In the Whale Read online

  “Hey there, guys!” said Uncle Al.

  “Hi, Uncle Al!” said Andrew and Judy.

  “Hiya, Unkie!” said Thudd.

  “I’ve been having a hard time reaching you,” said Uncle Al. “You sound a little, um, blubbery.”

  With his hologram, Uncle Al could hear them but couldn’t see them.

  “That’s because we’re inside a whale’s stomach!” said Judy, sloshing back and forth.

  meep … “Blue whale!” said Thudd.

  Uncle Al’s fuzzy eyebrows poked up toward his shaggy hair. “Queen Isabella on a jelly doughnut!” he said. “You’re inside the biggest animal that ever lived! I hope you’re wearing the Bubble Duds.”

  “We’ve got the Bubble Duds on,” said Andrew. “They’re really comfortable!”

  “That’s good,” said Uncle Al. “Stomach acid can dissolve almost anything eventually. Even metal!

  “The Bubble Duds will protect you, but only for two hours. Then they could start to, uh, come apart.”

  “Cheese Louise!” said Judy. “How do we get out of here? Could we get the whale to throw up or something?”

  “Which stomach are you in?” asked Uncle Al.

  “The second one,” said Andrew.

  “Hmm,” said Uncle Al. “The whale can’t throw you up from the second stomach. It looks like you’ll have to take the long way out. You’ve got one more stomach to go—”

  “Oh, brother!” Judy interrupted. “Another stupid stomach.”

  Uncle Al smiled. “You know that cows have four stomachs,” he said.

  “So what?” said Judy.

  “Well,” said Uncle Al, “whales are related to cows and some other animals with hooves. Fifty million years ago, the ancestors of whales lived on land. They looked kind of like hairy crocodiles and they had little hooves on their toes!”

  “Bizarre-o!” said Judy.

  “Yup,” said Uncle Al. “But let’s get back to the most important thing—getting you home safely. Where’s the Water Bug?”

  “It’s under the whale’s tongue,” said Andrew.

  “Ah!” said Uncle Al. “Then the Water Bug must be caught in the whale’s gigantic mouth pouch!”

  Judy mashed her fist into a little island of krill floating in the soupy mess.

  “Tough tomatoes!” she said. “Does that mean we’ll have to go back into the whale’s mouth?”

  “I’m afraid so,” said Uncle Al. “And when you get back to the Water Bug, set the destination dial for Hawai’i and come back immediately.”

  Andrew and Judy looked at each other. Their whale of a problem had started in Hawai’i. That’s where Andrew had accidentally set the Water Bug on a search to find a giant squid. But the giant squids were in danger from a bad guy named Soggy Bob Sloggins. He wanted to capture some for his theme park!

  Andrew hesitated. “Um, first we’ve got to save the giant squids from Soggy Bob,” he said.

  Uncle Al frowned and shook his head.

  “I was afraid of that,” he said. “I’ve been working on a new underwater vehicle, the See Horse. My plan is to catch up with you and help you. But the See Horse isn’t finished yet.”

  “So meanwhile,” said Judy, “we’re going to get pooped out by a whale!”

  Uncle Al nodded. “You need to get pooped out as fast as you can,” he said. “Remember, the Bubble Duds could start to fall apart after two hours.”

  Uncle Al’s hologram began to wobble.

  “Uncle Al!” yelled Judy. “You’re jiggling.”

  “Listen, guys,” said Uncle Al. His voice was shaky. “I could disappear any minute. But I’ll keep trying to—”

  The Uncle Al hologram made a sound like popcorn popping. Then it disappeared.

  The stomach was scrunching Andrew and Judy harder and harder. It started to shove them through another tiny opening in the stomach wall.

  BLUFFOOOWEEE!

  Andrew struggled through the hole with the booby.

  Ploorp!

  He splashed down into a dark space. Wetness squished around him. I wish I had my flashlight, he thought.

  “Gack!” said the booby.

  Andrew patted the booby’s head.

  “Yerrrgh!” came Judy’s voice in the darkness. “I’m stuck! It feels like I’m being squeezed through a keyhole!”

  “Um, try to push,” said Andrew. “Do you want me to pull your head or something?”

  “No way, Bug-Brain!” said Judy.

  She grunted and struggled.

  “Okay okay” she sighed. “When I count to three, you pull my head and I’ll push.”

  Andrew put down the booby, felt around for Judy’s head, and grabbed it.

  “One … two … three!” said Judy.

  Andrew yanked, Judy shoved, and finally—

  Ploorp!

  Judy ended up in the third stomach, too.

  As she poked the flashlight through the darkness, they saw they had landed in a place that looked like the inside of a green balloon. Sticky yellow-green goo was squirting out from a hose-like opening on one side of it.

  meep … “More juice to digest stuff,” said Thudd. “From liver.”

  Bluuuuuurf!

  A river of pink mush poured in from the second stomach. It didn’t look like krill anymore.

  “What time is it, Thudd?” asked Judy.

  meep … “Two o’clock,” said Thudd.

  “So we have to get out of this whale before four o’clock,” said Judy. “Before our Bubble Duds start to fall apart and we turn into whale chow.”

  THUMPA THUMPA THUMPA

  They were closer to the whale’s heart.

  There was another, quieter sound, too.

  thumpa thumpa thumpa

  “It sounds like the whale has two hearts!” said Andrew.

  “Maybe it’s an echo,” said Judy.

  meep … “Not echo,” said Thudd. “Sound echo off of hard stuff. Rocks. Metal. Whale made out of soft stuff. Whale not got two hearts, either. Big whale got baby whale inside.”

  “Wow!” said Judy.

  “Jumping gerbils!” said Andrew.

  The last stomach gave them one more squirt of liver juice. Then it started to squeeze them out into something that seemed like a tight pink stocking. Andrew went in headfirst, holding the booby in front of him. It was slippery inside, and fuzzy, too, like a towel.

  The pink tube squeezed and tugged. It was like being inside a boa constrictor.

  “Yuck-a-rama!” said Judy.

  meep … “Intestines!” said Thudd. “This part is small intestine. Fuzzy stuff pull food molecules into blood.”

  Judy groaned. “There’s only one thing that interests me about intestines. Getting out of them! It could take hours for the intestines to shove us out. We’ve got to get out fast! Move it, Andrew!”

  “Woofers!” said Andrew, crawling along and pushing the booby ahead of him. “It’s so hot and stinky in here.”

  meep … “Whales got warm blood, like humans,” said Thudd. “Whales got same temperature as humans. That why whale got lots of blubber fat. Keep whale warm in cold water. Like fur keep polar bear warm in cold air. Lotsa years ago, people hunt whales for blubber. Melt blubber fat. Make oil. Use oil to burn in lamps. Make candles, soap, lotsa stuff.”

  Spluuurt!

  Slimy juices were squirting out of the intestine.

  “Gack! Gack!” said the booby. Andrew could feel it trying to flap its wings.

  “It’s okay, little buddy,” he said. “We’ll get out soon—I hope.”

  Judy passed the flashlight up to Andrew as they shoved their way through the goo.

  meep … “Whale intestine five hundred feet long,” said Thudd. “Almost long as two football fields. Human intestine thirteen feet long.”

  A soft rumble came up behind them.

  FFFLOOOOOOOOF!

  A big puff of wind, like air bursting out of a balloon, blew past them.

  “Pee-YEW!” said Judy. “That was unbelievably
stinky!”

  meep … “Lotsa little bacteria eat stuff in intestine,” said Thudd.

  “Yum!” said Judy.

  meep … “Then bacteria burp up stinky gas. Gas move through intestine. Make big noise!”

  Andrew chuckled. “We know what that is!” he said. “It’s a f—”

  “Andrew!” yelled Judy. “Don’t be disgusting!”

  “Gack! Gack!” said the booby excitedly.

  “What is it, little buddy?” asked Andrew.

  The glow from the flashlight lit up a long white ribbony shape attached to the whale’s intestine.

  meep … “Tapeworm!” said Thudd. “One hundred feet long. Stick to intestine. Tapeworm soak up food juice through skin.”

  The booby cocked its head, opened its beak, and lunged toward the tapeworm.

  meep … “Not eat!” said Thudd. “Tapeworm got lotsa eggs inside. Booby swallow eggs, get tapeworm, too!”

  Andrew clamped his hand over the booby’s beak.

  “No tapeworm for you, buddy,” he said.

  Andrew and Judy tried to creep quickly past the tangled ribbon of tapeworm.

  The intestine got wider.

  meep … “Leave small intestine,” said Thudd. “Large intestine ahead.”

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  The sounds were coming from the sleeves of Andrew’s Bubble Duds. Some of the bubbles were bursting!

  Pop!

  A bubble on the booby’s helmet burst, too!

  “I hear your Bubble Duds popping,” said Judy. “Mine are, too! What time is it?”

  meep … “3:45,” said Thudd.

  “Uh-oh,” said Andrew.

  Andrew and Judy pushed on through the intestines.

  Soon they found themselves in a larger space. It was piled high with reddish chunks the size of footballs.

  “I guess we know what that is,” said Andrew.

  meep … “Whale poop!” said Thudd. “This is rectum. Poop collect here.”

  “It’s disgusting,” Judy said. “But it means there’s a way to get out of here.”

  Before Judy could find what she was looking for, the rectum began to tremble. Then it gave a big squeeze!

  Bluffoooweeee!

  HEADS AND TAILS

  Andrew, Judy, Thudd, and the booby blasted out of the rear of the whale!

  “We’re whale poop!” shouted Andrew.

  Above them was the whale’s huge gray tail. It was as wide as a street!

  Judy tucked the flashlight into a pocket of her Bubble Duds.

  “Catch that tail!” she said. “If we let the whale get away, we’ll never get back to the Water Bug!”

  As Andrew reached for the monster tail, he could see the rays of the sun slanting through the water.

  meep … “Whale coming up to breathe,” said Thudd. “Blue whale can stay underwater forty minutes. Some whales can stay underwater two hours!”

  The whale’s tail was just inches from Andrew and Judy. As it flapped down, it twirled the water into whirlpools that pushed the kids away.

  meep … “Tails of whales and dolphins move up and down,” said Thudd. “Tails of fish move side to side.”

  “Zip it, Thudd!” yelled Judy. “Andrew! Grab that tail!”

  Andrew reached for it, but the tail was smooth and rubbery. It slipped away from his fingers.

  meep … “Grab tip of tail!” said Thudd. “Got barnacles growing on it. Little animals in shells. Help to get grip on tail.”

  Judy managed to latch on to one of the pointy tips. The roughness of the barnacle shells helped her hang on.

  Andrew grabbed Judy’s foot with one hand and hung on to the booby with the other.

  Andrew and Judy clung to the tail with all their might. In two flaps, the whale’s tail crashed through the surface of the water!

  “Wowzers schnauzers!” said Andrew.

  “Yay!” said Judy. “It’s so great to see the sun again.”

  PROOOOOOOOSH!

  Far ahead, at the front of the whale, a huge fountain of mist rose into the air. It was as high as a three-story building!

  meep … “Whale breathe out old air,” said Thudd. “Whale breathe with spout on top of head. Like nose!”

  “We can get to the whale’s mouth by going over its back,” said Andrew.

  Andrew and Judy dragged themselves onto the top of the whale’s tail. They slithered along on their bellies. It was like creeping across a huge, slippery beach ball. They scrambled onto the whale’s back.

  Andrew paused for a moment. He pulled the Bubble Duds helmet off the booby and untied the ribbon that kept the balloon wrapped around the booby’s body.

  “Goodbye, booby!” said Andrew.

  “Gack!” screeched the booby. It hopped onto the whale’s back and stretched its wings. Then it hopped on Andrew’s shoulder.

  Andrew pulled down the helmet of his Bubble Duds. The sun felt warm on his face. A cool breeze ruffled his hair. Judy pulled her helmet down, too.

  “Gack! Gack!” said the booby. It lightly pecked Andrew’s nose.

  meep … “Booby say Thunkoo!’” said Thudd.

  The booby flapped its wings and flew off.

  Judy waved. “We’ll miss you!” she yelled after it.

  PROOOOOOOOSH!

  The whale spouted again.

  “Yeeuuuw!” said Judy. “A really bad case of fish breath!”

  They crept toward the front of the whale. The whale’s smooth blue-gray skin was marked with dark spots, like huge gray freckles.

  Judy reached the whale’s spout first.

  There were two openings that looked like gray nostrils. They were as high as Judy’s knees.

  “It’s a gigantic nose!” she said.

  Judy looked in. “These nostrils are so big, babies could crawl into them!”

  “Look!” said Andrew, pointing to a big lump inside the right side of the whale’s mouth. “It must be the Water Bug!”

  “But the whale’s mouth is closed,” said Judy. “We can’t get in.”

  meep … “Maybe whale eat again,” said Thudd.

  “Let’s get closer to the front,” said Judy. She tugged her helmet down over her face.

  Andrew pulled his helmet down, too. They crept beyond the whale’s spout.

  The whale’s head tipped to the side. Andrew and Judy began to slide down the side of the head!

  OPEN WIDE!

  Judy and Andrew slid past the whale’s eye. It was dark brown and the size of an orange.

  Judy waved. “I wonder if it can see us,” she said. “I hope it can.”

  The whale’s mouth was opening! Andrew and Judy grabbed on to the baleen and jumped down into the rushing water filling the mouth.

  “Under the tongue!” yelled Andrew.

  He and Judy plunged below. It was dark. Judy pulled the mini-flashlight out of her pocket.

  “There’s the Water Bug!” she shouted, and dove under it. Andrew followed.

  He found the seat buttons and pressed them.

  FLAMP!

  The front seats of the Water Bug flipped out.

  “Strap yourself in,” said Andrew. “And press the button on the side of your seat.”

  FLAMP!

  The seats flipped inside.

  glurp … “Welcome back,” said the mechanical voice of the Water Bug. “You were gone a long time. My computer said you would not return. What would you like to do now?”

  “Start Escape Jet!” Andrew shouted.

  The hood of the Water Bug clicked open and a fat black tube popped out.

  Andrew pulled up on the steering wheel, looked over his shoulder, and slammed his foot down on the gas pedal.

  Sloooooosh!

  The Water Bug jetted backward above the whale’s tongue and past its rubbery gray lips. They were out!

  Andrew switched off the Escape Jet and went back to regular power. The Water Bug’s paddle wheels whizzed them through the water. Judy and Andrew tugged the Bubble Duds helmets off their heads.
/>
  “Wowzers schnauzers!” said Andrew. “We made it!”

  Judy sighed. “I never thought I’d say this, but it’s good to be back in the Water Bug! Let’s follow the whale for a little while. She’s beautiful. I have a feeling she likes us.”

  Thudd opened his Bubble Bag, crept out of Andrew’s pocket, and hopped onto the dashboard.

  The whale slowed down and rolled from side to side.

  kk … kkk … kkkkk crackled the speaker on the dashboard.

  “Well, ah’ll be an oyster’s auntie!” came a familiar growly voice from the speaker. “Them little water brats took a lickin’ from the biggest blue whale ah ever did see. And they’re still kickin’!”

  “Oh no!” said Judy. “It’s Soggy Bob!”

  There was a flash of shiny metal underneath the whale. It was Soggy Bob’s Crab-Mobile!

  Its silvery claws and legs were tucked close to its body. Inside the glass dome at the top of the Crab-Mobile, Soggy Bob was sitting in his huge, zebra-striped chair. His bald head gleamed like a bowling ball. His skinny black mustache curled above his crooked smile.

  Perched on the back of the chair was Bob’s enormous blue parrot, Burpp, whose name was short for Bob’s Ultra-Robot Parrot Partner.”

  Awwk! screeched Burpp.

  Clack! Clack! Clack! The Crab-Mobile’s giant metal claws snapped in front of the Water Bug’s windshield.

  Soggy Bob grinned and twisted his mustache. “What’s your hurry, little mud puppies? You’re just in time for the biggest show in the sea!”

  BIG, BIG BABY!

  “Look!” said Andrew, pointing past the Crab-Mobile. “The whale has two tails!”

  Beneath the giant tail of the blue whale was a much smaller tail.

  meep … “Mother whale having baby whale!” said Thudd. “Whale calf.”

  Quickly, the rest of the baby whale slid out.

  “That’s one super-sized baby!” said Judy.

  meep … “Blue whale baby long as elephant!” said Thudd. “Weigh as much as forty humans!”

  The mother whale circled and dove beneath the baby.

  meep … “Mother whale push baby whale to top of water to breathe,” said Thudd. “If baby whale not breathe soon, it drown!”