11 - 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):
Dot Org read by Kay Curtis. The Crews of the
Noah's Ark by David Cory, Chapter eleven, The Picnic. Don't
leave me alone on the ark, Margie, dear, for I
shall be lonely. I very much fear. Now, how would
you like to be left alone? High up on a

(00:20):
perch where the wild breeze is moan? The weathercock wants
to come with us, said Marjorie. Then why doesn't he?
Said Captain Noah, who was busily engaged in making the
anchor line fast. I'll tell him to come with us.
And she ran up to the gangplank and called to
the lonely weathercock, why don't you fly down? We'd like

(00:42):
to have you come ashore with us. That's all I
wanted to know, said the faithful bird. Look out here
she goes, And with a great flutter and flapping of
his gilt wings, he landed on the sand. And after
that he and Marjorie went over to the clump of
palm trees where Missus Noah and the boys were resting.

(01:04):
This would be a fine spot for a picnic, she said,
Did you ever go to one? No, I've never been
to one, although I once went to affair with father,
said Marjorie. Well, while the boys are busy with Captain
Noah mending the ark, we'll get a fire started and
have our lunch out here beneath the trees. It didn't

(01:26):
take long to get the fire started, for Missus Noah
wished to surprise the captain when he came back. And
pretty soon the kettle was singing away hooray for the
jolly picnic, and the crew of the Red Noah's Ark,
I'll whistle and sing like a bird in the spring
while the red flames gleam and spark. There are some

(01:46):
nice clams on the beach, said Missus Noah. So the
weathercock took a basket and went down to the water's
edge and brought back enough for everybody. And I guess
Missus Noah had been to many a clam bake, for
she knew just how to roast them, and a pile
of seaweed and red hot stones. Well, pretty soon Captain Noah,

(02:08):
with mister Jonah and the three boys came out of
the ark and sat down beneath the palm trees. And
then all the animals sat around in a ring, for
this was the first picnic they had ever been to.
I'm as hungry as a bear, said little Margery, and
then the elephant began to laugh, But the bear only

(02:28):
smiled and spread his bread with honey. Of course, some
of the animals didn't eat any of Missus Noah's lunch.
The giraffe stood near by and ate the tender leaves
off the tops of the trees, and the monkeys ate cocoanuts,
and the ducks and geese kept close to the water
and snapped up little fishes and snails. But everybody had

(02:51):
a wonderful time, I think, mother, said Captain Noah, wiping
the crumbs from the tablecloth and holding them out to
a little brown threat brush who had sat on his
shoulder during the meal. We had better spend the night ashore.
I'll bring the big tent from the ark and set
it up under the trees. I'm going to do a
little painting inside the ark this afternoon. That's a very

(03:14):
good idea, said Missus Noah. When the tent was set
up and the ropes securely fastened to the pigs which
had been driven into the ground, Missus Noah and Marjorie
busied themselves fixing it up inside in order to make
it comfortable for the night. And when evening came, a
bright fire was lighted, and after supper everybody sat around

(03:37):
and talked. Ham popped corn, and Marjorie roasted apples. Nine o'clock,
said Captain Noah. Time for bed. We must be up
early in the morning. It was the loveliest picnic I've
ever had, said Marjorie as she kissed Missus Noah good night.

(03:58):
End of chapter Alone Heaven. The picnic