rrible would have happened if just then all of a
sudden the Weathercock hadn't seen the Whale, who had landed Mr. Jonah
aboard, some two or three chapters ago.

"There's the Whale!" shouted the Weathercock. "See him spout!"

"Run up a signal of distress!" commanded Capt. Noah. "He might save Mr.
Jonah for old times' sake!"

"If he'd only get up close and spout water over the Ark, he'd put out the
fire pretty quick," said Ham.

"Good idea," said Capt. Noah. "Ship ahoy!" yelled Mr. Jonah, waving his
red bandanna handkerchief in the air. "Ahoy! Ahoy!"

Then the Whale stopped spouting and made for the Ark.

"He's coming! He's coming!" shouted the Weathercock.

"Don't stop squirting water," said Capt. Noah to the Elephants.

"On with the pail brigade!" screamed Ham. And then the monkeys slid down
from the roof and grabbed hold of the pails and threw water down the hold.
But still the cruel flames crept nearer and nearer.

"Oh, dear!" sighed Mrs. Noah. "I'm afraid my sealskin coat will get
singed, and after all the trouble I've had putting it up in camphor."

And then, all of a sudden, a tremendous stream of water fell upon the Ark,
soaking every one to the skin. And soon the deck was a river, and the
steam that came out of the hold almost suffocated everybody.

"Goodness me!" screamed Mrs. Noah. "We'll be swamped!"

"Hold on, there," shouted Capt. Noah, leaning over the side of the Ark,
where the Whale lay like a fire patrol boat in action. "Hold on! Turn off
the hose, or you'll drown us!"

So the good-natured Whale shut off the water, while Capt. Noah added: "A
Turkish bath has nothing on this!"

"It was awfully kind of you to come to our rescue," said Mrs. Noah,
smiling sweetly at the Whale as she leaned over the railing.

"Well, if you hadn't come just when you did," said Capt. Noah, "I guess
we'd all have gone down to Davey Jones' locker."

"Don't mention it," said the Whale. "Glad to have been able to do you a
little favor. You see," he added in a low voice, "Mr. Jonah was never
satisfied when he was my guest. He was always complaining about the
dampness. So when you came along and I had a chance to put him aboard the
Ark I was tickled to death. In fact, I was so glad to get rid of my
passenger that I made up this little poem," and then the Whale began to
spout:

"It's not so very pleasant, when sailing on the sea,
To have a passenger aboard who's sulky as can be;
And that's the reason, a