The Fight Between the Octopus and the Whale

 The Fight Between the Octopus and the Whale 

(A Legend from Yap)

A long time ago, in the ocean near Yap, an octopus saw whale and swam along beside him. That made the whale angry. 

“Why don’t you show me respect?” he roared. “Why do you swim along with me? You're only an octopus. I’m a whale, the king of the sea. You ought to swim behind me!” 

The octopus swam along as before. “I’m as important as you are,” he said. “All the fish of the sea are afraid of me.” 

“Is that so!”’ exclaimed the whale. ‘Well, I’m not afraid of anything that swims in the ocean, not even you!” 

They kept on quarreling. At last, the octopus said, “To settle this, let’s have a fight and see who is stronger. You name the day.” 

“Three months from today!” said the whale. “I'll send you word by my messenger fish, when I’m ready.” 

“Very well,” said the octopus, and he swam away. 

The whale did nothing to get ready for the fight, except to eat a great deal and grow larger. But the octopus was busy. He took from the bottom of the sea the blackest mud that he could find. He kept it in his body, even in his eyes, his ears, and his nose. Then, one day, the messenger fish came and told him that the whale would fight him the next day. 

“I’m ready,” said the octopus. 

The next day, the octopus saw the whale, who was making a great deal of noise, spouting up air and water high into the sky. 

“I'll tease him first,”’ said the octopus. He called out, ‘‘Oh, here you come, and I’m so frightened! I’m only a little girl octopus, who can’t fight very well. I’m afraid, oh, so afraid of vou !’’ 

In that way, he got the whale to come close to him. The whale was so sure of winning the fight that he was easily fooled. 

Suddenly, the octopus squirted out some of the black mud that he had in his body. He squirted it into the water, which turned black. The whale could no longer see his enemy. They had a big fight. They pushed up waves, mountain high. 

The whale hit at the octopus with his head. He struck at him with his front flippers. He swung his tail high up in the air and then smacked it down hard on the water. But where was the octopus? The whale couldn’t see him. He smacked and whacked and hit only the sea. The octopus moved around very fast and kept out of the way, squirting the black fluid all the time. 

When all the water around the whale was quite black, the octopus swam up to his enemy. He put his long, strong tentacles around the whale’s great body, around his flippers and tail, his ears, his eyes, his mouth—wherever he could get a good hold. 

The whale fought fiercely. He smacked down his heavy tail, but he could not shake off his enemy. The octopus held him tightly. Then he pushed the whale against a large rock in the ocean and held him there. He squeezed until the whale was dead. 

“This will show who is king of the sea,” he said. 

From that day, the octopus has black fluid always ready for a fight. But nobody calls him the “king of the sea,” for he doesn’t look or act like a king. He is known as the ““pirate of the sea,” and that is entirely different. 

Source

Legends of Micronesia (Book One)

Eve Grey

1951

Pages: 15-16