I Noi Saves a Whale ◄= A * : Noi and his father lived on an island. Their house was very close to the sea. Noi's father was a fisherman. Every day, he left early for a long day's work on his fishing boat and came back home onJy after dark.

One night, a great storm raged around their house. In the morning, Noi went down to the beach to see what had been left behind by the storm. As he walked along the seashore, he spotted something in the distance. "What's that?" he asked himself.

When he got closer, Noi could not believe his eyes. "Oh my ... that's a baby whale!" he exclaimed. A little whale was lying on the beach. 'It must have been washed up because of the storm,' N oi thought.

He wondered what he could do to help the whale. He knew that it wasn't good for a whale to be out of the water as it could not survive on land for long.

~cw\Vords • island: a piece ofland with water on all four sides • a grc:1L storm ra~cd ,mnmd their house: a very violent storm took place outside their house • c011 ld nol l>clic\'l' his eyes: Noi ~as very surprised Lo see something on the beach. He could not believe that he was seeing It. • exclaimed: said something loudly to show surprise • washed up: placed on the shore by the waves • survive: continue lo live in spite of a difficult or dangerous condition

I

Just then, Noi remembered something. He ran home and got a bucket. He filled

the bucket with water from the sea and poured it over the whale. Noi had once

read that if a whale is washed ashore, one should pour cold water on it.

'Now, I must be quick' he thought. He ran home again and brought back his pull

cart. With much difficulty, he lifted the whale and then put it in the cart.

Once he was home, he filled his bathtub with cold water and put the whale in it.

'I hope I have done enough to save the baby whale,' Noi thought hopefully.

Noi did everything to make the whale feel at home. He told the whale stories about

his life by the sea with his father. He thought that his new friend was an excellent

listener.

But when it became dark and the night drew in , Noi got worried, 'Father will

be very angry with me for bringing a whale inside the house.'

When his father returned, Noi did not tell him anything at first. He managed

to keep his secret the whole evening. He even managed to sneak in some supper

for the whale. But he knew he would not be able to keep his secret for long.

And he was right!

After supper, N oi' s father went upstairs and saw the whale. Then, N oi had to tell

his father everything. But his father wasn't angry. So Noi said, "Can we please keep

the baby whale, Father? It's the only friend I have now. I'll take great care of it." (\ -- - ----. New\Vords • washed ashore~ brought onto t!1e shore by the waves • hope: wish that something goo

d

will happen • make the whale feel at home: made the baby whale comfortable; made the

baby whale feel like it was in its own home • the night drew in: it became dark as it was late

in the evening • ?1anaged to keep his secret: was able to hide his secret and not tell anyone

about it • sneak m~ move quietly or do something secretly

"I have been so busy N oi, I never realised that you were so lonely," said N oi' s father

sadly. "I am so happy and proud of you for helping this little whale. But you see Noi;

it must be missing its family. We must take it back to the sea-to the place where

it belongs," he added.

N oi and his father put the whale in a motorboat and rowed out into the dark sea. Then,

they put the whale back into the sea water. N oi knew it was the right t~g to do but it

was hard for him to say goodbye. However, he was glad his father was there with him.

Noi often thought about the storm whale and wondered how big it would become

one day. He hoped that soon one day, he would see his friend again.

Adapted from 'The Storm Whale' by Benji Davies

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New Words • lonely: unhappy because one has no friends or companions

,,-----·----------~-~---------------------------------------------, I \ : Benji Davies is a writer and illustrator. He has also made many animation films. :

t He has received many awards for his book, The Storm Whale, from various countries. : '----------------------------------------------------------------~'

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