A retelling from Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Story for preschoolers.
Once upon a time, a hungry Whale loved to swim in the big blue sea. He gobbled up all sorts of yummy fishies – starfish, garfish, even a twirly-whirly eel! But soon, only one tiny fish was left, swimming behind the Whale’s ear, safe and sound!

The tiny Whiz fish knew he had to be quick! He didn’t want to be the Whale’s next snack. So, he whispered to the Whale, “Hey, Whale! Have you ever tried a boat? They’re super delicious!”
“Really? Bring me some!” the Whale splashed his tail with excitement. “One will be enough, trust me!” the Whiz fish said.
The Whale opened his mouth wide, and WHOMP! He swallowed a whole boat down, and guess who was on it? A sailor! The Whale said, “That boat snack sure hit the spot!”

The sailor inside the Whale’s tummy thumped and jumped, danced and pranced, he banged and clanged, he hit and bit!
The Whale, unhappy with his lumpy-bumpy snack, said to the Whiz Fish, this was a big mistake.
The Whiz Fish, ever so clever, knew just what to do. “Just ask the sailor to come out!” he said. So the Whale called down his throat, “Sailor, please come out! My tummy doesn’t feel good!”
‘Nay, nay!’ said the Sailor. ‘No way! Not gonna happen,”
“Take me back to my home, and maybe, just maybe, then I will come out.”
So, the Whale had to swim all the way back to the sailor’s beach. When they arrived, the sailor hopped out of the Whale’s mouth and went home to his mom.

The Whale did three happy spins in the water. From that day on, he only ate tiny fish because… well, because he had a boat stuck in his throat!
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