Category: Nature

Petey the harbor seal is sad. He has slithered across shells and seaweed to watch the widow Stella once again fry up eggs for one. Ever since Galen went to be with the Lord, Stella has been very lonely. When she looks out the window, she sees Petey watching her.

So she decides to make a friend. But when she has eaten her breakfast, Petey is long gone. Determined, she ties a kerchief ’round her noggin and gallops into the cold Atlantic Ocean until she retrieves Petey.

“Catch of the day,” she yells into the salty air, and a shiver goes down Petey’s spine.

Stella is so, so lonely. Petey has second thoughts. Stella doesn’t understand personal space.

Petey decides he doesn’t want to be where the people are. He is totally cool being where the sharks are.

But Stella invites him to visit with her and her neighbor Bruce. Doesn’t Petey look happy?

Petey learns that hind flippers are of no use on a cheap throw rug. Still, he is determined. At dawn, he rolls himself onto the original hardwood floor and off the sun porch into the sand. A trio of nuns spots him as he enters the water.

But Petey doesn’t need their blessing now. He is home free. Godspeed, Petey. Godspeed.

 

Note: All images are from National Geographic. The seal is actually named Shag, and he was adopted by the Horstman family in Longport, New Jersey. Not that that makes it any less weird.