2020/2021
Collection 16

The Whale

1899; Bergen, Midhordland, Norway

My great-great-grandfather was named Rasmus Johnson. He was born on March 15, 1889, on an island in Bergen Harbor on the western coast of Norway. His father was a fisherman, and most of the other people in the village were either fishermen or farmers. The Johnson family lived in a small cottage along a fjord.(1) It was a small house, but it was enough for their family.

When Rasmus was around ten years old, his father and the fishing crew caught a whale. The crew towed the whale in with their fishing boat. The whale was probably a bowhead whale, which can be up to 60 feet long and weigh up to 200,000 pounds. Rasmus’s dad and the fishing crew pulled the whale with ropes onto shore. The crew of fishermen cut the whale up into pieces for everyone in the village to take home — to either eat or use for its oil.

A whale being caught was exciting news in the small village, so all the children ran to see. Rasmus heard the news and was eager to see the giant catch of the day. He ran excitedly to the beach where the whale was being sliced into chunks of meat. When he got to the beach, a crowd of people were already there, getting their cut of whale meat. Some of his friends were at the scene, and they started to play around.

For an adventure, Rasmus bravely climbed up on top of the whale and walked towards its head. He was not watching where he was going and fell into the whale’s blowhole. He almost fell completely in, but luckily he was able to quickly stretch out his arms to save himself. A fisherman saw what happened and rushed over to pull him out. Both the fisherman and Rasmus were relieved to be out of the whale. Thankfully, Rasmus did not get in any trouble when he got home. And everyone was able to enjoy the chunk of whale meat that his dad took home.

Compared to other days in the village, that day was very exciting for everybody, but it was especially exciting for Rasmus. Rasmus learned something important that day: He learned that you need to have adventure in life but you also need to remember to be cautious.

Torch Tebb; Missouri, USA

1. A fjord (pronounced fyord) is a long, narrow glacier-carved valley that lies between steep slopes and is filled with seawater.

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