Once upon a time, in the very beginning of the sea, there lived a great big Whale. He was the biggest creature in all the ocean, and oh my, was he hungry! He swam through the blue-green waves with his enormous mouth wide open, eating fish of every kind — big fish, little fish, and medium-sized fish. Gulp, gulp, gulp! He ate them all day long.
The Whale ate the starfish and the garfish and the swordfish. He ate the red fish and the blue fish and the spotty fish too. He was so terribly greedy that soon the ocean began to feel very empty and very quiet. The coral reefs that once bustled with shimmering schools of fish were now silent and still. The Whale patted his great round belly and looked around for more.
At last, there was only one tiny fish left in all the wide, wide sea. He was a very small fish, but he was also very, very clever. He was called the 'Stute Fish, because he was the smartest fish in the ocean. He swam right behind the Whale's big right ear where he could not be caught, flicking his tiny tail back and forth and thinking up a brilliant plan.
'Dear Mr. Whale,' said the 'Stute Fish in a tiny but confident voice, 'have you ever tasted a Man?' The Whale's eyes grew wide with curiosity. 'A Man? No, never!' he rumbled. 'What does a Man taste like?' The 'Stute Fish flicked his tail and said, 'Very nice indeed! There is one sitting on a raft right now, in the middle of the sea. He is a shipwrecked Mariner. Why don't you try him?'
Far away across the waves, a brave Mariner sat on his little wooden raft. He wore blue canvas trousers, red suspenders, and carried a jackknife in his pocket. He had been shipwrecked and was floating all alone on the big empty sea, but he was not afraid. He was a man of infinite resource and sagacity — which means he was very clever and could fix almost anything with a bit of thinking and his trusty jackknife.
The Whale swam across the sea until he found the Mariner on his raft. He opened his mouth wide, wide, WIDE — as wide as a cave — and swallowed the Mariner and his raft and his jackknife and his suspenders and everything, all in one enormous gulp! GULP! Down, down, down went the Mariner, sliding into the dark, warm, squishy inside of the Whale. The 'Stute Fish hid behind a coral rock and giggled tiny fish-bubbles.
But the Mariner was not going to sit still inside a whale! Oh no! He jumped up and he stomped his feet — STOMP, STOMP, STOMP! He danced a jig and he banged with his fists and he kicked with his boots. He made such a terrible rumpus inside the Whale that the poor creature got the most dreadful hiccups! 'Oh! Oh! Oh!' groaned the Whale. 'This Man is giving me such a terrible tummy ache!'
'Let me out!' shouted the Mariner from deep inside the Whale, banging even harder. 'Take me home to my own shore, to the white cliffs where my mother lives, and THEN I will stop!' The Whale could not bear another moment of stomping and dancing. 'Anything, anything!' he moaned. 'Just PLEASE stop jumping around!' So the great Whale turned toward the shore and swam as fast as his flippers could carry him, with the Mariner bouncing inside all the way.
When they reached the shore, the Whale opened his enormous mouth and the Mariner climbed out onto the warm sandy beach. But before he left, the clever Mariner did something very important. He took his little wooden raft — which was made of criss-crossed slats like a grating — and he wedged it firmly, tightly, sideways right in the Whale's throat! He pushed and he jammed and he fixed it good and tight, so it would never, ever come loose.
And from that day to this, the grating in the Whale's throat means he can only eat the very, very smallest fish — tiny little fish that can slip through the cracks. He can never again swallow big fish or men or anything large at all! And the little 'Stute Fish still swims in the sea, flicking his clever tail, very pleased with himself indeed. As for the Mariner, he went home to his mother, had a cup of tea, and told her the most wonderful story she had ever heard.
