That night Laura dreamed about the jellyfish workers. She dreamed they crept along the beach with bin bags in their hands. They bent down and shoveled up jellyfish. Soon they had whole shivering sackfuls of them. Flies were buzzing all around them.
'Oh no!' cried Laura, waking up. 'The jelly workers are coming!'
But it was all right. She was safe in her own bed. 'It was just a bad dream,' she told herself.
Yet down on the dark beach, something was moving. Something was bobbing about on the waves. It was Laura's jellyfish shoes. They were coming back home.
Gently, they washed in on the wave tops until at last a big wave tops until at last a big wave washed them up on the sand. Neatly side by side.
'What a bit of good luck!' said Mum the next morning. 'Guess what I just found on the beach?'
Don't know,' said Laura.
Mum held up the jellyfish shoes. 'These! I bet you didn't even know you'd lost them.'
Mum tipped up one of the shoes. A winkle fell out of the toe.
'Here you are,' she said, handing the shoes to Laura. 'You can put them back on now.'
Laura pushed the shoes away: 'I won't put them back on!' she shouted. 'You can't make me!'
Mum stared at her. 'What on earth is the matter? I thought you'd be pleased to get them back.'
'I don't want them. I don't want smelly shoes that make flies buzz all around me! Why did you do it, Mum?' Why did you buy me shoes made of jellyfish?'
And Laura rushed out of the door.
Mum shook her head, puzzled. 'Shoes made of jellyfish?' she said. 'What's she talking about? Do you know, Scott?'
'Don't ask me,' said Scott. But he looked a bit guilty.
4
Laura rushed down to the beach without her jellyfish shoes. Scott came running after her. He had the shoes in his hand.
'Mum says you've got to put them on.'
'No! I'm never wearing those horrible shoes again! Not ever!'
'Look,' began Scott. 'There's something I've got to tell you. What I said yesterday, about the Jelly Shoe Factory-'
But he didn't get time to finish.
'What's that？' said Laura. 'What's that in the sea?'
The sea was full of tiny, frilly parachutes. They were pink and brown and purple.
'They're beautiful!' cried Laura. 'What are they?'
'They're baby jellyfish,' said Scott. 'Hundreds of them.'
'Jellyfish!' Laura jumped back.
'And if we don't save them,' said Scott, 'the sea will wash them up. They'll get splatted on the sand. They'll all die.'
'I hate jellyfish!' said Laura. 'They pong. They sting you. They get made into jellyfish shoes.'
'Well, I'm going to save them,' said Scott. And he raced back to the house.
Laura couldn't help watching the jellyfish. They sparkled like jewels. But they were getting closer and closer to the beach. Soon they would be dried-up puddles on the sand.
And she couldn't help thinking, 'Poor babies.'
Just then, Scott came racing back with two buckets. And suddenly Laura changed her mind.