06 - Cruise of the Noah's Ark by David Cory

Marjorie boards a fantastical Noah’s Ark filled with talking animals and sets off on delightful and perilous adventures in this whimsical tale of imagination. Discover hundreds of ad-free audiobooks, soothing sounds for sleep and meditation, and more—unwind and learn at www.adfreebooks.com!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Revox dot Org. The Crews of the Noah's Ark by
David Cory. Fire Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire. Marjorie awoke with
a start. The weather cock was again sounding the warning fire, Fire, Fire,
where cried Marjorie, looking out of the porthole at the
excited weathercock, and then down to the deck, where at

(00:23):
that moment Captain Noah and his sons appeared, each armed
with a pail. The fire evidently was at the forward
end of the ark, for Noah and his crew ran
that direction. It took Marjorie but a few minutes to dress,
and just as she reached the deck, mister Jonah appeared.
This is a poor way to put out a fire,
he said, as he tossed the water from his pail

(00:45):
down the hatchway, from which was rising a thick cloud
of smoke. We need a hose and a pump. Hurry up,
Jonah commanded Captain Noah. This fire is getting too much
headway to suit me. I'm afraid the animals will be
roasted if we don't put it out pretty soon. As
he finished speaking, the elephant rushed on deck and, leaning

(01:06):
over the side of the ark, filled his trunk with water,
which he immediately squirted over himself, and then missus Elephant
did the same. I was never so warm before, she remarked,
not even in India. If I had stayed another minute
below deck, I would have been scarred for life. By
this time, the deck was crowded. Some of the animals

(01:26):
were nearly frightened to death. Some were choking with the smoke,
while others were filling the air with noises of all kinds.
It was as if Pandemonium were let loose. Those animals
which could climb were soon scrambling to the roof of
the ark, where they set on or clung desperately to
the ridgepole. The deck grew hotter and hotter, and it

(01:48):
was necessary for everyone to dance about in order to
keep his feet from blistering. Holy suffering Mackerel, exclaimed Captain Noah,
now realizing the seriousness of the situation. Are we to
be burned at sea? Get the elephants to squirt water
down the hold, suggested Ham. Get busy, said Captain Noah

(02:09):
to the elephants. Your trunks are nearly as good as hose.
Why don't you help us? What do you say, ella,
said the elephant. If we don't we may have to
swim later. Without answering, she went forward and commenced, drawing
up the salt water in her trunk and then sending
it in a swift stream down into the hold. The fire, however,

(02:30):
was gaining fast, and in spite of the efforts of
the elephants and the crew, the danger increased to an
alarming extent, and at last the flames leaped forth and
crawled over the deck. The animals howled and rushed to
the stern of the ark, which raised the boat high
in the air and thus added to the danger. If
it would only rain, said Missus Noah, who sat on

(02:52):
a coil of rope, her sealskin coat on her arm,
and her jewel box in her hand. If it would
only rain, This can't be the forty first day, can it?
Time does go so fast? Well, I guess something terrible
would have happened if just then, all of a sudden,
the weathercock hadn't seen the whale who had landed mister

(03:13):
Jonah board some two or three chapters ago. There's the whale,
shouted the weathercock. See him spout, run up a signal
of distress, commanded Captain Noah. He might save mister Jonah,
for all time's 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 Captain Noah.

(03:36):
Ship A hoy, yelled mister Jonah, waving his red bandanna
handkerchief in the air. A hoy, a hoy. 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
Captain Noah to the elephants. On with a pale brigade,

(03:57):
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 missus Noah. I'm afraid my
seal skin coat will get singed, and after all the
trouble I've had putting it up in camphor. And then

(04:18):
all of a sudden, a tremendous stream of water fell
upon the ark, soaking every one to the skin. And
soon the deck was the river, and the steam that
came out of the hole almost suffocated everybody. Goodness be
screamed Missus Noah, we'll be swamped. Hold on, there, shouted
Captain Noah, leaning over the side of the ark, where

(04:39):
the whale lay like a fire patrol boat in action.
Hold on, turn off the hose or you'll drawn us.
So the good natured whale shut off the water, while
Captain Noah added, a Turkish bath has nothing on this.
It was off the kind of you to come to
our rescue, said Missus Noah, smiling sweetly at the whale
as she leaned over the railing. Well, if you hadn't

(05:01):
come just when you did, said Captain Noah, I guess
we'd all have gone down to Davy Jones's 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, mister Jonah was never satisfied when
he was my guest. He was always complaining about the dampness.

(05:22):
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.

(05:45):
After dark I landed him aboard the ark, and after
that he swam away, and the ark began once more
to skim over the dark blue sea, and by and by,
after a while, Captain Noah said, we'll have to make
new bunks and bursts for the animals. I guess, for
the fire has burned up everything. And oh dear me,

(06:09):
when he went below he saw that everything was burned
to a cinder. We'll have to land somewhere and make repairs,
said mister Jonah. I guess we will, said Captain Noah.
And all the animals began to howled and make dreadful noises,
for they didn't want to go down in the smoky hole,
you see. And just then, all of a sudden, the

(06:29):
weathercock called out land to starboard, and sure enough, looming
up in the dim distance was a mountainous shore line.
End of chapter six read by Nancy Cochrane, Gergen Gilbert Arizona,
August twenty four, two thousand, twenty three.