cried Freddy , taking a long breath , while his eyes got bigger and bigger as he listened . `` Ah ! you may well say so ; we are a very wonderful and interesting family . All our branches are famous in one way or another . Fin-backs , sperms , and rights are the largest ; then come the norwhals , the dolphins , and porpoises , -- which last , I dare say , you 've seen . '' `` Yes : but tell me about the big ones , please . Which were you ? '' cried Freddy . `` I was a Right whale , from Greenland . The Sperms live in warm places ; but to us the torrid zone is like a sea of fire , and we do n't pass it . Our cousins do ; and go to the East Indies by way of the North Pole , which is more than your famous Parrys and Franklins could do . '' `` I do n't know about that ; but I 'd like to hear what you eat , and how you live , and why you came here , '' said Freddy , who thought the whale rather inclined to boast . `` Well , we have n't got any teeth , -- our branch of the family ; and we live on creatures so small , that you could only see them with a microscope . Yes , you may stare ; but it 's true , my dear . The roofs of our mouths are made of whalebone , in broad pieces from six to eight feet long , arranged one against the other ; so they make an immense sieve . The tongue , which makes about five barrels of oil , lies below , like a cushion of white satin . When we want to feed , we rush through the water , which is full of the little things we eat , and catch them in our sieve , spurting the water through two holes in our heads . Then we collect the food with our tongue , and swallow it ; for , though we are so big , our throats are small . We roam about in the ocean , leaping and floating , feeding and spouting , flying from our enemies , or fighting bravely to defend our young ones . '' `` Have you got any enemies ?
I should n't think you could have , you are so large , '' said XXXXX .
Fin-backs Freddy Greenland Indies Parrys Pole fire norwhals sperms whalebone