Ann Margaret Tarkington, age 11 of Ricon, Virginia:

Are there really sea monsters?

Yes indeed, there are sea monsters. The biggest animal in the world is a monster of the deep ocean. In fact, he is the biggest, fattest and heaviest animal that ever lived in the world, He is much bigger even than the dinosaurs that once roamed over the earth. This sea monster is the blue whale and he is also one of the gentlest creatures that ever lived, He never eats anything larger than a shrimp or small fish.

Not all the big ocean dwellers are as gentle as the blue whale, There are large toothy whales like Moby Dick who love to fight and kill. There are also toothy sharks of all kinds. These are the real monsters of the sea and they make most of the land animals look very small.

Sailors have glimpsed these fellows from time to time without getting a good look at them. Naturally they made up grand stories to fill in what they have not seen clearly. For sailors love to tell a good yarn, One favorite yarn is about a massive sea serpent that people claim to have seen from time to time. No, this sea monster is not real at all. The largest sea serpent is only a few feet long, The sailors who claim to have seen a sea serpent were probably looking at a row of porpoises, These, playful creatures love to plunge in and out of the water in a game of follow.. the‑leader. They sometimes look like one long sea serpent wriggling through the water.