Fiction: Group 2
The Dolphis of the Pearl River Delta
German Swiss International Primary School, Cheong, Warren - 9, Fiction: Group 2
tars were twinkling dimly above the still, dark waters of the Pearl River Delta and most of its
inhabitants were going to bed. My brother and I were listening sleepily to our father’s deep voice as
he told us a bedtime story, but instead of relaxing, we were all finding it harder and harder to breathe.
“Dad…,” I whispered in a panic. My father gave me a sour-faced look.
“Go to sleep, son,” he said sternly.
“But haven’t you noticed how difficult it’s becoming to breathe?” I asked nervously.
“Well, yes, but I didn’t want to alarm you. Let’s swim to your grandfather and ask if he knows what the
problem is. After all, he is the oldest and wisest dolphin in our pod.”
We found Grandfather floating almost motionless at the surface of the river. We could hear his
snores clearly as we approached. My grandfather has lived in the Pearl River Delta all of his life. As the
leader of our pod, he is both brave and well-respected. He is full of stories about his own boyhood - a
golden age when there were thousands of Chinese White Dolphins like us living in these waters. As we got
closer he opened both of his eyes and smiled broadly at us.
“Good evening, grandsons. Why aren’t you both asleep?”
“We want to ask you a question that can’t wait until morning,” my brother replied.
“What can you be so desperate to know at this time of night?” my grandfather enquired.
“Why are we finding it so hard to breathe, Grandfather? Our lungs aren’t filling up properly and we keep
having to come up to the surface. It’s very uncomfortable and we’re frightened,” I said.
“I’ll answer that question later. It has been worrying me too,” my grandfather responded.
“When I was a dolphin of your age, the water - though it was muddy - was always clean. There
weren’t as many boats on the Pearl River Delta and there were many dolphins my age to play with. We
could hear each other talking clearly, even that is hard now that there are so many boats on this river.
“As I grew up, the villages that lined the banks of the river turned into towns and then cities. The
fields became factories. These cities and factories started polluting our river all the way from Hong Kong,
past Zhuhai, Macau and Shenzhen and up to Guangzhou, the water was dirtied with sewage, chemicals and
rubbish. This has all been very harmful to us dolphins. Soon we started dying one after the other and fewer
and fewer babies were born. It has been heart breaking for me to watch this happen.
When you two were born, there were only a handful of young dolphins for you to play with;
when I was young, I had dozens of friends. Our lives have become harder and harder and I worry all the
time about the future.”
“How can we make the Pearl River Delta clean again, Grandfather?” I asked anxiously.
“Well, we need the humans to realise the damage they are doing to us. We need their help to clean up the
river,” my grandfather replied.
“Are the humans awake at this time of night?” my brother said.
“I’m afraid not, we shall have to wait until the morning.”
“Will we be extinct by then, Grandfather?” my brother said, shaking with fear.
“No! Not by morning,” my grandfather assured him, “but we must clean the river as soon as possible
because we are all in real danger.”
“Is it just us who are in trouble, grandfather?” I asked.
“No, it’s all of the creatures who call the Pearl River Delta home,” he warned. “Now, off to bed you two,
we’ll hatch a plan together in the morning.”
As we swam back to our part of the river, the water was quiet and calm. My brother and I started
floating quietly and I closed one eye to go to sleep. All around me I saw hundreds of dolphins, young and
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