[May](VJ5ZSGKD) was a spirited 7-year-old Maori girl with a love for the outdoors. Her brown eyes sparkled with excitement, and her braided black hair danced as the gentle river breeze played around her.

The river was alive with sound, soft bubbling water and the calls of native birds. But as [May](VJ5ZSGKD) explored, she suddenly saw something that made her stop—a cluster of small, black, shiny creatures wriggling helplessly in the sun.

‘Are you okay, little eels?’ asked [May](VJ5ZSGKD) out loud, and to her amazement, she heard tiny voices in her mind: ‘Please help us! We need water or we’ll die!’

[May](VJ5ZSGKD) nodded determinedly. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll help you!’ she said. She fetched a small bucket from the stream and poured the cool water on the eels, making a slippery trail toward the stream.

‘How did you get stranded here?’ asked [May](VJ5ZSGKD) as she created a path of water. ‘A little dog dragged us out, thinking we were toys,’ the baby eels replied. ‘But we were too slimy, and he left us to dry.’

As they reached the edge of the stream, the baby eels wriggled happily into the clear water. [May](VJ5ZSGKD) watched them with pride as they swam deeper and deeper, their dark bodies gliding through the currents.

‘You saved us!’ the eels’ voices echoed in her head again. ‘You are our savior, and we promise something very special: you’ll always be safe in the water, [May](VJ5ZSGKD).’

[May](VJ5ZSGKD) smiled and dipped her feet into the cool stream. The baby eels swam around her toes, their movements graceful and playful. She felt a special connection to the river.

It was the happiest [May](VJ5ZSGKD) had ever been. She had saved the eels and made magical new friends. She knew this camping holiday would be a memory she’d carry forever.

And so, whenever [May](VJ5ZSGKD) played around a stream or river, she knew she had unseen protectors watching over her—the magical baby eels she had saved.