Dolores’s Shell Print

Dolores finds an empty shell beside the dunes. Grandma says its ridges can make a pattern in the sand.

Sylvia brings a little water in a bucket. They pour some onto a small patch of dry sand.

Dolores presses the shell down and lifts it carefully. The first print falls apart because the sand is still too dry.

“Try a little more water,” says Grandma. Sylvia pours slowly while Dolores mixes the damp sand.

Dolores smooths the patch with her hand. She presses the shell into it again without pushing too deeply.

This time, clear ridges stay in the sand. Sylvia makes another print beside it, facing the other way.

They make a row that looks like a trail of little fans. Grandma takes a picture before the wind changes the pattern.

The girls leave the empty shell on the beach. They take home a photograph and an idea for another sand game.