Nim's Island

My dad always told me stories about her-

How she was this great

oceanographer.

Stories about

the baby they had...

and how my mom

just had to name her... Nim.

She invented that name.

At least, that's how my dad

tells the story.

That's all my mother is to me now-

just these stories.

But they're really

some amazing stories.

Like the one he calls

"The Oceanographer and the Great Blue Whale. "

Once upon a time, the oceanographer

went out on the wide-open sea...

to find out what was in the stomach

of the great blue whale.

As my mother was staring into

the mouth of the whale...

a mysterious ship

came out of nowhere.

It was called

The Buccaneer Ship.

It got much too close,

and it frightened the whale.

And the oceanographer

was swallowed and taken by the sea.

Dad felt that we should sail the ocean

and look for that blue whale-

that, someday, that whale

would bring her back to us.

I think he just missed her.

We both did.

By my fourth birthday,

we had sailed around the globe... twice-

From the Cape of Good Hope

to the tip of Ratagonia...

from Singapore

to the Cook Islands.

Then one day, we found it-

our home.

This is my island.

Not a bad place to grow up, huh?

See, I don't have to

go to school.

- I'm home-schooled.

- Hey, Selkie!

Watch out! Move it!

Or, technically, island-schooled.

Sorry!

- Everything I know about the world

I learned from my friends.

Galileo!

Like, do you know

that two objects...

no matter how big they are,

will fall at exactly the same speed?

Galileo proved it.

He's my pelican.

Selkie, my sea lion,

taught me how to swim.

So I returned the favor by teaching her soccer.

She's an excellent midfielder.

Oh, and I'll bet you didn't know that

sea turtles and certain species oflizards...

really get on each other's nerves.

Anything else

I need to know about the world...

I just open one of the books

my dad brought for me.

With a little imagination, I can go anywhere.

All in all, not a bad life.

For dinner, I throw together

some vegetables from our garden.

And for a little extra flavor,

I toss in some freshly dug-up mealworms.

Mmm. My dad's favorite.

Incredible day, Nim.

A new species, I think.

Well, if it's new, remember

what you're naming it.

"Protozoa Nim. "

I haven't forgotten.

See, my dad's a marine biologist.

He's obsessed with nanoplankton,

the tiniest little particles in the ocean.

They're not really my thing,

but to each his own, right?

Did you know there are millions

of picoplankton in a milliliter of water?

Protozoa Nim could be here right now.

What? Wha-

- Hey, Lizard!

- He's not "Lizard. " His name is Fred.

For a guy who loves nature,

you'd think he'd be more into animals.

When they have more than one cell,

Jack sort of loses interest.

Scientists write to him from all over the world

with questions about all sorts of things.

He even writes articles sometimes...

like this great one

for National Geographic.

- What's the reading?

- Thirty-seven knots!

Hey, I'm not saying a scientist's

life is for everyone...

but it is the life for us.

Every few months, the supply ship comes,

bringing us things that we need.

New books and paper,

nails and cloth-

All the things we can't

make for ourselves.

We sail out

into the open water to meet it.

No one, not even

the supply ship's captain...

has ever seen how amazing

our little island really is.

We take care of our island, Nim,

our island's gonna take care of us.

And that's the way

we wanna keep it-

our own perfect, secret world.

- Are ya ready?

- I'm ready.

Ah, bounty.

Look at this-

Heirloom tomato seeds.

Do you remember those freckled

ones we were reading about?

Check it out!

The new Alex Rover!

My Arabian Adventure.

What do you think happens

in Arabia?

Wait until after dinner, Nim.

No, I'm just gonna start it.

"It's been my curse my entire life.

"I do not go looking for trouble,

but somehow it finds me.

The question wasn't, am I going to die?

The question was, how am I going to die?

Will it be by my captors' guns,

or will it be death by thirst?

Must be the hero

of my own life story.

Must be the hero

of my own life story.

Must be the hero

of my own life story.

Where are you taking me?

A special hole, just for you,

Alex Rover.

Ever heard of the Pit of Spiders?

"Pit of Spiders," huh?

Well, I guess that answers

the "how will I die" question.

Aah!

No, no, no, no! Wait, wait, wait, stop!

Where're you going?

Oh, death by thirst makes a late comeback.

How did Alex Rover

get to be Alex Rover?

- Well, let's see.

- Was he born with all that courage?

"Was he born with all that courage?"

Hmm.

The thing about courage is...

it's somethin' that we have to learn

and relearn our whole lives.

You know, it's not just in you.

It's in every choice we make,

each and every day.

Where do you think Alex

Rover is at this very minute?

Oh, well, I don't know.

Maybe he's chained up in a sarcophagus

20,000 fathoms under the sea.

Or in some pit of spiders...

trapped without the antidote

for their poison.

Yeah, pit of spiders.

I like that.

Okay. Time to get some rest.

Sleep tight, now, okay?

And no dreaming about spiders.

Spider! Spider!

Get away from me.

All right.

These all go back here.

Straight. Right angles.

Is-Is this the, uh,

Telegraph Hill Pharmacy?

Yes, I need a delivery, please.

Uh, Purell.

Well, h-how many bottles do you have?

Oh. Uh, very good.

All of them.

Yeah. Send 'em all.

Uh, who is it?

- Telegraph Hill Pharmacy.

- Uh, just leave it there, please.

Just leave it here?

In the rain?

Yeah, go ahead. I-I put it

on my MasterCard. I left you a very nice tip.

- Uh, make sure you get it.

- Okay.

Alexandra, it's Buffy, your favorite editor.

I know you're there,

and I know you're not going to pick up.

I just worry about you, darling...

sitting at your computer,

living on a diet of only Progresso soup.

- How can you eat that every day?

- Buffy.

So, how is

the new Alex Rover coming?

Wasn't I supposed to read

something two weeks ago?

No pressure, no pressure,

no pressure.

See, what you don't know about me

is that where there's an Alex Rover-

there's a way!

I have a certain knack for getting out of

predicaments far worse than this one, you know.

Eh. Excuse me?

No, hold on. No. I'm supposed

to get outta this, you know.

Alexandra!

Why can't I get this?

No pressure, no pressure,

no pressure.

Volcanic sacrifice.

What was I thinking?

Volcano, volcano.

"Living in the Shadow

of a Volcano. "Hmm.

Well, that's just crazy.

I mean, why would anyone do that?

Oh, wow.

Perfect.

- What you doin', Jack?

- Ah, there you are!

Current's shifted, Nim. Zander's Atoll

is gonna be just five feet underwater.

Zander's Atoll?

But it's almost dinner!

Hey, we might not see algae

growth like this for years.

More plankton?

This is the trip

we find Protozoa Nim.

I swear it.

I can feel it in my bones.

But Chicca's eggs are about to hatch.

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