WEBVTT

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(light music)

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- [Narrator] "Putep's Tale:

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The Lost Finback of Mowry Beach,

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Lubec, Maine 04652".

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Story by Rhonda Welcome
and Chuck Kniffen

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with Turtle Dance
Co-op, winter 2020.

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Illustration by Andrew Long,

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artwork by Sherry Ashby,
voiced by Kit Rogers.

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(gentle music)

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- [Kit] Dear children
of the earth,

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not so long ago, free and wild.

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I swam the seven seas
in all six directions.

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I ranged through
mountains of iceberg,

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frolicking with puffins.

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I migrated south to caper
with clownfish and to start a

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family in the waters
of loggerhead turtles
and coral reefs.

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I leaped high over the
sparkling sea as salty brine

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flew from my
flippers and flukes.

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I dove a thousand feet down

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(whale calling)

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beneath white capped rollers
into inky black depths,

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chasing mackerel and krill.

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My life at sea
ended 25 years ago

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when I beached on the mudflats
of a small fishing village

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in down east Maine.

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The townspeople
tried to drag me back

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into the deep water,
but I would not budge,

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not even a bit.

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I weighed 50 Tons and was as
long as a five story tower.

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People came from near
and far to take pictures

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and write poems.

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They cried, laughed
and sang about me,

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a few threw stones,
but don't worry.

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A pebble is not
much to a dead whale

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and they were only curious.

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It took two weeks and a huge
excavator to dig my grave.

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Tangles of rope remained
twisted around my tail.

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My great flukes were last
to slide into the hole and I

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became known as the
lost finback of Lubec.

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Still and quiet I laid
under tons of thick mud.

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Many moons passed
and seasons changed,

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but I was stuck mired in the
clam flats of Mowry Beach.

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My wonderful song no longer
serenaded undersea friends

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across fathoms of
crystal blue water.

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I tried to call out for help,

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but no one can hear a
whale without a voice.

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(whale calling)

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One day a reporter asked
if anyone remembered

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the last finback of
Lubec, some did,

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they made a radio show
called The Big Fish Story.

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Then I was left alone again

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with the gentle lapping of tides

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and raucous squawks
of shore birds.

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I dreamed of days long gone
and wished for the world

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I once knew.

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(seagulls calling)

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(wind blowing)

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One wild winter

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the cat food factory blew
off its rickety perch

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by the Lubec cannery.

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She sailed away on the waves
of a wicked nor'easter.

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The brining shed
took off soon after,

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tumbling off his 20 foot
pilings into the raging narrows.

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He only made it to
Campobello island,

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both hailed me on the way by,

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and I wished them a bon voyage.

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Lost buoys and bits
of flotsam stopped by

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and told tales of their
time as ghost gear.

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They were lost and
without purpose searching
for a new life,

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they washed away with
the outgoing tide.

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I longed to be free

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of this boring hole,

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winter gales and
the robust winds of

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tropical storms pushed the
muck this way and that.

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Finally the crown of my skull

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and the tip of my 12
foot jaw bone broke free.

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Rockweed and algae sprouted

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on my newly bared bones.

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Surely I will be noticed now.

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(water splashing)

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I had met a few sea kayakers

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during my summers in
the Gulf of Maine.

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One of these ocean travelers
saw a puppy chewing on a giant

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bone and got the
bright idea to help me

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out of this mess.

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Thank heavens for curious pups.

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The beach combing kayaker called

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upon a crew of willing diggers.

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The man who had
buried me so long ago,

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brought his mighty
machine to lift

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my mini-Cooper sized
skull from the growing pit

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they had dug.

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Professors and students
from far away schools,

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as well as clam diggers, locals,

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summer visitors and plenty
of children all came

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to help me out.

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A great P.U rose from the crowd,

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diggers and onlookers alike
gasped at the offending stench.

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That's the reason they
buried me in the first place.

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Once I was hauled off the beach,

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they laid me gently in a pile

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of sweet smelling
Cedar shavings.

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And added a dollop
of horse manure,

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loaded with hungry microbes

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to hurry the cleaning process.

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I was left for nearly a year

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to shed the ragged remains
of old meat and rotten skin.

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Now I am a shiny stack of
bright white whale bones

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living in the Peacock
Building at 72 Water Street.

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One of my new friends, Nippygone
Draugr calls me Putep.

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That is the Passamaquoddy
word for whale.

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(native American drums banging)

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My new life is filled with
song, dance and dreams.

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My friends are all sea
junk puppets put together

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with trash and treasures
from the bold coast of Maine.

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(seagulls calling)

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Billi Gee is a dragon of
driftwood, fishing buoys,

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and lost party balloons.

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I am so happy

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that they have all
found a new life,

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no longer useless
flotsam and a hazard to

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sea turtles, shorebirds and
all the creatures in the sea.

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I love to dance with Cheena,
Queen of the Alder Swamp.

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The children, that's
you, treasure me so much.

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I sing tears of joy
into the cool night sky.

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I hear you whisper,
"I love whales."

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When you see my massive
bones that fill the room,

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your eyes sparkle
with awe at my size

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and stories of my travels.

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I too am in awe of you.

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You are saving my
brothers and sisters,

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the children of my pod as you
clean our seas and shores.

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The oceans are trying to heal
and you are helping them.

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Come, see me, touch
my singing bones,

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study me and learn
more about yourself

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and this amazing planet.

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I look forward to our
adventures together.

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I end my letter,

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open my heart and send a both
welcome and thanks to you.

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Yours truly, Putep.

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The Finback of Lubec.

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(whale calling)

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(gentle music)
(water splashing)