# Captain Milo and the Spanish Gold Sea-Book

Captain Milo was a small pirate, but he stood tall. He wore a blue coat with shiny buttons. His hat was a little too big, so it wobbled whenever he nodded.

Milo wanted one thing more than anything else.

He wanted to find the Spanish Gold.

It was not because he was greedy. His town had a broken dock and a leaky school roof. When rain came, the buckets danced across the floor catching the drops.

“Gold can fix a lot,” Milo told himself. “If we share it right.”

His ship was called **The Sea Spark**. It was not huge, and it was not fancy. But it was fast, and it smelled like warm wood and salty wind.

Milo had a tiny, loyal crew.

There was **First Mate Juniper**, who could tie knots in a blink. His fingers moved like quick sea crabs.

There was **Cook Pippa**, who made brave soup. Her soup could make even a scared sailor feel steady.

And there was **Tide**, the crew’s sea-life expert.

Tide carried a thick notebook filled with drawings of fish, shells, and seaweed. He wore round glasses that kept sliding down his nose. When he talked, his voice sounded gentle, like waves lapping on sand.

The morning they left, the sky looked like a clean blue bowl. Seagulls called from above.

Milo held a rolled-up map. It was old and wrinkly, and it smelled like cinnamon and dust.

“Crew!” Milo said. “We sail for the Spanish Gold!”

“Arrr!” said Juniper.

“Arrr!” said Pippa.

Tide lifted his notebook. “Arrr… and also, I packed extra paper. In case we meet new sea creatures.”

Milo smiled. “Perfect.”

With a shove and a splash, **The Sea Spark** glided out of the harbor.

## The First Clue and the First Lesson

By lunchtime, the sea was bright as glass.