The Secret Sea Monster
For my three sisters, Chris, Laura, and Lyndsey —T.R.
BARBIE and associated trademarks and trade dress are owned by, and used under license from, Mattel.
Copyright © 2016 Mattel. All Rights Reserved.
www.barbie.com
Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, and in Canada by Penguin Random House Canada Limited, Toronto. Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
Trade paperback ISBN 9781101938447
ebook ISBN 9781101938461
randomhousekids.com
Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
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Contents
Cover
Dedication
Copyright
Title Page
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
One morning, on what seemed like an ordinary beach day, Barbie, Skipper, Stacie, Chelsea, and their loyal puppies were faced with a major mystery—Raquelle’s missing jewelry! It was a tough case, but by working together and using their sleuthing skills, the sisters were able to track down the missing jewels—with the help of their puppies, of course.
After the case was closed, the sisters were determined to leave no mystery unsolved—no matter how tricky. The Sisters Mystery Club was formed, and no secret was safe from the super sleuthing sisters!
“I can’t believe this fog!” Teresa said to Nikki. She was jogging down the beach, side by side with her friend.
Nikki shook her head. Her dark brown ponytail swished back and forth. “You’d think we were in San Francisco, not Malibu!”
Nikki and Teresa loved their morning runs. It was cooler then, with a nice breeze from the water.
Usually their friend Barbie came with them, but she had called earlier to tell them she couldn’t go. She had stayed up late fixing the chain on her sister Chelsea’s bicycle. Barbie was handy that way—and very sweet with her sisters.
“Let’s turn back after the bend up ahead,” Teresa said.
“Sounds good!” Nikki gave Teresa a grin. “Race you!”
“You’re on!” Teresa yelled. The two girls were great friends—but they loved a good contest, too.
“Almost there!” Teresa cried, slightly out of breath. They stretched forward, rounding the bend.
“Eat my dust!” Nikki teased as she kicked it up a notch.
“Ha! In your dreams—”
Teresa stopped short. She grabbed Nikki’s arm and jerked her to a stop, too.
“What?” Nikki said. She put her hands on her hips. “Was it because I was winning?”
Teresa raised one trembling hand and pointed to the water.
The fog over the ocean had drifted apart. For a few seconds, a clear patch appeared.
Nikki gasped.
She could just make out a mysterious shape floating on the ocean. It had a long body. It had a curved neck and tail. It had a head with a gaping mouth!
“Am I dreaming?” Teresa asked. “Or is that a dragon?”
“That’s no dragon,” Nikki said. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Teresa, that’s a sea monster!”
Teresa turned around. “Come on!” she said. “We have to tell Barbie!”
Ding dong. The doorbell rang inside Barbie’s house.
“I’ll get it!” Barbie’s sister Stacie yelled. She ran to the front door, nearly tripping over Taffy, a golden retriever pup. Three other puppies—Honey, Rookie, and DJ—romped around Stacie’s feet.
“I wonder who it is,” Taffy barked to the other pups.
“I hope it’s the mailman!” Rookie said.
“His postcards are delicious,” DJ agreed.
Honey sighed. “I just wish he didn’t run so fast.”
Stacie laughed at the puppies’ barking. It was almost as if they were talking to each other! She opened the door and saw Barbie’s friends Teresa and Nikki on the porch.
“Is Barbie here?” Teresa asked with a sense of urgency.
“Sure, come in,” Stacie said. “She’s by the pool.”
“I’ll show them where she is!” Taffy barked. She rushed through the house, past the living room and kitchen, and straight to the back door.
Barbie was on a lounge chair, reading a book. Her sister Skipper sat on another chair, texting on her phone. Chelsea floated on the water in an inner tube.
“Oh, the water looks nice,” Honey called.
Splash! Rookie leaped into the water, right next to Chelsea.
“Wait for me!” DJ barked to Rookie.
One after the other, the puppies jumped into the pool, splashing Skipper and Barbie.
“Hey!” Skipper laughed. She wiped her phone’s screen dry with her towel.
Barbie looked up from her book and lowered her sunglasses. She smiled as she saw her friends. “Hi, guys! What are you doing here? Weren’t you going for a run?”
“We did!” Nikki said.
“But while we were jogging—” Teresa went on.
“Down at the beach—” Nikki explained.
“You know where that bend is?” Teresa asked.
Barbie nodded.
“Just past there…” Teresa paused and looked at Nikki.
“We saw a sea monster!” Teresa and Nikki finished together in a rush.
Barbie blinked. “A sea monster?”
Barbie had traveled around the world. She’d been to many countries. She’d seen many things. But she had never, ever seen a sea monster.
“I think you need to tell me all about it,” said Barbie.
Taffy paddled over to the edge of the pool. “Did you hear that?” she asked the other puppies.
“Sure did,” DJ barked. “A sea monster!”
“What’s a sea monster?” Honey asked.
Rookie shrugged. “I bet it’s something like a mailman.”
Taffy looked doubtful. “Why would a mailman be on the beach?”
Nikki and Teresa explained that it was foggy but how the fog had parted. And then they shared what they had seen.
“I don’t know what else it could be,” Teresa said. “It had a tail and a head. It even had a wide-open mouth!”
“Odd,” Barbie said. “I guess there’s just one thing for us to do.”
“Call the zoo?” Chelsea suggested.
“Call the TV news?” Skipper asked.
Barbie shook her head. She stood up and slipped on her sandals.
“We’re not calling anyone,” she said. “We’re going to solve this mystery ourselves!”
Barbie switched her beach bag from her right shoulder to her left. “You all right back there?” she called to Stacie.
Stacie was lagging a few feet behind her sisters and the puppies.
“Yup,” Stacie said. “I’m just looking for the sea monster. I don’t want to miss it!”
“It would be easy today,” Skipper said. “Teresa and Nikki were right! I’ve never seen the beach this foggy.”
Barbie and her sisters walked along the beach. Teresa and Nikki headed to their houses to shower. They were planning to meet Barbie and her sisters on the beach later.
They had also drawn a map before they left. An X marked the spot where they had seen the sea monster in the fog.
Chelsea looked at the map and frowned. “We’re going the wrong way!” she said.
Skipper took the map out of her hands and turned it around. “Nope,” she said. “You’re just looking at it upside down!”
“I knew that,” Chelsea said. “I just wanted to make sure you were paying attention.”
Barbie stared out over the water. She didn’t see whatever it was that Nikki and Teresa had spotted. Could it really have been a sea monster?
Barbie laughed. “I can barely see the water!”
Skipper leaned over Chelsea’s shoulder. She raised her eyes from the map to the beach. “I think Teresa and Nikki saw the sea monster straight ahead.”
“I’ll check it out,” Stacie said. She took off running.
“Wait for me!” Rookie barked. He ran after Stacie. In seconds, they disappeared into the fog.
“We better not let them out of our sight for long,” Barbie said. “We may never find them again in this fog!”
Barbie, Chelsea, Skipper, and the other puppies followed Stacie’s and Rookie’s footprints down the beach. The fog was so thick, Barbie felt its mist on her skin.
Ahead, Stacie’s and Rookie’s shapes appeared through the fog.
When her sisters got closer, Stacie held up one hand. “Don’t mess up the track,” she said, and pointed to the sand in front of her.
Skipper frowned. “I don’t see any— Oh!”
Barbie stepped back for a better view. Sweeping across the beach was a ten-foot-wide band of smooth sand. It looked like something big and heavy had dragged itself up the beach.
Chelsea clapped her hands. “The sea monster!” she said. “It was here!”
Just then, a low, mournful sound came from out over the ocean. Aaaaaaaaah-ooooooooooh-waaaaaaaaah. Aaaaaaaaah-ooooooooooh-waaaaaaaaah.
Stacie grabbed Barbie’s arm. “Wh-what was that?” she asked, her voice trembling.
Honey covered her eyes with her paws.
DJ tucked his nose under his tail.
“Maybe it was a foghorn,” Barbie said. “Or an elephant seal.”
“Or maybe,” Chelsea said, “it was the sea monster!”
Barbie stared at the ocean. Teresa and Nikki had seen something in the fog. She wasn’t convinced it was a sea monster, but something strange was going on….
Her eyes returned to the wide track in the sand. “Right now that’s our only clue,” she said.
“It just disappears into the fog,” Stacie said.
“Exactly.” Barbie nodded. “Let’s see where it goes.”
“I know where it will end…,” Chelsea said. “With one end of a sea monster!”
Skipper smiled. “The head end or the tail end?”
Chelsea frowned. “Do sea monsters have teeth?” she asked. “Maybe the tail is better!”
“Let me at it!” Rookie barked to the other puppies. “I can take on a sea monster!”
Barbie and her sisters followed the track. It led up the beach away from the water. From the sand, dark rocks rose against the gray sky.
“The trail heads right for the rocks,” Skipper said.
When they got closer, Stacie stomped her foot. “It’s a dead end!” she said.
Barbie squinted at the rocks. She thought she could make out something….
“Take another look,” Barbie told Stacie.
Stacie gasped. “There’s a hole in the rocks,” she said. “It’s a cave!”
“That’s where the sea monster lives!” Chelsea cried.
“Can we go inside?” Skipper asked.
“Just a second.” Barbie reached into her beach bag and pulled out a flashlight. She flicked it on. “All set. Let’s explore!”
The sisters entered the cave with caution. Barbie shone the light around the walls, the floor, and the ceiling of the cave.
Nothing moved. Barbie heard the drip, drip, drip of water from the back of the cave.
“See any sea monsters?” she asked.
“No,” Skipper said. “Not that I ever really thought there would be—”
“Wait!” Chelsea cut her off. She rushed toward a heap of seaweed just inside the cave entrance. “Seaweed!” she shouted, holding up a clump. “Maybe this is what the sea monster eats!”
Stacie nodded. “And did anyone notice those weird rocks on that ledge in the far corner?” she asked.
Chelsea’s eyes widened. She dropped the seaweed and ran over to the rocks. “These aren’t rocks!” she said. “They’re sea monster eggs!”
Skipper rolled her eyes at Barbie. “They’re just really big round rocks, right?” she asked under her breath.
Barbie shrugged. They looked like huge rocks to her. But then again, if Nikki and Teresa were right, the sea monster was huge, too.
Chelsea turned to Barbie. “Can I take one home?” she asked. “It’ll hatch, and I’ll have my very own sea monster. A sea monster would be a great pet!”
Barbie laughed. Leave it to Chelsea to want a pet sea monster! “I think we should leave those here,” she said. “Where would we keep a sea monster anyway?”
“In the pool!” Chelsea said. Skipper raised an eyebrow. Chelsea crossed her arms. “It’s a big pool.”
“But what if the sea monster came back and the eggs were gone?” Skipper asked. “The sea monster would be so sad.”
Chelsea sighed. “Fine,” she said. “I guess I don’t need another pet. I’ve got Honey.” She put her arms around her puppy.
“Cheer up!” Honey barked. “I’m much cuddlier than a sea monster anyway.” She licked Chelsea’s cheek. Chelsea giggled.
“We still need to figure out what Teresa and Nikki saw this morning,” Skipper said.
“If it really was a sea monster, this has to be its cave,” Stacie said, looking around. Then she snapped her fingers. “I know what we should do! Let’s have a stakeout! We’ll watch the cave and wait for the sea monster to come back!”
“Okay, a stakeout!” Barbie said, taking charge. “Let’s get to work. Stacie, you scout out a good spot to watch the cave. Make sure we can see the entrance, but no one can see us.”
“Will do!” Stacie said. She whistled for Rookie, and they started to explore.
Barbie turned to Chelsea and Skipper. “We need to get as much seaweed as we can. We’ll use it to draw the sea monster in.”
Chelsea stood up straight and gave Barbie a salute. “I’m on it!” she said. She ran down to the water with Honey at her heels. Skipper and DJ strolled after her.
“What about me? What about me?” Taffy barked.
Barbie knelt down and patted her. “You have to be quiet. No barking! It might scare away the sea monster.”
“Sure thing!” Taffy barked. Then she nodded. “Oops. It won’t happen again.”
Barbie ruffled Taffy’s fur. Really, sometimes it was almost as if Taffy was trying to tell her something!
“I got the seaweed!” Chelsea called. She came running up the beach and dropped it on the sand in front of the cave. Skipper, her arms full of seaweed, wasn’t far behind.
Barbie nodded. “Okay, let’s start making a trail of it from the water to the cave. Then we all can gather more.”
Chelsea, Skipper, and Barbie were laying the trail when Stacie and Rookie came back.
“I found a good spot to watch the cave,” Stacie told her sisters. “It’s behind that rock over there.” She lifted a finger and pointed.
Barbie and Chelsea looked. A large boulder sat on the sand just outside the cave.
“It’s close but hidden. We can still see the cave’s entrance through the fog,” Stacie added.
“Perfect,” Barbie said.
All four sisters gathered more seaweed and finished making the seaweed trail.
Then, calling to the puppies, they hurried behind the rock. Stacie was right. From there, they had a great view of the cave. They would see anyone—or anything—that tried to approach it.
“We have to be very quiet,” Barbie said.
At first, the sisters and puppies kept a careful eye on the cave.
Nothing happened.
No one came near.
They didn’t hear weird noises. They didn’t see anything crawling through the sand.
Behind the boulder, the girls couldn’t feel the wind anymore. The sun was peeking through the fog. It felt good on their faces.
One by one, the younger sisters and their puppies fell asleep.
Soon Barbie was the only one awake. But that was fine. If the sea monster came, she would surely see it!
Barbie heard the sound of footsteps. She frowned. Footsteps? Did sea monsters have feet? Or did they have flippers?
She poked her head above the rocks.
“There you are!” Teresa called. “We’ve been looking all over the beach for you.”
Next to her, Nikki held up a tray full of cups. “We brought treats,” she said.
Stacie bolted awake. “What did I miss?” she asked.
“Mmmph,” Skipper mumbled. She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes.
Chelsea yawned and stretched. “Is it tomorrow already?” she said.
“Not yet,” Barbie told her.
“So, did you find the sea monster?” Teresa asked. She handed out drinks to the sisters—a latte for Barbie, a berry smoothie for Skipper, pink lemonade for Stacie, and milk for Chelsea.
Skipper looked guiltily at Chelsea and Stacie. “Uh,” she said. “I think we fell asleep!”
“The sun felt so good,” Chelsea explained.
“And we were kind of sleepy,” Stacie added.
“Nothing’s better than a good nap,” DJ barked.
“The best!” Honey seconded that.
“Don’t worry,” Barbie said. “I stayed awake the whole time. No sign of the sea monster.”
“Really?” Chelsea sighed.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Teresa said. “The café had good Wi-Fi. So we did some research on sea monsters. I wrote it all down on this scrap paper I found there.” She handed the paper to Skipper.