There was a baby whale named Ella. She lived with other whales in a deep bay. One day, she noticed something large pass overhead. It was as big as a whale, but it wasn't.
Ella was frightened. She had never seen a boat before. Although Ella was scared, she was curious, too. She forced herself to swim to the surface. She saw several faces watching her. In fact, they looked very friendly. In the next few months, Ella lost her fear of boats. People in the boats always enjoyed seeing her.
As time went by, people and boats became a part of her life. Whenever a boat passed overhead, she swam to the top to say hello. One night, Ella saw a lot of fish swimming around the bottom of a ship. Suddenly, she ________________by a fishing net. She fought hard to get free. Finally, she escaped, but part of the net was tangled(缠住)in her mouth and around her tail. Ella was hurt and confused. Slowly and sadly she made her way towards the deep ocean.
Many weeks passed, and the net in her mouth made it hard for her to eat. And every time she struggled for air, the net cut into her tail. But if she didn't get air every half an hour, she would die. Winter was coming, she had to move to warmer waters with others. However, this time she had no choice but to stay in the bay and wait to die.
One morning, to her surprise, the water was filled with boats. When the boats came closer, a person reached into the water. Ella stared at the person's hand. The hand reminded her of something. She began to feel better. Soon many hands touched her. Ella felt them pulling the lines of the net. Moments later, she was free as before! The people were waving their starfish-shaped hands. Ella knew that the hands would always be there in her life.
