“I think so,” said Henry. “Yes, I finally
understand.”
“Well!” called the whale. “That took a long time!
That’s the trouble with little cases. They take so much
time. Goodbye, I’m nearly late for the big case.
Goodbye!
That settles it
!” And the whale was gone.
Henry felt very lonesome. He looked around but
the whale did not surface again.
“Yoo hoo,” he called. “I’d like to appeal!”
But Pale That-Settles-It the Whale did not appear.
“Yoo hoo!” called Henry. “You’re right, you just can’t get
along without law and order.”
Henry looked around and saw a big round form
moving toward him. It was a sea turtle who came up
slowly and stared at Henry.
“Where’s your shell,” he said.
“I don’t have one,” said Henry.
That will never do,” said the sea turtle. “Never! Go
get a shell. Every turtle needs a shell.”
“But I’m not a turtle,” said Henry. “I’m a pickle.
Hasn’t anybody out here ever heard of a pickle?”
The sea turtle looked closely at Henry. “My!” he
said. “You’re not a turtle after all. But the resemblance is
very striking, you know. You look like the front part of a
turtle!”
Henry looked at the sea turtle. “You’re right,” he
said. “Your front part looks like a pickle! Pleased to
meet you. You’re my distant cousin.”
“Oh, no I’m not!” said the sea turtle. “Just a distant
friend of the family, maybe. And if you want my
HENRY
THE
PICKLE
70
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