The Whale Who Used to Walk

Read-aloud note

Use gentle animal voices, but keep them quiet enough for bedtime.

Story

Look at the big blue whale, splashing in the deep, deep sea! It is bigger than your house, bigger than a school bus. But here is a funny secret: a long, long time ago, whales had little legs and walked on the land, just like a puppy!

Can you picture it? A small furry animal, about as big as a dog, walking by the water on four little legs. It loved the water. It liked to wade in the shallow part, the way you splash your feet at the edge of the bath. Because the water had lots of fish to eat, the animal stayed near the water more and more.

What do you think happened to its legs after a long, long time? Let's see! Because it swam so much, the babies that were best at swimming grew up and had more babies. Slowly, slowly, over more years than you can count, the back legs grew tiny and disappeared, and the front legs turned into flippers, like wide soft paddles. So a walking animal became a swimming animal! That slow change is called evolving.

Here is the wow part that grown-ups love: a whale still cannot breathe underwater like a fish! It has to come up to the top and take a big breath of air through a hole on top of its head, just like you come up for air in the bath. Try it right now: take one big breath in, hold it, then let it out with a "pwoooosh!" That puff is just like a whale's spout!

So remember, little one: the whale did not change in one day, like magic. It changed slow, slow, slow, over a very long time, because it loved the water and the water gave it food. Next time you splash in the tub and come up to breathe, you can say, "I breathe like a whale!" The giant of the sea once had little legs, and that is one of the most amazing true stories in the whole wide world.

Scenes

The Giant of the Sea

Look at the big blue whale, splashing in the deep, deep sea! It is bigger than your house, bigger than a school bus. But here is a funny secret: a long, long time ago, this giant had little legs!

A Little Furry Walker

Can you picture it? A small furry animal, about as big as a dog, walking by the water on four little legs. It loved the water more than anything!

Splashing in the Shallows

It liked to wade in the shallow part, the way you splash your feet at the edge of the bath. The water had lots of fish to eat, so the animal stayed near the water more and more.

Legs Become Flippers

What do you think happened to its legs after a long, long time? Slowly, slowly, the back legs grew tiny and the front legs turned into wide soft paddle flippers. A walking animal became a swimming animal. That slow change is called evolving!

Up for a Big Breath

Here is the wow part: a whale still cannot breathe underwater like a fish! It comes up to the top and breathes air through a hole on its head. Take a big breath, hold it, then let it out with a "pwoooosh!" That is just like a whale's spout!

Slow, Slow, Slow

Remember, little one: the whale did not change in one day, like magic. It changed slow, slow, slow, because it loved the water and the water gave it food. Next time you come up to breathe in the tub, you can say, "I breathe like a whale!"