seals sharks and orcas

Seals, Sharks, and Orcas

    The Shark stuck its Great White Snout out of the water.
    "Psst! Hey, guys! Over here!" it beckoned. As well as it could with a Great White Snout.
    The seals on the beach eyed the Shark suspiciously. Bruno, an old bull, flippered around in the direction of the Shark.
    "Yeah, what?" he barked.
    "You look a bit parched up there," said the Shark. "Why don't you all come on in for a refreshing swim?"
    "So you can eat us, huh?" muttered the seals. "Yeah, right."
    "No, wait a minute!" said the Shark quickly. "Would I do that?"
    All of the seals were nodding.
    "No no no!" insisted the Shark. "I want to help you."
    The seals looked unconvinced.
    "Don't you just hate those orcas?" asked the Shark.
    That got their attention.
    "What about the orcas?" asked Bruno.
    "Well, they just shoot right up on the beach and grab you," said the Shark. "Don't you just hate that?"
    "Well, ... sure," admitted the seals.
    "You're just sitting ducks up there on the beach ... "
    "Beg pardon?" barked the seals.
    "... seals," corrected the Shark. "Sitting seals."
    "That's better," said Bruno. "So, what are you saying?"
    "If you just come on down into the water," wheedled the Shark, "we can protect you. We sharks will throw up a protective perimeter and keep the orcas away. But we can't do anything for you when you're up on the beach."
    "Oh, don't make me throw up!" scoffed Hildegard, a female of the seal troop. "Sharks are our natural enemies."
    "I'm shocked!" countered the Shark. "That's species war talk, that is. These are enlightened times! Pinnipeds and Lamniformes are brothers and sisters these days. If I were you, I'd keep an eye on that one, I would."
    The seals all looked disapprovingly at Hildegard.
    "We wouldn't want to appear out of step with the times," they mumbled.
    "And protection from orcas does sound appealing," mused Bruno. "Ok! As the alpha male of this troop, I say we accept the Shark's offer. Let's go!"
    And all the seals except Hildegard skittered down to the shore.
    "Alpha?" snorted Hildegard. "You'd be lucky to make beta."

    Bruno crawled painfully back up onto the beach.
    "Any other survivors?" asked Hildegard.
    "Not that I know of," he panted. "You know what pissed me off most? There were just as many orcas as before. So, instead of just running from orcas, we were running from sharks and orcas. I believed that Shark."
    "Bruno," said Hildegard. "He's a shark. Where in the wide, wide ocean did you get the idea that a shark would ever do anything to help a seal?"

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