Story Hour
Nicker Visits the Ring of Fire
Written by Gene B. Williams
|
Click here for the archive page with a list of previous stories. Please remember that all materials on this website are copyrighted. No reproduction without express permission. |
Let's Explore the Ring of Fire
Nicker is going on a trip with his father, Simon. Simon likes to show his son new things, and exciting things. This time, they’re going on a great adventure, and Nicker is very excited. Not only will Nicker be seeing some wonderful things … he got a special invitation from some children in the Philippines. To get there, Simon and Nicker are going to swim what is called the Pacific Ring of Fire.
And YOU get to come along.
This issue is FULL of links so you can be right there with them. You’re going to see some amazing things! But first, let’s learn a little science.
Think of a basketball – but the inside isn’t air it’s melted rock. It’s a very hot liquid. The outside is hard, but think of an outside that is in pieces. The pieces float around on the hot liquid. They crash into each other. They slide up over, and slide down under, and slide edge to edge. Here and there are cracks and holes. The hot liquid comes out of these.
Here are some handy words to know.
For our Earth, that thin layer over the top is called the crust, just like the outside of bread is called the crust. The hot liquid under this is called the mantle. Then come the outer core and the inner core. The pieces of the crust are called plates. The melted rock is called magma. (Above ground it is called lava.) The movement of the plates as they slide around on the magma is called tectonics.
A very long time ago, two plates crashed together. This built the Himilayas, the tallest mountains on our planet. In fact, this kind of thing made most the mountains on our planet.
When the plates move apart, magma bubbles out. This kind of thing caused many of the islands in our world, including Hawaii and the Philippines.
When the plates rub against each other, or when the plates slip, we get earthquakes. Have you ever been in an earthquake? These can knock down cities. If they happen under the sea, huge waves can be formed. Those can also knock down cities. If this happens under the ocean, huge waves can be made. Those can also knock down cities.
Our planet is filled with all sorts of creatures, many of them very strange. Some of the strangest live in the ocean. The deeper you go, the stranger they are. Pressure increases. Maybe you have felt this in your ears if you go deep into a swimming pool. Submarines made of steel have to be specially built or the pressure will crush them. Meanwhile, the light gets more and more dim and then disappears completely. Without sunlight, the water gets very, very cold. A sea dragon doesn’t mind this, but … you wouldn’t like it at all.
Set the story aside for a while. Go look at all this first. Then you’ll really BE a part of this adventure! (Come back and watch your favorites again after the story.)
IN THE DEEP SEA
Most of our planet is covered in water. Some of it is very deep. People haven’t been there – not all the way – but sea dragons have. Some strange things live down there!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpBSo80iNlE&feature=fvsr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyBO10VhVmc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsO0j1Qoyns
http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?p=deep+sea+creatures
OCEAN BOTTOM
The top of the ocean has waves. We’re used to seeing mountains and forests and other things up o the land. The bottom of the ocean has taller mountains, deeper canyons and bigger forests. On their way to the Philippines, Simon and Nicker will go through the Marianas Trench. The tallest mountain on the surface of the Earth is Mt. Everest and is more than 5 miles high. It would fit into the Marianas Trench with plenty of room to spare. That’s how deep it is!
http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/marianas-trench/view/?service=0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IAxvde263w&feature=fvsr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IAxvde263w&feature=fvsr
PHILLPINES
The Philippines is a group of islands. They were formed by volcanoes and leaks in the plates. Magma comes out and over a very long time made those islands. To this day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5439_S3Jok
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6qZx85sqrE
BAGUIO CITY and NICKER’S FRIENDS
One of the cities in the Philippines is Baguio City. This is where Nicker is going so he can visit Kaiser, Jaughn and Seughn. This is where they live. Click on this and take a look at what it’s like for them.
Baguio City is sometimes called “the City of Pines.” It’s not quite a mile above sea level.
Their names look odd but they’re really not.
Kaiser is said just as it looks – Kai-ser. She is the oldest daughter on the left. She loves her dolls, especially making dresses for them.
Jaughn is said much like John. He’s on the right. One of his favorite things to do is puzzles, and he is GREAT at it! I’ve heard that he can put together a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle in about an hour.
Seughn is more like Sean or Shawn. He’s the youngest in the middle, and is very, very smart!
Now that you know a little about the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the Philippines, and Baguio City, and are about to meet the three kids … well, let’s GO! NICKER VISITS THE PHILIPPINES
Simon was a good father. Although Nicker was too young to join the Sea Patrol, he was old enough to learn more about the oceans and seas and waters of the Earth. Besides, Nicker felt important when he went “on patrol” with his Dad.
One day, they took a long swim along what is called *the Pacific Ring of Fire.* This goes from South America, up the United States, along Alaska, across the Pacific Ocean, down eastern part of Asia, through many islands including the island continent of Australia.
“It will take us most of the day to swim that distance,” said Simon.
Well … for you or me, swimming those thousands of miles would take years, maybe a lifetime. For our fastest ships it could take months – if the weather was good. For sea dragons …. As you know, sea dragons can go very fast.
They can also go very deep. Sea dragons can go miles down to the ocean floor as easily as you can walk down some steps.
Nicker saw things no human has ever seen – or probably ever will see. For Nicker, many of these things were as common to him as a robin or sparrow would be to you. But there was always something new to see a mile or two or three or four under the ocean.
Nicker was ready! He knew that this was going to be a great adventure with his father. And it was!
He had something else in mind. It was a letter.
As you know, Nicker has been to many places around the world. You know about France and England and Wisconsin (here and here) and Michigan and Minnesota (here, here and here) and many other places I haven’t told you about yet. (You can pause and read these stories now, or come back to them.)
For this adventure, Simon and Nicker swam what we call the Pacific Ring of Fire – and what sea dragons call “home.” This is where pieces of our planet come together, come apart, and smash together sometimes. Simon had a plan in mind. He wanted to show his son something special. Humans call it the Mariana Trench. It’s nearly 7 miles deep. Down and down and down they went – deeper and deeper and deeper. Soon, there was no more light, except little spots of light.
These weren’t flashlights, certainly not candles. Nicker didn’t know anything about birthday cakes with candles until he met Danny.
It was very dark down there so deep in the ocean, and very cold. Nicker didn’t mind. Besides, there were places where very hot rock and water bubbled out. Nicker didn’t mind that, either. He enjoyed the cold, and he enjoyed the heat. He enjoyed the light, and he enjoyed the dark. He enjoyed the wet of the ocean, and he enjoyed the dry of the Arizona desert – especially when Danny was there with him.
Nicker wished something special. Danny could share that desert with Nicker, but Nicker could never share that Marianas Trench with Danny. Nicker wished that he could share this with his best friend, Danny, but he couldn’t. That made Nicker feel sad. Human boys (or girls) don’t do very well 7 miles down under the water, not even with a swim mask and flippers.
Then there was a sound – a sound only a sea dragon ear can hear. It was a call to Simon, Nicker’s father. (Have you ever noticed that sound is different in the water than in the air?) I don’t know what the emergency was. Neither did Nicker.
“Behave,” said Simon and then he was gone.
In a way, Nicker felt frightened. He’d never been this far from home and alone. In another way, Nicker felt proud. His Dad trusted him. That made Nicker want to do just as Simon said. Behave.
Well, he had that letter. (It was probably written by Kaiser, because she is the oldest.) That’s what gave Simon the idea to take Nicker on this … tour. He looked out of the water. There was the island called Luzon. Way up there, almost a mile high, were his new friends in a place called Baguio City – the City of Pines.
Behave!
Nicker behaved as he came out of the water. He behaved as he climbed up. He behaved as he found the yard where Kaiser, Juaghn and Seughn lived. He behaved because no one saw him – at least no one other than a few children who pointed only to have parents say, “Shhhh” and “Behave.”
Nicker went from the sea to the height of Baguio City, then into a particular yard, and found himself a hiding spot. He wanted to meet his new friends but there were grown-ups around. He behaved and stayed in hiding. He watched them play their games. Nicker smiled when he saw that their games were almost the same as the games Danny played.
Right then Nicker ducked farther down. A lady came out the door and called to the three children. “Kaiser! Juaghn! Seughn!” They came running. She said, “I have to go on an errand but won’t be long. Stay inside until I get back. I’ll have a special surprise for you.” As she walked away she smiled and said, “Behave while I’m gone.”
The three went into the house.
Kaiser got out a piece of paper can began to draw what she thought would be a pretty new dress for her favorite doll.
Jaughn sat down at the table. His fingers moved fast as he put together a puzzle.
Seughn went to the window and looked out. Very soon he said, “Something moved.” His brother and sister joined him at the window. Sure enough, a smiling green face looked at them. Of course, they recognized that face right away.
“Nicker!” they all said.
Nicker grinned, which made the children laugh, which made Nicker laugh, which made the children laugh, which … well, you know how that goes. Soon, Nicker was inside and all four were playing a crazy game of tag and laughing even harder. They were laughing so hard that they almost didn’t hear their mother come in the door.
“You children sure seem to be having a good time,” said the mother. The children looked around in a panic. Of course, Nicker was nowhere to be seen.
Then they noticed what mother was carrying. It was the biggest, grandest cake ever!
“You’ve all been so good that I wanted to make you a special treat.”
The children squealed with delight and clapped. (From behind the couch came a softer sound as Nicker tried to figure a way to get a piece of the cake while the mother was in the room.)
“Oh, I forgot the candles. A cake for a celebration just has to have candles! Can we?”
“Candles, candles, CANDLES!” said the three.
“candles,” came a whisper from behind the couch.
“You three behave. I’ll be right back.”
Maybe she should have said, “You FOUR behave” because as soon as she left, Nicker wanted a closer look at the cake. He sniffed it. Then … he just couldn’t help himself … he licked it. The cake tumbled off the table. Seughn tried to catch it but his foot slipped. Kaiser tried to catch Seughn, and Jaughn tried to catch all of them, and the cake, but ended up only getting fingers in the cake.
Before they could count to … one … the cake, three messy children, and a messy sea dragon, were all on the messy floor smeared with a messy cake.
And just then, an UNmessy mother came through the door. At first she had a big smile, and a box of candles in her hand. All she could say was, “What …?”
The children looked at each other. They looked at the mess. They looked at Nicker … but they couldn’t because Nicker was gone. He went so fast that the only thing left was a slight smear of frosting on the window sill.
“What …?” the mother repeated.
Kaiser tried to smile.
Jaughn mumbled, “Uh … you see … it was this way.”
Seughn did his best to lick smashed caked off his fingers and said, “This sure is a good cake.”
With one last look, and lick of cake from his nose, Nicker scooted back to the ocean. He barely had time to wash off the mess when Simon swam up to his side.
“Did you behave?” he asked.
Nicker answered, “Well … I tried.”
|
Like this story? |
