Raffy and the Very Fast Visitor
By James Shang
1 / 6
An airborne visitor
Where the mangroves met the beach, Raffy slid down a wet slope.
Sliiiide!
Then he heard paws.
Three dogs were coming along the sand. A long, low dog followed his nose, while a fluffy dog carried a blue ball and the smallest trotted beside them.
The fluffy dog put the ball down and nudged it. Down the bank it rolled, with the little dog racing after it.
Bounce!
Up went the ball. Up went the dog, ears flying.
Catch!
He was back before Raffy had closed his mouth.
Raffy looked down at his fins, then back at the ball.
2 / 6
Whose tracks?
The long dog stopped beside some little marks in the sand.
Sniff. Sniff-sniff.
With his nose close to the ground, he followed them towards the water.
“Those are mine,” said Raffy.
“You made all these?” asked the long dog.
Raffy skipped forward, leaving another mark.
“And that one.”
“I’m Patrick,” said the dog.
“Raffy.”
“I’m Kevin!”
Raffy jumped. The little dog had been halfway up the beach a moment ago.
“Do you always move that fast?” Raffy asked.
Kevin’s tail wagged. “Want to see again?”
The fluffy dog came down the bank and tested the wet sand with one paw.
“Wally,” he said.
Kevin nudged the ball to him. Wally nudged it back, and Kevin was off again.
3 / 6
Room for one more?
The ball rolled past Patrick, past Kevin’s turning paws and straight towards Raffy.
He planted his fins, and the ball stopped against his side. Three dogs looked at him.
“Room for one more?” asked Raffy.
Wally stepped back to leave a space. Patrick lowered his front end and wriggled his bottom.
Raffy gave the ball a push. It rolled a little way before Kevin pounced after it and rolled it back.
Raffy pushed harder, and this time Patrick met it with his nose.
Patrick to Wally.
Wally to Raffy.
The ball stopped just short of Raffy, and Kevin stepped forward.
“I’m coming,” said Raffy.
Kevin waited while Raffy wriggled closer, planted his fins and gave one big push.
The ball curved towards the mud.
4 / 6
A little mud
Kevin bounded after it, then stopped where the firm sand ended.
Wally tried one paw.
Squelch.
He lifted it again as the ball settled in a muddy dip. Raffy wriggled past them.
“Mud? I can do mud!”
He slid beside the ball and nudged it along the wet edge while Kevin stepped back to let it through.
One more push, and out it rolled.
Patrick reached it first.
Sniff.
“Now it smells like the beach.”
He looked up with mud on his nose. Kevin turned to Raffy.
“Can you do that again?”
“Rather keep the ball out here,” said Wally, shaking his paw.
5 / 6
Wally’s turn
Kevin rolled the ball towards Wally.
“Again?”
Wally looked along a strip of smooth sand, gave the ball a shove and bounced after it, fluff flying.
By the time Kevin turned and Patrick lifted his nose, Wally already had the ball.
He looked back at them.
“Well?”
Kevin dashed over, with Patrick following, ears flapping. Raffy skipped along the wet edge to join them.
This time, the ball waited for him.
6 / 6
A place to play
Wally to Raffy.
Raffy to Patrick.
Patrick to Kevin.
A little wave whispered up the beach and slipped away.
Kevin rested his paws beside the ball and waited while Raffy planted his fins.
“Ready?” asked Kevin.
“Ready.”
The ball rolled straight towards Raffy, who pushed it back.
“Again?” asked Raffy.
Kevin’s tail wagged. They had time for another.
© 2026 James Shang · Raffy’s Ocean Friends
A little more to share
A hidden friend: Clancy
Clancy is watching from a leafy branch. Can you spot him in picture 1? What can he see from up there?
Oceanese to share
Raffy: “Room for one more?”
Make a space for someone in a drawing, story or little game. Give them time to choose whether and how they would like to join.
Oceanese
Raffy and his friends invented Oceanese so different animals could talk to one another. In their make-believe world, they use sounds, movements and expressions, with time for each friend to reply.
Care for their home
Enjoy watching wildlife with a grown-up. Give animals space, leave their homes undisturbed and take your belongings and rubbish home.
Thank you for reading!
We hope you enjoyed our story and your reading time together.
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Story and characters by James Shang. Illustrations created with generative AI and developed through author-directed revisions. © 2026 James Shang. All rights reserved.
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