The Magic Stone of Boey-the-Dolphin

Rumour has it, magic stones can be found at the bottom of the sea at Fan Lau in southern Lantau. Those who find a magic stone can have a wish granted…

Boey is 4 years old.  He is a curious and optimistic pink dolphin (the proper name is Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin). Having heard about the magic stone, he hangs around Fan Lau quite often with his friend, Natalia, to look for the magic stones while having fun. After catching fish at the Pearl River mouth today, they go to Fan Lau again.

While Boey is trying to swim towards Natalia, a hydrofoil speeds towards them.  Boey is scared and dives down to escape.

Getting together, the two dolphins talk about their wish. Boey says, “I always see dolphin-watching boats.  People are so excited to see us. They wave and say hello to us. If I find a magic stone, I want to become a human and make friends with them. That would be cool!” Natalia pouts and says, “If I became a human,

I will tell them what dangers dolphins have to face everyday!”

Natalia still remember what happened when she was one year old.  At that time, Natalia and her mother met a bad dolphin-watching boat which drove between them.  What’s worse, the boat chased after them.  She is still haunted by this horrible memory.  Because of this, she does not trust human very much.

Boey sees Mamma from afar.  She is showing Jade, his little sister, how to catch fish.  He swims towards them together with Natalia.  Knowing that the two little dolphins plan to look for the magic stones at Fan Lau, she says, “My grandma told me that there used to be a lot of magic stones at the bottom of the sea.  Yet, with so many reclamation projects going on, together with the dredging works, magic stones are either buried forever or being taken away.  Nowadays, it is almost impossible to find one.”

Aunt Sandy is feeding nearby. She comes over and says, “It is now very hard to even find any big fish, not to mention a magic stone.” Boey says eagerly, “I don’t think so. I can follow the trawlers and catch the fish that escape the fishing net. That’s easy!” Thinking of how dangerous it was for Boey to swim among fishing nets,

Mamma says to Boey patiently, “Yes, you’re right.  But when you feed this way, you have to be extra careful.  It's easy to get caught in the fishing nets.  If you cannot get back to the surface to breathe, you could drown.” Jade also reminds her brother and says, “Don’t forget that we are mammals.  We need to surface to breathe!” Hearing these, Boey says, “Alright, I’ll be careful when I pick up the fish that escape the fishing nets. Don’t worry!”

Having said goodbye to Mamma, Jade and Aunt Sandy, Boey and Natalia swim towards Fan Lau.  Fan Lau is an area where seawater mixes with fresh water from the Pearl River.  When you look from the high ground, you’ll see yellowish diluted seawater mixing with the greenish seawater, forming interesting patterns.  Fan Lau is a place that pink dolphins like to visit.  This is because the traffic is not too heavy in the area, and they do not need to worry about being disturbed.

Having reached the Peaked Hill of Lantau, Boey and Natalia gaze at the seabed, searching for the magic stones.  They swim past Fan Lau East Bay and reach the Soko Islands.

Natalia then sees a dark grey animal from afar, trying to hunt squids.  He looks small and his head is round.  There is no dorsal fin on his back but his tail looks like theirs.  Natalia says to herself, what strange creature is that?  She shivers and hides behind Boey.  That animal is not a strange creature.  He is in fact a finless porpoise.  Finless porpoise is a porpoise belonging to the family of whales and dolphins, just like the pink dolphins.  They have been living in Hong Kong for a long time.   As they like seawater that is saltier, while the pink dolphins like a mixture of salty seawater and fresh water from the river, they seldom meet each other.

In fact, Aunt Sandy told Boey long ago that she had met a finless porpoise on the other side of Lantau Island. Boey raises his voice and asks, “Are you a finless porpoise?” This unexpected shout startles the little porpoise as he is paying his full attention to the squid. Probably due to their small size, most porpoises are

very sensitive about their environment, and they get frightened easily. Luckily, though, this porpoise is almost as curious as Boey and he is not scared away. Having calmed himself down and knowing that they are pink dolphins, he replies, “Hello, my name is Danny. I am a finless porpoise. You two must be the pink dolphins, right?” To Natalia’s relief, that little creature is a finless porpoise. She comes out from behind of Boey and greets Danny.

Boey asks Danny, “Have you have heard about the magic stones?” Danny replies, “Mom told me about this, but we seldom go to the south west waters of Lantau. Are there really magic stones?” Natalia replies, “There should be some. Boey’s great grandma had seen them!” Boey also says, “Right. Natalia and I always go to Fan Lau to look for the magic stones.”  Danny is amused and asks, “When you go and look for the magic stones next time, can I come with you?” Boey and Natalia reply excitedly, “Sure!”

Danny’s mother is calling him. Danny says goodbye to his new friends. They agree to meet three days later at Fan Lau to look for the magic stones together.

Boey and Natalia continue with their search among the stones on the seabed. The sky turns dark. The two little dolphins have played so hard that they forget to hunt for fish. They are now starving. At this moment, some fish come drifting by with the current. Take a closer look. Some fish are dying, while some have been dead for

quite some time, with rubbish floating along. The two little dolphins hesitate. Should they eat the fish?  Natalia’s uncle comes over and says, “Don’t eat those fish!  The fish are dying because they have eaten a lot of pollutants in the area where factories are found. If you eat these fish, you’ll fall ill.” The two little dolphins have no choice but to look for fish somewhere else.

It is now late in the evening and it's time for rest. Boey and Natalia depart to meet their families. For dolphins to get rest, only half of their brain goes to sleep. The other half stays awake.  This enables them to surface to breathe. When dolphins rest, they usually gather together for protection.

Today is an exciting day for Boey, Natalia and Danny - they are going on a quest for the magic stones! After chasing fish in the Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park, Boey meets Natalia near to the artificial reef and swim to Fan Lau together, eager to meet up with Danny.

Something suddenly roars like thunder. The two little dolphins have to cover up their ears quickly.  A new underwater project has just started. The two little dolphins look at each other helplessly. Natalia says to Boey, “If this goes on, very soon, I won't be able to hear what you say. We will have a difficult time hunting fish and

avoiding speedboats if our ears are hurt.” Always an optimistic boy, Boey comforts Natalia and says, “The project may finish very soon. Then, the sea will become quiet again.”

Chatting while swimming, they come to Tai O. They find a lot of colourful boats around, approaching them at a high speed. Boey finds those boats very attractive and wants to stay for some time. Natalia urges Boey to hurry away. Natalia says, “The boats almost bumped into us! Why didn’t you escape?” Looking back, Boey realises

that they were surrounded by a lot of boats just now. It is lucky that Natalia was there pulling him away.

Danny is already there when Boey and Natalia reach Fan Lau. They chat and share their stories about the sea - some are thrilling and some are full of joy. They keep their eyes peeled for the magic stones while chatting.

Suddenly, they spot a shinny stone glittering on the seabed! Would that be the magic stone? The three little ones strongly believe this is the magic stone they have been looking for. They cannot wait to close their eyes and make a wish together: “We wish that the sea will become beautiful again, with lots of fish around us and that people

and dolphins can live in harmony!”

In fact, there is more than one magic stone in the world. We all hold a little piece of magic in our hearts. Our marine environment will be full of hope if we all love our sea, protect it from pollution, and do not overuse its resources. Dolphins, along with other sea creatures, can then live happily and healthily in our sea.