Then the day came when I was again made to swim into that despised little tank. It was put on to a dray as before, and I was given my second ride on land. May it forever be my last!
The roar of the great city again filled my ears, dust troubled my eyes whenever I raised my head. I was faint, weary, and wretched. I could feel that I had grown lighter1 from loss of flesh, because of the unnatural2 life that I was leading.
How I wished I might escape! That some great and powerful Friend would help me. But I was only a fish, had only fins3 and tail to aid me, that I knew of, and those were at present of but very little use.
At length the boat was reached. There was some confusion, as they were "short of hands," which it appears meant they had not as many men at the dock as were wanted. But the tank was got on board, and men ran for the railing that was to be put around the edge.
Their backs were turned for an instant. Oh! Oh! could I give a mighty4 lurch5, bound over the deck-rail, and be free? No waiting this time! I slashed6 upward in a tremendous "heave-to." Whack7! I struck the rail, wriggled8 quick as lightning over the side, and hurrah9 and hurrah! I was swimming the wide, free river!
Not my own sea. No, there must be first the shortest cut I could find into the ocean and salt water, then there would be many days of sweet, wholesome10 journeying and paddling before home grounds could be reached, but reached they would be all in good time.
Folks say that if Madame Puss, that land-creature who does not love the water overwell, is carried miles from her home in the dark, she will find the way back again. And I felt sure that, once out into the harbor, I could strike a bee-line for a far opposite shore, cut through the narrows at Gibraltar, and enter like a returning monarch11 on my own proud domain12, the fair blue Mediterranean13 Sea. Oh, hurrah again!
I heard a loud and echoing shout as my great body splashed into the water, caught the sound of rushing feet, and saw heavy ropes with strange loops at the ends, that were flung overboard in hopes to entangle14 me, and bring back their great fancy fish into that tank again.
Oh, no, Mister Sailorman, and Mister Deckhand. No, no! I had seen and felt quite enough of being on land, thank you, to last me all the rest of my life. And as the Dolphin family is very long lived, I hope that many years of sweet, delicious freedom, and enjoyment15 of my native element, are yet before me.
And if there was a great king of the Dolphins, as there must be a great Friend of the Folks, that guides our affairs, I would send him a letter a yard long, full of thanks for my freedom. It may be there is such a king, but real knowledge of such things is way beyond me.
I saw strange craft as I boomed along, always giving them a wide berth16. And such fishes! Did you ever see an angel-fish? Don't ever wish to if you haven't. It ought to be called evil spirit fish. In appearance it is one of the quaintest17, ugliest creatures that swims the sea. Some Folks call it monk-fish. It is all of four feet long, has fierce, goggly eyes, and a round, wicked-looking head, that seems nearly separated from the rest of its thick body by a thin, short neck. Then such a vicious-looking tail! Oh, you had better keep clear of an angel-fish.
A toad18-fish looked like an enormous, swimming toad. Bless me! I caught sight of a shark as I came well out into the ocean. He was more than twenty feet long. Think of that! But they are thirty feet sometimes. His great, fleshy, powerful tail takes him along as he looks from side to side for his prey19. I saw his pointed20 nose and his rows of awful teeth, one over another.
There are sharks that can bite a man in halves. Once in awhile we see a shark in our Mediterranean, but they do not abound21 there. Yet now and then Mister Diver-man has had to rush for his life to reach the friendly ladder when the disturbance22 under water to right and left has warned him that one of these sea-monsters was approaching. Oh, they are dreadful creatures, and greedy, too. They will follow vessels23 for miles and miles, expecting that cast-off food will be thrown into the sea, as it often is. Their instinct tells them that food is likely to drop from vessels, and it does, indeed.
I also saw a sea-snipe, or trumpet-fish, but, oho, without a tooth! He made me think of a scorpion24 that has a poisonous, dangerous tail.
I came upon a funny sight while still in the Atlantic Ocean. A whole school of whales went rushing along in a body, and pretty soon I saw what it meant. Then it was more funny for me than for the poor whales. Some whalers, men who go out in vessels to catch these enormous fishes for their flesh, their oil, and their bones, were banging great heavy pieces of tin of iron against stones, so frightening the whales that they crowded in a body into a little creek25 or inlet.
This was just what the whalers wanted them to do. Because, once in the narrow place, so many of them could not escape, and it became easy to capture them. Men-Folks do really know a very great deal. It makes me afraid of them.
An urchin-fish would make you laugh. Some call it a sea-hedgehog. It looks as if covered all over with great thorns, and a baby sea-urchin looks as if it was all ready to burst, it is so thick and round.
A sunfish was an odd piece. It had round eyes, and the queer little fins just back of its neck looked like shoulder-capes. It was so fat it had to swim with a waddle26.
The herring I so much like for food are to be found in nearly all waters, and abundant, sweet, and inviting27. Famous ramblers they are, going in great parties of thousands in number, through wide tracts28 of ocean and sea. I have found that a great deal of "money," whatever that may be, is made by Folks out of the herring fisheries, along the Atlantic seacoast.
And let me whisper: Do you like sardines29? Well, some Folks say that herring do not live in the Mediterranean Sea, that ancient Folks knew nothing about them, but that what we know as herring are really sardines. These are caught in great numbers, pickled in some way, then soaked in oil, are put in little tin boxes, tightly sealed, and sent all over the world.
But let me whisper again, and this makes Lord Dolphin smile; it may make you laugh. But honestly, they say that immense numbers of little herring, or alewives, a little fish very much like a herring, are caught on western shores of the Atlantic, pickled, packed in oil, and sold for sardines.
Isn't it all very funny? If I eat sardines and call them herring, and folks eat herring and call them sardines, why are we not square? But as I want to be very honest in all I say, it may be that in speaking of the herring I so much prefer, I ought to say they are found oftenest at the far western part of the Mediterranean, where the ancient Folk were not so likely to explore.
After I had sailed for days, gliding30 like a streak31 through the deep, untroubled water, I came again to the Strait of Gibraltar.
Oh, with what a thrill of delight I saw this time, in these far happier days than when last I passed through it, this narrow outlet32 from ocean to sea. I went through first in a tank, I returned with the broad ocean for my glorious bed.
I know now that the strait was named for the enormous Rock of Gibraltar, and that it once was called the Strait of Hercules.
Now "Hercules" is another "myth" you will study about in those old Greek fables33 called "mythology34." He was one of the gods, and famed for his tremendous strength. The story goes, that, coming up to a monstrous35 rock in the Atlantic Ocean that entirely36 separated it from the Mediterranean Sea, Hercules, wishing to pass through from ocean to sea, rent the great rock into two parts, so making a passage through. And this was how the narrow outlet came to be called the Strait of Hercules.
Now, for many years the passage has been called the Strait of Gibraltar. But the two great rocks at the entrance of the strait are called "The Pillars of Hercules."
And I am thankful to know three great and precious words that Folks have taught me: Friends! Liberty! Home! Are there any better words than these? Perhaps so. But I have not learned them. Yet Folks know so much more than a fish, even a lordly one, can understand, that it is quite likely they may be acquainted with words having a grander meaning than these.
But I, Lord Dolphin, traveller and story-teller, want to repeat, that I am very, very grateful to any One I ought to thank, that I find myself among friends again, free, and in my own glorious home, the bright blue Midland Sea.
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1
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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fins
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| [医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌 | |
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4
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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6
slashed
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| v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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7
whack
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| v.敲击，重打，瓜分；n.重击，重打，尝试，一份 | |
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8
wriggled
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等） | |
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9
hurrah
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| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
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10
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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11
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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12
domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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14
entangle
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| vt.缠住，套住；卷入，连累 | |
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15
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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16
berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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17
quaintest
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| adj.古色古香的( quaint的最高级 )；少见的，古怪的 | |
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18
toad
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| n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆 | |
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19
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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20
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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21
abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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23
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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24
scorpion
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| n.蝎子，心黑的人，蝎子鞭 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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waddle
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| vi.摇摆地走；n.摇摆的走路(样子) | |
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27
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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28
tracts
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| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
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29
sardines
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| n. 沙丁鱼 | |
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30
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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31
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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32
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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33
fables
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| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
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34
mythology
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| n.神话，神话学，神话集 | |
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35
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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36
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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37
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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