porpoise
\ PAWR-puhs \ , verb;
1. to move forward with a rising and falling motion.
2 (of a speeding motorboat) to leap clear of the water after striking a wave.
3. (of a torpedo) to appear above the surface of the water.
1. any of several small, gregarious cetaceans of the genus Phocoena, usually blackish above and paler beneath, and having a blunt, rounded snout, especially the common porpoise, P. phocoena, of both the North Atlantic and Pacific.
2. any of several other small cetaceans, as the common dolphin, Delphinus delphis.
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The sun shone high and bright over the open ocean, the light
glinting like gemstones as the small speedboat jumped over the waves. A warm breeze blew over the passengers, full
of the pungent smell of the salt water.
Seagulls flew overhead, calling out to other members of their flock,
periodically diving down into the water to catch an unlucky fish.
Lora
wasn’t interested in any of those though.
She kept a sharp eye out for the animals she was looking for. Her two kids sat in the back of the boat,
leaning over the edge as much as their mother would let them, looking for the
signs of life that their mother had told them about.
“Mom,
look!” Called Kevin, the younger of the
two children, “I see them! There’s
dolphins swimming around us?” He looked
excitedly over the edge, and his older sister, Jackie, joined him. Lora slowed the boat to a crawl to make sure
that her son had spotted the correct animal.
“No,
those aren’t dolphins, Kevin. Those are
called porpoises.” She said. She could understand her son’s
confusion. To the young boy, the two
were essentially interchangeable.
“Are
you sure? They look like dolphins.” The young boy said. Lora stopped the boat and moved carefully to
join her kids.
“Yes, I
am. See how their faces are kind of flat
and round? Dolphins have a longer,
thinner mouth instead. These guys are
also much smaller than dolphins are.”
“Do we
still get to go in the water with them?” Jackie asked, not taking her eyes off
the sleek bodies of the porpoises.
“No, I
don’t think that’s a good idea.” Lora
said. “I don’t think their too dangerous
to us, but they won’t play like dolphins would either. I don’t think you’d have much fun with these
guys.”
“Oh.” The young girl said sadly. “So are there any dolphins around here?”
“There should be. At least, that’s what Uncle Bobbie said. He might have gotten the two mixed up though.”
“There should be. At least, that’s what Uncle Bobbie said. He might have gotten the two mixed up though.”
“Are we
gonna keep looking?” Kevin asked
hopefully.
“Of
course. The two sometimes live in the
same places, so there still might be some dolphins around here. “
“Will
it be soon?”
“No, I
don’t think so. We might have some
trouble finding them.”
“Oh,
ok.” Kevin said. Both of the children
looked crestfallen.
“Are
you two sure you don’t want to go to an aquarium? There’s definitely going to be dolphins
there. And if we get there at the right
time, they’ll even put on a show.”
“It’s
not as good though there.” Jackie
said. “Uncle Bobbie said that the best
place to see dolphins is in the ocean, ‘cause we can play with those. They don’t let us play with the ones in the
aquarium.”
“I
think they might let you if you ask really nicely.” Lora said.
She had seen on the local aquarium’s website that they did let young
children swim with the dolphins. It was
only for a few minutes, and it would cost her, but it was an option. Although it was a very nice day out, and she
was enjoying the sea breeze, it was also quite a bit easier to just go
someplace where they knew there would be dolphins, instead of the unsureity
presented by trying to find the animals in the wild.
“Yeah,
but they might not.” Jakie insisted. “If
we find them here, then we know we can.”
“Yeah!”
Kevin enthusiastically agreed. “Come on
mom, let’s keep going!” He said. Lora took a sighed and smiled. The hopeful look on her children’s faces make
it quite a bit more difficult to argue with them. Besides, they both had something of a
stubborn streak—she insisted that came from their father—and so it was futile
to change their mind about something like this.
“Ok,
ok. Just don’t lean over the edge too
much, alright?” She said as she started
the boat back up.
“Ok.” Both said in unison. As the boat took off, the two children went
right back to looking over the edge, keeping a close eye out for any signs of
dolphins.
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