Why the Whales Came
Why the Whales Came is a children's story written by Michael Morpurgo[1] and first published in 1985 by William Heinemann (UK) and Scholastic (US).[2] It is set on the island of Bryher, one of the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of Cornwall, in the year 1914.
Plot summary
Grace and Daniel, two young children, live on the island of Bryher in the Isles of Scilly at the beginning of World War I. All of the children on the island are warned not to go to near the Birdman, who lives on the south side of the island. There are rumors that the Birdman is mad and dangerous. However, Gracie and Daniel end up on the south side of the island when they cannot find a place to sail their boats then eventually run into him. The Birdman turns out to be friendly and they begin a secret friendship with the old man. Mr. Woodcock, as the Birdman is really named, lived on the nearby isle of Samson – also out of bounds to everyone on Bryher – until it became uninhabitable and then retreated to his remote cottage. The children also find that he is profoundly deaf & they develop a way of talking to him using basic sign language and lip reading.
He alerts them when a large deposit of timber from a wrecked ship is deposited on one of the island's beaches, and the islanders manage to hide the timber before customs officers from St Mary's arrive. According to an old law, anything, which washes up below the tide line, is the property of whoever takes it first, in this case the local villagers, but the customs officers try to claim it for themselves. A concentrated effort by everyone in the village means that they succeed in hiding the timber, which will be shared between the entire island.
The Birdman warns them in turn to stay away from the island of Samson, which he says is cursed. According to his story, a large school of narwhals were washed ashore on the island and were massacred by the islanders for their valuable horns and the other byproducts. This led to a curse falling on the island where the men all drowned taking the whales horns to the mainland. Next sickness struck, crops would not grow and the well dried up, which eventually made the island uninhabitable. The Birdman's mother refused to leave Samson and her husband's ghost but then her son was struck deaf by the curse. The curse can only be lifted when the guilt of Samson is redeemed.
The children do attend a small school on one of the neighboring islands although education does not seem important to them since their lives are ruled by fishing and more traditional pursuits. However their teacher, Mr. Welbeloved, is insistent on trying to teach them some semblance of reading and writing and also instructs them on the upcoming war and to be vigilant against German spies.
Gracie's father realizes he cannot sit by and let others fight and goes to join the navy. Although some neighbors try to help them, Gracie and her mother have trouble coping until the Birdman starts to bring gifts of produce, eggs, milk and fish.
During a fishing trip, Gracie and Daniel end up stranded on Samson, which appears to be haunted. When they return home, they hear that Gracie's father has disappeared while fighting at Gallipoli.
Soon after, a school of whales are washed ashore on Bryher, and it appears that Bryher will suffer the same fate as Samson. The Birdman, helped by Daniel and Gracie, tries to push the whales back into the sea but the task is too heavy. A group of older boys led by Daniel's brother set fire to the Birdman's cottage after convincing themselves that his visits over to Samson and his light signals (actually meant to keep night ships off Samson and its dangerous rocks)mean he is a spy.
The entire village comes to take charge of the whales but the Birdman finally talks and explains to them what truly happened on Samson and why they must get the whales back into the sea. With the concentrated effort all the whales are saved and the Birdman reaches peace. Once the others have gone he disappears never to be seen again. As a result, the curse of Samson is lifted and the islanders of Bryher are able to visit it. Finally, Gracie's father returns home, having miraculously survived.
Characters
- Gracie Jenkins—At the beginning, Gracie was a habitually fearful girl that believed any story told to her about the Birdman. She also believed in ghosts and the curses on Samson. After meeting the Birdman she became more aware of what she is told, and she became fearless and adventurous.
- Daniel Pende—Daniel is a handy boy that loves building boats, but he is also adventurous and social. Daniel is also the one who made Gracie go into the Birdmans cottage, but Daniel is also afraid of the dark.
- Zachariah Woodcock—A deaf old man that lives in a cottage away from all the island people also known as the Birdman. He is also a wonderful wood worker that makes bird sculptures. Woodcock likes traveling by sea to Samson with his dog Prince.
- Jack Jenkins—The father of Gracie, he has an slightly angry personality in the story, but is also a good liar/actor at the same time.
- Clemmie Jenkins—The mother of Gracie who possesses a calm but "weird" personality. Not so much an actor in the story, but she is really fearful.
- Treve Pender—The father of Daniel. Not mentioned a lot in the story.
- Mary Pender—The mother of Daniel. Not mentioned a lot in the story.
- Mr. Wellbeloved—Gracie and Daniel's teacher who judges every student by arithmetic. He also predicted that the war will come. That came true later in the story.
- Big Tim—Tim is a bully to Gracie and Daniel, but he is also Daniel's brother.
Performances
The book was filmed under the title When the Whales Came in 1989 and performed on stage in 2003.[3]