Ryers Readers - Dolphin Tale: A Tale of True Friendship

Episode Date: April 5, 2023

Sawyer is a boy and Winter is a dolphin! But that is not getting in the way of their friendship! Listen along as the pair discover the true meaning of friendship!

Let's do this! Thank you so much for tuning into today's story. Don't forget to rate and follow so you never miss out on all the Ryers' readers fun. Before we get into the story, do you want to know a fun fact? Did you know that x-rays are just like light rays, but they can just pass through more stuff? Skin does not block the energy in an x-ray beam. Muscle blocks some, but bones can block most of the energy in an x-ray beam, and that is why you can see your bones on an x-ray.

Pretty cool, huh? Okay, story time. Today, we have a super special Ryers Reader's request from 7-year-old Ethan in Overland Park, Kansas. Today is Ethan's 7th birthday, and he requested to hear, Dolphin Tale, A Tale of True Friendship by Emma Ryan. I hope you enjoy this story, Ethan. Let's do this. This is the story of a friendship between a very special dolphin named Winter and a boy named Sawyer. One day, Sawyer was riding his bike when he saw a dolphin lying on the beach.

Winter had been swimming in the ocean, but she had swum too close to the shore. Now her tail was caught in a crab trap. Winter was in trouble. Sawyer could see the dolphin was hurt and he knew he had to help her. Sawyer remembered that he had a pocket knife in his backpack. He used a knife to cut Winter free from the trap. Winter looked at Sawyer and made a soft whistling noise as if to say, thank you. Soon, rescue workers from the local Marine Hospital arrived. They took Winter to the hospital. The next day, Sawyer went to the hospital to visit Winter. There, he met Hazel, the daughter of Dr. Hasket, the doctor who was in charge of the Marine Hospital.

Winter was in a large pool with Phoebe, one of the trainers, when Sawyer saw her. Winter had a bandage where her tail had been. Her eyes were shut, and she wasn't moving. As soon as Sawyer spoke to Phoebe, Winter opened her eyes. She looked right at Sawyer and made that soft whistling sound again. She was happy to see her friend. Sawyer came back to visit Winter the next day. The trainers were worried because Winter still hadn't tried to swim.

But when she saw Sawyer, Winter wiggled her body, trying to move closer to him. Sawyer slowly reached his hand out and touched Winter's head. Winter sighed. Her friend was there. Sawyer started visiting the hospital every day. Each day, Sawyer could see Winter growing stronger. Sawyer and Hazel made special food for her to help get better. At night, Sawyer would research dolphins until he fell asleep.

Winter still couldn't swim like she used to, but she floated and moved around the pool by wiggling her body and flapping her fins. She also used her fins to play games with Sawyer and splash him with water. Winter loved to play with toys too. She would sometimes grab a toy in Sawyer's hand with her mouth and try to pull Sawyer into the pool with her. One day, the trainers noticed a bump on Winter's back, so Dr. Hasket took an X-ray of Winter's spine. The X-ray showed that Winter's spinal cord was being damaged.

from the way she was swimming. Dolphins are supposed to swim by moving their bodies up and down, not side to side as Winter had been doing. Dr. Hasket explained that the spinal cord in both humans and dolphins control their heart, movements, and breathing. If Winter didn't start learning how to swim by moving her body up and down again, her spinal cord could get worse. Sawyer was very worried about.

very worried for Winter, but he had an idea. Sawyer talked to his cousin Kyle, who had hurt his leg while serving in the army. A man named Dr. McCarthy had made Kyle a plastic brace to help him walk. Kyle said that Dr. McCarthy also made legs out of plastic. These are called prosthetics. Sawyer wondered if the doctor could make Winter a prosthetic tail. Great news! Dr. McCarthy agreed to come see Winter! Dr. McCarthy's first step was to take a mold of the stump where Winter's tail used to be. The doctor used the mold to create Winter's new tail. Once it was ready, Winter could test out her new tail.

Sawyer and everyone at the hospital were nervous to see if Winter could use her new tail. They held her in the pool as Dr. McCarthy attached the process. They gently tried to let Winter go, but she started squealing and thrashing around. She didn't like the new tail and smashed it against the pool until it broke. Sawyer and the others were crushed, but Dr. McCarthy wasn't ready to give up yet. He decided to make a different prosthetic for Winter with a better liner. The time came to test Winter's new and improved tail. Everyone at the hospital held their breath while the prosthetic was attached.

Winter looked back at her new tail and shook it. She slowly started to move her tail up and down and up and down. She was swimming! Winter was going to be okay. Thanks to the special friendship of a brave boy and the help of some very caring people, A dolphin received a brand new tale and learned how to swim again. The end. Dolphin facts.

Winter is a bottle-nosed dolphin. Dolphins might look like fish, but they are actually mammals, just like humans. Dolphins breathe through a blowhole at the top of their head. Bottle-nosed dolphins can grow to be 10 to 14 feet long and way up to 1,000. and weigh up to 1,100 pounds. Dolphins swim in groups called pods. Dolphins eat mainly fish, but also eat squid and shrimp. Before you go, do you think you can answer today's paying attention question?

Are dolphins supposed to move their bodies up and down to swim or side to side? If your answer was up and down, you did it! Great job! You sure were paying attention! I hope you enjoyed that story. I wonder what we're going to read next. Bye, Ethan. Happy birthday!