Wheeling Gull Isle we sing, “look at all this love we’ve found”

She disputed him and Caracal could only grin, slap himself upside the forehead and exclaim, You’re right!

He chortled at her enthusiastic antics and her insatiable curiosity alike. A moment ago, she had asked to be made of the sea. Caracal glanced at the surf lapping gently at the beach. He then bent over to nose Dinah back onto her feet.

Come with me, he said, the two of them leaving a matching set of paw prints across the dune.

When they reached the water’s edge, Caracal stopped and motioned for Dinah to halt too, just clear of the ebbing and flowing sea foam. He swept out a foreleg, indicating the splendor that was the sea, then pointed behind them. He nudged her to turn as he did, now spreading his legs wide as if to hug their island.

Rejoice, he said loudly, for this is the day the Lord has made!

He looked over at Dinah to see what she would do. While she was distracted, he spun back toward the water, dipping his paw into the shallows and flinging it over the little girl’s head and back.

I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Sun and the Holy Seagull, Caracal declared, adding, You are now part of the sea, Dinah Marina Redhawk!