Word count: 572

Synopsis: This  story is about two best friends, Maya and Lizzy, who go to the beach to celebrate Maya's birthday. Maya faces many challenges. For example, when the ball went far into the ocean and she had to get it! The theme is to never give up and have courage even if you get thrown down or fall. 

One bright, sunny summer day, Maya and her best friend, Lizzy, went to the beach.

They were celebrating Maya's sixth birthday! Maya was buzzing with excitement. Maya loved the beach and couldn't wait for the celebration! She was as hyper as a puppy!

As soon as Maya and Lizzy's feet hit the sand, Maya's parents told them to go play. They were already ahead of them! They had been thinking of ideas on what to do since they got in the car.

"Maybe we should play with the beach ball," said Maya. 

"Sure!" Lizzy replied. "We should name it Shiny!"

"That's a great idea!" exclaimed Maya.

The ball hit the sand and slowly rolled down to the ocean. Maya ran after it before the ball went too far. Maya was too scared of going too far into the ocean.

Maya returned, and Lizzy said, "That was a close one," Lizzy said, "the ball almost went all the way in the water! Maybe we should try something else, like building a sand castle!"

Maya agreed.

Maya and Lizzy began to build their sand castle. It looked great! They decided to add a flag on the top. The girls were so focused on building their sand castle that they didn't notice the waves growing bigger in the ocean.

"Look out! There is a big wave coming!" Lizzy yelled. They jumped up and ran further up the sand so that they wouldn't get crushed by the wave.

"Oh no, our sand castle!" exclaimed Lizzy. They had worked so hard on it. 

"Maybe we should try something different," Maya suggested.  They decided to walk around the beach and find treasures.

As they were walking, they spotted something red and small. They walked closer to the thing slowly. Soon they realized what it was a crab! They quickly backed up so that they wouldn't get pinched.