Маугли
The White Seal
"Inalittletime,"shesaid,"you’llknowwheretoswimto,butjustnowwe’llfollowSeaPig,thePorpoise,forheisverywise."Aschoolofporpoiseswereduckingandtearingthroughthewater,andlittleKotickfollowedthemasfastashecould."Howdoyouknowwheretogoto?"hepanted.Theleaderoftheschoolrolledhiswhiteeyeandduckedunder."Mytailtingles,youngster,"hesaid."Thatmeansthere’sagalebehindme.Comealong!Whenyou’resouthoftheStickyWater(hemeanttheEquator)andyourtailtingles,thatmeansthere’sagaleinfrontofyouandyoumustheadnorth.Comealong!Thewaterfeelsbadhere."
ThiswasoneofverymanythingsthatKoticklearned,andhewasalwayslearning.Matkahtaughthimtofollowthecodandthehalibutalongtheunder-seabanksandwrenchtherocklingoutofhisholeamongtheweeds;howtoskirtthewreckslyingahundredfathomsbelowwateranddartlikeariflebulletinatoneportholeandoutatanotherasthefishesran;howtodanceonthetopofthewaveswhenthelightningwasracingalloverthesky,andwavehisflipperpolitelytothestumpy-tailedAlbatrossandtheMan-of-warHawkastheywentdownthewind;howtojumpthreeorfourfeetclearofthewaterlikeadolphin,flippersclosetothesideandtailcurved;toleavetheflyingfishalonebecausetheyareallbony;totaketheshoulder-pieceoutofacodatfullspeedtenfathomsdeep,andnevertostopandlookataboatoraship,butparticularlyarow-boat.
