She hurried along the coast as ATLANTIC OCEAN floated off toward the equator. She looked and looked, searching … and then, not far from where the letters GULF OF SAINT LAWRENCE floated, she saw something in the water. A thrill went up her spine.

“Wow!” she shouted. “A group of whales!”

One of the whales turned and surfaced, huge waves leaping up around it. It blew a huge spout of water into the air as it swam toward Lenora.

“Excuse me,” the whale said huffily. “But we are not a group. We are a pod. It’s not the same thing at all.” The other whales, all of them perfectly white, swam up beside the first and made a cacophony of high-pitched whistles and squeaks.

Lenora could tell she had offended the whales. “I’m sorry,” she said. “But do you mind if I ask you a question?”

The first whale puffed itself up rather happily and seemed to brighten all over. “Why,” said the whale proudly, “a librarian wants to ask me a question? I am quite honored.”

Lenora was glad she was forgiven. “I would like to know,” she said, “how to find Wales.”

“You’ve found them,” said the whale. “We are, in fact, beluga whales.”

“Oh,” said Lenora. “I mean Wales, the place, not whales, the mammal.”

“Hmph,” replied the whale, and it blew another spout of water. “And I suppose you think that just because I am a whale, the mammal, that I automatically know the location of Wales, the place?”

Lenora reddened. Beluga whales seemed easily offended. “I’m sorry,” she said. She began to turn away.

“Wait,” said the whale. It sniffed, via blowhole. “As it happens, I have a cousin who once went on vacation off the coast of Wales. This is purely a coincidence, however.”

“I understand,” said Lenora.

“Since you are a librarian,” the whale continued, “I can only assume your question is of the utmost importance. So, although my pod normally never leaves this estuary, I will make an exception and take you there straightaway. Hop on.” The whale beckoned with one fin.

Lenora climbed aboard and the pod headed off straightaway. With strong swipes of their flukes, the whales cut through the ocean. Lenora staggered a bit until she got her sea legs, then planted herself forward in a comfortable spot behind the whale’s adorably bulbous head, her gaze fixed on the horizon as waves parted around her and strong salty scents filled her nostrils. This is so much better than a limousine, she thought. “You speak excellent English,” she remarked to the whale. “I didn’t know whales could do that.”

“Oh yes,” said the whale airily. “Beluga whales have been known to mimic your speech. Unlike regular whales, we belugas have exceptional vocal mechanics. Generally we use them to play pranks.”

Interesting, thought Lenora. She added this to her notebook: Beluga whales mimic human speech. Jokes abound.