastic human nose that he carried everywhere). Asia has also written three activity books: 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids, The Curious Kid’s Science Book, and A Little Bit of Dirt. She has yet to find a baby dragon in her backyard, but she always keeps an eye out, just in case.
MARION LINDSAY is a children’s book illustrator who loves stories and knows a good one when she reads it. She likes to draw anything and everything but does spend a completely unfair amount of time drawing cats. Sometimes she has to draw dogs just to make up for it. She illustrates picture books and chapter books as well as painting paintings and designing patterns. Like Asia, Marion is always on the lookout for dragons and sometimes thinks there might be a small one living in the airing cupboard.