AustLit

'During a Sunday School picnic Robbie, wheelchair-bound and lonely, meets a returned soldier called Alan. Robbie, who tires of watching the other children play, follows Alan to where he is fishing on the nearby jetty. When Robbie wheels himself to the end of the jetty, he experiences a little dolphin magic: his cap is blown from his head and then thrown back to him by a passing dolphin. The event is so amazing that Robbie cannot convince Alan that it happened at all!

Although Robbie returns to watch the Sunday School cricket match he is determined to get back to the jetty. Despite the worsening weather, Robbie makes his way back to the empty jetty and spots the dolphin again. Robbie soon realises that the dolphin is asking him for help: she has a calf that is trapped and drowning beneath the jetty.

Using all his courage and strength, Robbie enters the water, and with a little help from Alan (who returns just in time) manages to cut the calf free from some tangled fishing line. This amazing achievement allows Robbie to discover his own strength. It also leads to Robbie being able to tell Alan about his father who did not return from the war.' (National Museum)