"But a narwahl is smaller than a bus," my five year old son interrupted. "They couldn't possibly damage a ship like that." He was objecting to Professor Aronnax' opinion that the worldwide stir created by some unknown beast or vessel in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was caused by a gigantic narwahl. "This is make-believe, right? Then I guess it could be a giant whale, but it doesn't make as much sense. Is it really..."And there he stopped rather abruptly as a look of sudden revelation crossed his face. "Never mind mom," he said as he dived back under the covers, "Just keep reading."
Two chapters later, I thought he had fallen asleep. After all, everyone else had and he is normally the first to drift off. After all, it takes a lot out of a young body to be a bundle of energy all day. I closed the book and began to make my escape when his head popped out from under the covers, "Just one more chapter mom? Please?"
He then accompanied me down the hall toward the restroom, chattering about what kind of harpoon he thought would do the job on such a huge and vicious beast. He wasn't sure the Abraham Lincoln was up to the task, but seemed to have confidence in Ned Land's abilities. Whalemen are not to be trifled with in his mind. They are like the cowboys of the sea. I suppose this picture from the Freshwater and Marine Image Bank which we used in our unit on whaling might explain that opinion.Son tucked back into bed, I commenced reading. His eyes were full of wonder, and I could not quite believe how much this book had captivated his imagination. Persuading mom to keep going had been a fairly easy task with eyes that big, but my voice finally gave out at the close of chapter seven as eight men appeared from the unknown metal monstrosity and took Professor Aronnax, Conseil and Ned Land inside.
And, without such a fascinating story unfolding before his imagination, my little baby bear finally fell asleep.
