The (True) Adventures of Mudpoo (6 page)

M
udpoo loved to sing.

Today he was singing to humpback whales. There were three huge humpbacks swimming around the boat. Sometimes they swam under the boat. Sometimes they lay back flipping their pectoral fins in time to the singing.

Mudpoo, Harry, Liz and Captain Pete sang. Everyone on the boat sang too, including the Skipper and Dave the First Mate.

The humpbacks had huge pectoral fins that splashed in the water,

Every now and again a humpback whale would lift his enormous head out of the water to look at the people inside the boat. Harry leaned over the boat's rail and almost touched the whale. Captain Pete and Liz leaned over the boat's rail and almost touched the whale too. Dave the First Mate leaned over the boat's rail as far as he could and he touched the humpback whale.

“It feels the same as poking your finger into the cheek of your mouth!” he exclaimed excitedly.

Mudpoo leaned over the boat's rail just as a huge whale popped his head up. It gave him a fright and his hat tumbled into the sea.

“My hat!” cried Mudpoo.

It was floating in the sea near the humpback whale.

”We can't reach it!” cried Captain Pete.

“Let me try,” said Harry who couldn't reach it either.

It was Mudpoo's favourite hat. Everyone watched the hat bobbing up and down on the water as a huge humpback whale swam over to it.

To everyone's amazement, it gently picked up the hat and swam towards the boat. Mudpoo held his breath; everyone on board held their breath.

The huge humpback whale gently lifted his giant head near the side of the boat and passed the hat to Mudpoo. “Ooooh, Aaaaah, Ooooh!” cried everyone with surprise. Mudpoo calmly popped the hat back on his head. 

“Thank-you humpback,” said Mudpoo with a huge grin.

The whales swam around the boat.

"TOOT, TOOT"
blew the Skipper on his whistle. “Chug, chug, chug,” went the happy old fishing boat. The whales loved listening to the singing.

 sang the

passengers. With a wave of their enormous tails, the three humpback whales swam out to sea. It was almost time for lunch.

“Billy tea and damper,” yelled Dave the First Mate.

Everyone crowded into the cabin where they were greeted by the beautiful smell of fresh tea and damper. Their whale adventures had made all of the passengers hungry.

Mudpoo and Harry were bubbling over with excitement because they had been singing to three enormous humpback whales!

Now they had wonderful adventure stories to tell their friends, just like Captain Pete.

A
few months later . . . far, far away, a quiet fishing boat was sailing near the icy cold waters of Antarctica.

A pod of happy humpback whales swam by.

The fishing boat's crew and Skipper were surprised at what they saw. Very surprised. It wasn't the whale's size that surprised them. It was the whale's singing, 

“Now how on earth did they learn to sing like that?” wondered the puzzled fishing boat Captain, scratching his head.

"We can never tell anyone because no one would ever believe us,"
said the crew.

Maybe if they read ‘The (true) Adventures of Mudpoo' like you did, they will understand why.

Perhaps the whales are still singing today.

What do you think...?