Chapter
Two

Billie finishes her sandwich and goes back to her sandcastle. She decides that it needs a moat. Billie digs and digs and digs.

Her spade hits something hard. Clink! Billie reaches into the hole. She feels something smooth.

Billie digs deeper and pulls out a tiny bottle. It is as green as the sea and as small as her hand.

Billie holds the bottle up to the sun.

The glass is so dark that it is impossible to see what’s inside.

A girl walks past collecting shells. She sees the bottle in Billie’s hand.

‘Ooh!’ she says. ‘What’s inside?’

Billie shrugs. ‘I don’t know,’ she says.

‘It’s beautiful,’ says the little girl. She reaches out her sandy fingers to touch the green glass.

‘I’m Billie,’ says Billie.

‘I’m Charlotte,’ the little girl says.‘That’s my sister, Harriet.’ She points to the girl in the fancy bathers.

Harriet, Billie thinks. That’s a nice name.

Then she has an idea. A super-dooper idea.

‘Actually, I think there’s a secret message inside the bottle,’ Billie whispers to Charlotte. ‘It’s probably from a pirate.’

‘Wow!’ says Charlotte. Her eyes open wide. ‘I have to tell Harriet! She loves pirates!’

Billie watches Charlotte run along the beach to where Harriet is waiting.

Chapter
Three

That afternoon, Billie and her mum and dad walk to the shops to buy ice-creams. Billie always chooses banana choc-chip with sprinkles.

Billie has to eat her ice-cream very quickly so that it doesn’t melt. Already it is drip-drip-dripping on her toes.

Billie walks back to the beach and finishes her ice-cream.When she looks up, there is a girl standing in front of her. It’s Harriet. Billie’s heart begins to flap about like a butterfly.

‘My sister told me you found a bottle with a message inside,’ says Harriet. ‘Can I see?’

Billie pulls the bottle out of her pocket.

Harriet squints at the dark glass. ‘I can’t see any message inside,’ she frowns.

‘It has to be very small,’ Billie says. ‘To fit in the bottle.’

‘Hmm,’ Harriet says. ‘Who do you think wrote it?’

Billie shrugs. She feels a little bit shy. ‘Probably a pirate.’

Harriet smiles. ‘Or maybe a princess?’ she says. ‘Captured by pirates?’

‘Or maybe the prince trying to save her?’ says Billie excitedly. ‘But his boat has sunk and now he’s stuck on a desert island!’

‘Yeah!’ Harriet says.
‘Hey, do you want to come and help us build our sandcastle?’

Billie looks at her mum and dad.

‘Sure!’ says Billie’s dad.

‘Let me put some more sunscreen on you first,’ says Billie’s mum.

Billie wiggles as her mum covers her in sunscreen. Then she runs after Harriet to the big, beautiful sandcastle. Charlotte is waiting for them there.