38. Sam's Epic Sailing Adventure

Today, Sam is going on an epic adventure!

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Braving the open ocean in his mighty vessel...

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...he is going out to look for one of nature's wildest and most majestic creatures...

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...the whale!

Some have declared this quest impossible, saying that this isn't even the ocean, just a pond in the park, and that there are no whales around for a thousand miles!

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But Sam is not to be deterred by these naysayers - no, he is going to prove them all wrong!

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And so he set out alone to find the great wild whale, with only his keen navigational instincts to guide him out into the open sea.

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~~~

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~~~

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Out into the open sea.

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~~~

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It wasn't long before he caught his first glimpse of his quarry!

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Right in front of his ship, a finned beast appeared from the briny depths!

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Could it possibly be? Could he really have found it?

He required a closer look to be sure.

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Tragically, as the would-be whale vanished back into the abyss, Sam realized he had a case of mistaken identity. This sea creature, though finned, was too small to be a whale. It was nothing more than a mere fish.

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Not quick to lose hope, however, Sam quickly turned his gaze back out across the waves, and soon spotted another, larger creature!

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It was headed right at him!

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With no time to flee, he could only face the beast head-on. Bracing for impact, he awaited as it sped toward him at great speed, intent surely on destruction.

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Fortunately, his quick wits and animal-taming skills allowed him to stop the fearsome beast just before it destroyed his boat.

But to his dismay, this was not a whale either. Though definitely more large than the previous candidate, it was still much too small to be a whale.

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It was nothing more than a common duck.

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Sam now had started to feel a sliver of disappointment, but he did not give up.

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Rather, he trekked on, further into the wild blue yonder, headed toward uncharted territory.

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Soon, the seaweed was dense, and the water full of obstacles. His quest had reached a dangerous pinnacle, and he did not know if he would ever find his way back to land.

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But at this point, he didn't care. He had come here to find a whale, and this was his only goal.

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And, when it seemed all was lost, suddenly everything seemed to fall into place.

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Something very large appeared to be moving swiftly just beneath the water beside his ship!

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He followed close behind, certain now that he had found what he had come searching for.

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When he was within range, he readied his camera to take a photo and prove, once and for, the existence of the wild whale to his friends and family back home.

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But it was too good to be true.

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It was a large creature alright, but even this one was still not as large as a whale.

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It was only Uncle Tubby, going for a swim.

~~~

Sam now was very disheartened.

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And not only because his ship was now filling with water at an alarming rate because it was not designed to carry this much weight.

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No, also because he had failed in his quest.

Though he hated to admit it, those naysayers were not wrong.

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There clearly were no whales to be found here.

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Sam doesn't remember seeing this when he came in.

~~~

But all hope was not lost.

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Bingo knew exactly how to make Sam's dream of seeing a whale come true...

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...with three tickets to the aquarium!

~~~

So the very next day, Sam was able to complete his quest, and meet one very majestic whale.

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And he was very happy.