Jack Whifflewind loved the ocean. He loved the smell of the sea breeze and the feel of it blowing through his beard. He loved the lonely call of the seagulls as they cruised up and down the sea shore. He loved the sound of the waves as they gently brushed the beach and then retreated and then back again. He loved the sunrise and sunset over the endless water. Jack loved all things about the ocean. At least, he thought he did.

Jack had never actually seen or been to the ocean. He had been raised and lived in a big city far from the ocean. But he had read all the books he could find about the ocean and the seashore and he was sure that he would love it.

So Jack Whifflewind saved up all his money for a trip to the seashore. He sold everything he owned, said goodbye to his friends and took the bus to the seashore.

He was so excited he could hardly keep still on the bus. The first thing Jack wanted to do was inhale the sea air and feel the sea breeze. They finally arrived in the early morning. As he was starting out of the bus, the sea breeze nearly blew him back in the bus with a cold blast.

"Oh, my, this must be a hurricane", said Jack Whifflewind.

"No, no, no, said the bus driver. "That's just the early morning sea breeze."

The next thing Jack Whifflewind did was take a big whiff of sea air and he started to cough.

He scrunched up his face as he said, "What's that smell?"

Bus driver laughed and said, "Why that is the smell of the seashore and kelp rotting."

"Oh, my," said Jack as he held his nose.

Jack Whifflewind soon realized that he was at his life long dream, the ocean and Jack couldn't wait to see the sun rise over the ocean. But then the sun rose over the mountains behind him. Jack slowly realized that unless you lived on a small island that you could only see the sun rise or set depending on which side of the island you were on. He felt silly.

Jack Whifflewind was now not so sure that his life long love was the love of the his life. But he was determined that he would love the ocean and so he chartered a boat and went out to sea.

His ideal placid ocean soon turned into a raging roller coaster. Jack was now pretty sure that he didn't like the ocean of it's breezes or it's smells of it's screeching birds all that much.

Too late to turn the boat back, all Jack could do was hang on as the ocean raged around. The waves got bigger and bigger and finally snapped the boat in two.

The next thing that Jack remembered was feeling the hot sun on his face and warm water lapping up around him in a gentle soft way. He smiled as he felt something tickle his ear.

"Oh, the touch of a mermaid," he thought as he opened his eyes. He turned his head to the mermaid only to discover that it was a crab.

"Oh my," exclaimed Jack Whifflewind as he jumped up.

He looked around and said to himself, for there was no one else around, "I better find out where I am."

So Jack Whifflewind walked down the beach. He had never in his life walked so far without running into people. He yelled and hollered as he walked hoping to get someone's attention. But the only attention he got was the attention of a little turtle that Jack found and picked up on his walk.

After a time he saw footprints in the sand. He quickly realized that they were his own. He had walked clear around what he realized was an island.

"Oh my," he said as he sunk to his knees.

He began to become a little sad and a little afraid. He had never really been alone. There had always been someone around him.

Jack Whifflewind felt a gentle little tug on his pant leg. As he looked down he realized that he was not really alone at all. His new friend Mr. Titus Turtle was just saying hello and I'm hungry.

Jack Whifflewind smiled and picked up his little friend and went looking for something to eat for both of them. He soon found that there was plenty to eat if he didn't try to eat it all the first time. Mr. Titus Turtle was the model of moderation and Jack was sure that Mr. Turtle would never over eat or destroy their food supply.

Since there was an ocean around them. Jack soon learned to fish. Mr. Titus Turtle appreciated the bits of fish that Jack left him.

Sometimes Jack would throw a feast and his friends from the forest would come out and watch Jack roast his catch and do a little dance of delight. Mona Monkey would sometimes not only watch, but she would join in on the dance.

Jack was happy. In the morning he would watch the sun rise over the ocean. In the evening he would go to the other side of the island and watch the sun set.

Jack loved the ocean. He loved the smell of the sea breeze and the feel of it blowing through his beard. He loved the lonely call of the seagulls as they cruised up and down the sea shore. He loved the sound of the waves as they gently brushed the beach and then retreated and then back again. He loved the sunrise and sunset over the endless water. Jack loved all things about the ocean. And this time he knew he did.