Chapter 2 whaling

The boys in Xingxing class built a beautiful boat with building blocks.The bow is pointed, and there is the wheelhouse.There are many red and yellow machines in the cab.Behind the wheelhouse is the cabin with tables and chairs. Next to the cabin is the deck. "Oh, that's great! What a beautiful ship!" When Mao Mao saw it, he cried out in surprise. "I want to sit on it too... Mao Mao tried to touch the triangular bow with his hand.As soon as he touched it, the sailors on the deck rushed over and shouted: "Don't touch it! Look, it's broken!" Really, there was a crack where Mao Mao touched.

"If the boat has holes, water will come in, and it will sink to the bottom!" The sailor knelt down and repaired the boat carefully. Maomao said: "I'm sorry.—I've already said 'I'm sorry', okay? Let me get on the boat too." "In vain, Mao Mao go over there!" The sailor glared at Mao Mao and went back to the deck. "The ship is ready. All, assemble!" The captain, first mate and five sailors all sat on the chairs in the cabin.The captain stood up first and said: "Now, we decided, to give the ship a name." "elephant!"

"lion!" Both children shouted together. "Because elephants are the largest and most powerful animals." "No, it's the lion, and the lion is the king of beasts." "Elephants are stronger than lions!" "A lion is stronger than an elephant!" The two children quarreled. Mao Mao shouted from under the boat: "It's a lion! It's a lion!" "Okay, now let's decide whether it's better to be an elephant or a lion. Put your hands up when you say which is better." After the captain said this, everyone stopped arguing.

"Whoever says good about an elephant raises his hand!" "I—!" He raised his hand. "Don't raise two hands at once. Each person raises one hand. The person who says good to the elephant raises his hand!" "One, two, three people." "Okay. Raise your hand who says good about the lion!" "I--!" "One, two, three people." "Oh, the same amount!" Everyone is a little discouraged. "I--! I also say good lion! " Under the boat, Mao Mao shouted, raising his hands high. "You didn't participate, so don't raise your hand."

"I will also participate!" "It's useless to be in the rose class. All you need is a boy in the star class." insisted the captain. "Hey, Captain!" "Are you for the elephant, or for the lion?" "Yeah Elephants! Okay?" "Yes to the lion! Will you?" "The elephant stepped on the lion with one foot and whipped him hard with its trunk!" "Hmph, that's nonsense! Because a lion can bite an elephant with one bite!" "Then let the elephant fight the lion, whoever wins..." well! ——, but no one has ever seen an elephant fight a lion.

"These two are very powerful, let's put them together!" "Yes, our ship is called 'Elephant Lion'!" "Then it will be even more powerful, we will definitely be able to catch the whale back!" Everyone clapped their hands happily. "Elephant Lion" - what a good name! "Okay, we're going to sea, what should we bring?" "Because if you want to catch whales, you must bring an iron fishing rod and a lot of earthworms." Everyone jumped out of the boat and went to get the iron fishing rod. The iron fishing rod was very heavy, and it took three people to finally load it into the boat.

Worms, too, used empty milk cans and filled them to the brim. "We still have to catch the fish we eat, and we need to take the fishing rod with us." "A gas stove for cooking fish, and chopsticks." "And binoculars." "And watches—there are no clocks at sea." "And a lunchbox, snacks, fruit, and a peeling knife." "Because the sea water is salty, be sure to bring some tap water." Fishing rods, gas stoves, chopsticks, binoculars, watches, lunch boxes, snacks, fruits, knives and kettles were all loaded onto the boat. "And blankets."

A big blanket was placed next to the kettle. "After lunch, and playing cards." The cards were placed next to the blanket again. "The luggage is ready!" The captain turned the brim of his hat back on the back of his head, and shouted bravely with chest out. "Whaling team, start now!" The "Elephant Lion" moved quietly. "Let's go, goodbye!" "Be sure to bring back the whale!" The girls in the star class and the children in the rose class waved together. "Hey—! Take me with you!" Mao Mao aimed at the "Elephant Lion" that was driving further and further away

begged. "It's useless, you can't do it, you--too--trouble-chaos--!" The captain's drawn-out voice drifted over with the wind.The people on board sang energetically: How bright the sky seemed to have a hundred suns, The sea breeze blows hard, and the white waves fly high. When we go whaling, we must catch the whale. Ahh, "Elephant Lion", Ahh, our "Elephant Lion". The first mate was singing while speeding up the boat. At noon, the sailors hung earthworms on their fishing rods and started fishing. "Look, one!" "Look, another one!"

Burn the fish caught with a gas stove, and everyone will have a full stomach.They also drank tap water from jugs. "After dinner, everyone played cards. At this time, the "Elephant Lion" had already sailed into the sea. No matter which side you face, you can only see the sea and the sky. "Yeah, I can't see anything except the sea. There must be whales living in such a big place!" "Let's hang earthworms on the iron fishing rod. Then, as soon as the whale comes, we can catch it right away." Everyone tied a hard and strong thin rope to the iron fishing rod, and tied twenty earthworms to the rope.

"Okay, it doesn't matter when the whale comes this time!" Everyone put your binoculars on your eyes and look for mine above the sea. Suddenly, a black back like a mountain emerged from the white waves. "Ah, a whale!" The first mate drove the boat and approached the whale. The sailors raised the iron fishing rod and gently placed the string in front of the whale's head. When the whale saw an earthworm for the first time since it was born, he thought to himself: "What is this?" The whale swallowed the earthworm and the hard and strong string together.This time, the whale simply bit the iron rod. "Ah, the whale pulls so hard!" The captain standing at the bow shouted loudly.The whale pulled desperately as if it wanted to swallow the iron rod. "Pull hard! What is a whale? Never lose to him!" "Yes, never lose to him!" Both the captain and the sailors stretched their legs and pulled the bar with all their might. "come on! Come on!" The first officer stuck his head out of the cab to cheer everyone up. Everyone's face was flushed and sweat was streaming down from above.But the hands couldn't leave the iron fishing rod, and the sweat flowed into the eyes, so everyone closed their eyes and pulled. Hey, hey, hey - ah! We are strong in unity. What can a whale be. We will never lose to him! Everyone shouted and pulled the iron rod hard. The whale was pulled little by little, and slowly approached the side of the "Elephant Lion". "Captain! Load the whale on board?" "It's too big, can't you fit it?" "Shall we be chained to the boat?" "That's it, tie him behind the boat!" "Yes!" They tied the whale's neck with a thin rope and tied him behind the boat. The whale still has an iron rod in its mouth!The captain laughed and said: "Hey, Mr. Whale, what you're holding is an iron rod. That thing is not delicious!" Everyone laughed. "Huh, what a big deal!" The whale said angrily, and let go of the iron rod in its mouth, and then, a large jet of sea water came out from its back. "Oh, it's amazing!" "Bah, bah! It's salty!" Everyone was running around on the deck because the sea water was pouring down on their heads. "Ha ha ha ha……" The whale shook its body and laughed. Said the captain: "Whenever we see a whale, we should take up our umbrellas!" "But we didn't bring an umbrella!" "That's terrible... by the way, let's put up the blankets!" "This method is good!" They brought blankets, and everyone put the blankets on their heads.Although they were tightly packed together, everyone felt at ease.This time I can watch without haste. After a while, the captain gave an order: "Have caught the whale, fold up the blanket, now head back!" Just then, a small black dot appeared in the sky.Everyone was thinking "this is not a dark cloud", and the black spot suddenly became bigger. "Ah, it's suddenly dark! A storm is coming!" It started to rain heavily. The wind whipped the Elephant Lion hard. The big waves rolled up desperately, trying to capsize the boat. The "Elephant Lion" swayed back and forth, and then left and right. When everyone thought it was going to fly, it sank; when everyone thought it was going to sink, it flew up and caught again. The people on the boat also flew up for a while, and fell down again for a while. Always falling back and forth like this, their hands and feet hurt terribly. However, I couldn't stop. In the end, everyone got dizzy. Whether it is the captain, the first mate or the sailors, they all lie on the ship as if they are dead.Only the whales, don't care. "Ah—what a joy!" It swims and swims in the storm. Now, the Elephant Lion, stern forward, was dragged by the whale. The storm finally stopped and the sea calmed down. On the deck, seven people sat there in a daze. "What the hell are we doing?" Everyone rubbed their eyes and asked. "I seemed to have fallen asleep just now! Hurry up! If there is no mate..." The first officer ran to the cab in a panic.Suddenly, he exclaimed: "Oh, how strange! Why did the cab go to the back!" Everyone also stood up in surprise. "Ah, the stern has become the bow!" "It was changed by the storm!" Then, everyone was even more surprised: "The whale is pulling and running!" "It's like a carriage!" "That's right!" said the whale proudly. "Where are we now?" "Maybe he's on his way to America! What should we do?" Everyone was very anxious, picked up the binoculars and looked around. "Ah! I see land!" In the round glass of the telescope, I saw a long and thin strip of land. "Probably America!" said the captain, gripping the binoculars vigorously. The whale swam quickly towards land. Through the telescope, I saw two flags. The captain read the words on the flag aloud: Welcome, welcome, you, you, back, come! Whale, fish, you, good! "That's all right!—The writing on the flag is not in English...Everyone has come to welcome us!" The children in Tulip Kindergarten wanted to see whales earlier, so they made flags and everyone came running. "Welcome back—! Welcome back—!" Everyone waved their hands to the "Elephant Lion". Mao Mao wants to take pictures of whales, and there is a camera hanging around his neck. Mao Mao came out first and took a picture of the whale pulling the "Elephant Lion". The boat returned safely. In the applause of everyone, all the crew disembarked and wandered into the team. The girls in the star class took a beautiful bouquet and walked to the front. Each crew member was given a bouquet of flowers and shook hands with them. The whale also gets a large garland to wear on its head. The big wreath that the whale got was very big, and it was carried by all the children in the rose class.There are so many flowers on the wreath: roses, carnations, narcissus, tulips, lilacs, dandelions, hyacinths... Whale wearing this wreath is like a flower shop, not to mention how beautiful it is!Mao Mao said: "It's time to take pictures now, people of 'Elephant Lion', please stand in line!" Everyone lined up around the whale. The captain, the mate, the sailors, and the whale all puffed out their chests and took their poses. "Click! Alright, the photo is over. Below, those who are welcome, come and take a group photo together!" All the children in Tulip Kindergarten stood together. Mao Mao said to everyone: "Smile, smile." When Mao Mao said this, the whale opened its mouth wide: "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……" Just laughed out loud.The children are also together: "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……" "Click! OK, the photo is over." "If it's bad, it's useless. Take another photo for us! " "Ah, well, one more time. Smile, smile." "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……… "Click! OK, the photo is over." After the photo shoot, everyone gathered around the whale. "Whale, you should also stay in our Tulip Kindergarten!" "Fill our swimming pool with sea water and please live in it." That's what everyone says. The whale asked: "The swimming pool you mentioned is bigger than the sea?" When everyone heard it, it was a bit embarrassing. "That—the swimming pool is a little smaller, but..." "Then the sea is better. I don't like small places much." "But, our kindergarten has a lot of fun things!" "Of course it's good, but the place is too small to be interesting. It's time for me to go back, untie this rope for me. " "Don't say that. You stay!" "The place is too small, it's really not good, I will have a headache." "Is that so? Oh, what a pity!" Saying this, the captain untied the thin rope that tied the whale.The whale saluted everyone with its wreathed head and began to swim away. "If I go, I can find a way to find a smaller whale!" Mao Mao said. 