Someday Angeline Read Online Free PDF

instead. “There’s a very sweet-smelling substance inside the whales called ambergris. That’s what they make the perfume from.”
    “Oh,” said Angeline. “Well, I don’t want to smell like that.”
    “Boy, I bet you they sure get a lot of dog food out of one whale,” said Gary.
    “Not really,” said Miss Turbone. “That’s what makes it even worse.”
    “It’s not the dogs’ fault,” said Angeline. “They don’t know they are eating whales.”
    “No, it’s people’s fault,” said Miss Turbone. “And it’s not just the whales. It affects everything.Every time a whale is killed, we’re all a little worse off.”
    Angeline knew what she was talking about. Everyone feels it in one way or another. She was talking about the balance of the whole.

Eight
Mr. Bone Let Me Feed Her Fish
    Abel and Gus finished their rounds, drove to the dump, and then waited in line behind all the other garbage trucks. It was the same thing every day. All the garbage collectors in the county finished at just about the same time so there was always a traffic jam at the dump. They heard the guy in the truck behind them blast his horn, as if he thought that would help speed things up.
    “I don’t know how to talk to her,” said Abel.
    “Angelini?” questioned Gus. “Come on, she’s easy to talk to.”
    “For you,” said Abel. “You two always hit it off great together. She likes you a lot.”
    “She likes you too,” said Gus.
    “I don’t know,” said Abel. “I guess so. I mean, I’m her father and I know she loves me, but that doesn’t mean she
likes
me. I can’t seem to talk to her. We never say more than a few words to each other.”
    “All you have to do is talk to her,” said Gus. “There’s nothing to it.”
    “She’s been drinking salt water,” said Abel. “Last night, she sat on the floor reading a book with a glass
of salt water
at her side. Why would she drink that?”
    “I guess she likes the way it tastes,” said Gus.
    “What’s there to taste?” asked Abel. “It’s just salt and water.”
    Gus shrugged.
    “I’ve heard that drinking salt water can make you crazy,” Abel added.
    “I don’t think so,” said Gus. “Salt doesn’t make you crazy and neither does water. I don’t see how salt water would.”
    “I don’t know,” said Abel. “I once read a book about some men trapped on a lifeboat and one of them drank salt water and he went crazy. It was supposed to be a true story.”
    “Well, I don’t know,” said Gus. “Ocean waterhas more in it than just salt.”
    They moved up another space in line.
    “She’s too smart for me,” said Abel. “I never know what to say to her.”
    Gus laughed. “How about asking her why she likes to drink salt water?’”
    “How?” Abel asked him. “How can I ask her something like that?”
    Gus laughed again. “That’s a real tough problem. Maybe you could say, ‘Angeline, why do you like to drink salt water?’”
    “Sure,” said Abel. “You make it sound so easy.”
    It was finally their turn. They swung the truck around, quickly dumped their garbage, then headed for the garage where they would park the truck and get into their own cars.
    Angeline stood on her tiptoes and turned on the faucet over the kitchen sink. She stuck a glass under and filled it halfway with water. She picked up the salt shaker from the counter and sprinkled some salt into the glass. She took a sip, then added more salt. She took another sip and this time added more water. Another sip and she added salt again. She tasted it and smiled. Perfect. She stoodback on her tiptoes and turned the water off. She brought the glass into the living room, where she slowly drank the water while she read her book.
    The one-eyed pirate had captured the beautiful lady and told her that unless she married him, she would have to walk the plank. She had until sundown to decide. As the appointed hour approached, she stood at the edge of the plank with her hands tied