The Whale

A whale was swimming in a Norwegian fjord, when he sees a small octopus swimming in the opposite direction. Surprised to find a warm water creature in such a cold place, the whale says; “Hello, you are a long way from home, are you alright ? “ The small octopus shivered and said,” I got caught up under a yacht in the Mediterranean and was carried here before I could get free. I am freezing and I feel really ill, can you help me ? “

The whale replied, “ The whale hunting season is about to start, so I am leaving the area. Climb up on my back and I will give you a ride “

The whale and his passenger head south and swim through the North Sea, passing the Scottish Isles and continue round the coast of England. They take a short break off the North Norfolk coast, and spend some time with some friendly Seals. They continue their journey round England, meeting some more Seals near Lands End, then passing the Channel Islands and head towards Gibraltar, where they stop to have dinner with a school of local Dolphins. The whale asks his friend how he is feeling, now that the water is a lot warmer and his reply is, “I am starting to recover, but I still don’t feel very well.” The whale says; “ We shall be back in the ‘Med’ soon and you will be back to your normal temperature.”

As promised, they are soon swimming in the warm water of the Mediterranean. When they are passing the coast of Crete, the whale suddenly stops and turns round to swim in the opposite direction. “What`s wrong?” asks his passenger. The whale replied; “I have just seen a single shark coming toward us. He is a local money lender (a lone shark) and I think he is looking for me as I overdue paying what I owe him.” The shark sees the whale and calls to him; “Whale, come here, I want to see you.” The whale turns towards the shark and says in a shaky voice; “ Hello Mr. Shark, I was coming to see you, I`ve got the sick squid that I owe you.”

© A short story by Allen P Harris