Dot and the Whale

Dot:
How do you stay underwater for so long?

Nelson:
Oh, dolphins, porpoises, whales, we can stay down as long as we'd like.

Dot:
Oh, I wish I could.

Nelson:
Sure, you can.

Dot:
A person, you mean? Stay underwater?

Nelson:
Yes, it's a special way of doing things. It's called dolphin think.

Dot:
Will you teach me?

Nelson:
Yes. Because you're such a good back scratcher.

Dot:
Oh, Nelson!

Nelson:
Of course, I'll teach you, and you know I'll do it, because you're the only human who has really learned the language of the animals.

Dot:
Well, it wasn't like learning. You know, like learning French or Japanese.

Nelson:
What do you mean? Learning is learning. Or are you so smart you just knew it like magic?

Dot:
Yes, that's right. Like magic.

Nelson:
I hope you can dolphin think as easily as that.

Dot:
Me too.

Dot:
I didn't take a breath for 20 minutes! I wasn't cold, and I could hear you, and you could hear me! We didn't talk!

Nelson:
Of course, you do have a good teacher.

Nelson:
We dolphins, porpoises and whales used to have arms and legs like you.

Dot:
Was that millions of years ago?

Nelson:
Then we came into the sea for a little visit, and we liked it better.

Dot:
What are you doing?

Alex:
What do you think we're doing? Making mud pies! We can do whatever we want! It's a free country!

Alex:
Now what?

Dot:
We need to get some grown-ups to help.

Owen:
Grown-ups?

Dot:
Yes.

Alex:
Oh, that's a pity. They always make such a fuss.

Owen:
And they take so long to do anything.

Alex:
Yeah. Kids are best at getting things done.

Dot:
Lots of whales do this: come to the beaches. But why do whales do it? Why? It's a hard life in the sea, but it's just as hard on the land.

Tonga:
The ocean. How I loved the ocean. It was my world. Oh, I remember mother, so gentle. My father, so big and strong... and then they came. The man with the ships and the guns. And then my father was gone, and then my mother, and then all my friends. I wanted to go with them, but they didn't take me... I was too big to take, and too small to kill. I'll never return to the ocean.

Dot:
But you must. You'll die out here on the beach.

Tonga:
I know. I don't want to live anymore. There's no place for me to go. No family. No friends.

Nelson:
Dot, there is a way to make Tonga return to the sea.

Dot:
How?

Nelson:
She'll return if Moby Dick tells her.

Dot:
Moby Dick? The White Whale?

Nelson:
Yes.

Dot:
But Moby Dick's not true. He's in a story.

Nelson:
He might be in a story, but he's still true. He rules all the seas. He's old and very wise.

Dot:
Well, let's ask. Come on.

Nelson:
Wait. He's very hard to find.

Dot:
Does he know about Tonga?

Nelson:
Oh, yes. He knows about everything that happens in the ocean.

Dot:
And Tonga will do what Moby Dick says?

Nelson:
All the creatures of the sea obey Moby Dick.

Dot:
I want to see him.

Nelson:
Dot!

Dot:
Take me, Nelson. Please?

Nelson:
All right, but it's a long way, and it could be dangerous.

Dot:
This is a girl whale. Her name is Tonga. Nelson told me about her.

Owen:
Who's Nelson?

Alex:
Probably a jellyfish.

Dot:
Actually, he's a dolphin.

Dot:
Oh, Nelson, look at all this rubbish. Sometimes, I feel so ashamed to be a human.

Nelson:
Careful! It's a sea snake! Don't touch it!

Dot:
What?

Nelson:
It's an electric eel!

Dot:
A what?

Nelson:
It's a... what is it?

Shark #1:
Hmm. A little snack.

Shark #2:
Looks delicious.

Shark #3:
Everything looks good when you're hungry.

Shark #1:
But Moby Dick said we're not allowed to eat those things.

Shark #2:
I didn't hear him. I'm a bit deaf.

Shark #3:
Me too.

Owen:
What do you want us to do? Put salt and vinegar on her? It's a whale, not a fish!

Oracle:
Yes, yes. Coral poisoning.

Nelson:
But she didn't hurt the coral. Why did they do this to her?

Oracle:
She stepped on them. The coral are living creatures, the same as we are. They defended themselves the way they know how.

Nelson:
With poison?

Oracle:
If they don't look after themselves, there will soon be no coral left in the sea. And there wouldn't be any more coral earrings or necklaces.

Dot:
[to a sleeping penguin] Aww. Asleep.

Penguin:
[wakes up] Not asleep. I never sleep on duty.

Dot:
It must be very hard being a mother out here.

Penguin:
I don't know anything about being a mother! I'm a father! It's my duty to mind the egg while my wife gets a bite to eat.

Dot:
Oh, I didn't know. All you penguins look the same to me.

Penguin:
Oh, how curious. All you humans look the same to me.

Moby Dick:
What do you want?

Dot:
It's about Tonga. Do you know her? She's a whale too.

Moby Dick:
There are so few of us left. I know them all.

Dot:
Would you tell her to return to the sea?

Moby Dick:
I will not tell her anything.

Dot:
But please, she'll die soon. There won't be any time left.

Moby Dick:
Listen. Listen to me. You've heard my story. You know how I fought against the greatest whaler of them all, the mighty Captain Ahab. I may have one that battle, but we have lost the war. If Tonga wishes to die on the sand, let her. It will save them the trouble of killing her. It is people who must decide what happens to us. Why don't they leave us alone?

Owen:
Grown-ups. They don't do nothing. They just stand around and stare.

Joe:
You are doing it all wrong. First of all, you need to take off those towels.

Owen:
Why?

Joe:
Because she can't breath. It's blocking her gills.

Owen:
Whales don't have gills!

Joe:
Oh, shows what you know!

Owen:
If only whales had wings.

Alex:
Owen, shut up!

Dot:
Airline Cargo Corporations?

Woman over Phone:
Yes, that's correct.

Dot:
Do you carry whales?

Woman over Phone:
This is an airline, not a zoo!

Dot:
I wanted to save the whales. So peaceful. What harm have they done to us?

[last lines]

Narrator:
And soon after, Tonga was able to return to her cousins in the sea, but for many whales, they must live in fear of the many dangers of man. Last year alone, 4,000 whales were killed by harpoons. What will it take for man to end this senseless pursuit against these beautiful harmless creaturs and allow them to live in peace?