As the great mother whale lay there with her mouth open, these swarming little swimmers would calmly swim into it, never dreaming that it was a mouth.

There they would get tangled among those long narrow strips or plates of whale-bone, with their fringed edges.

Every little while the whale would lazily close her mouth, thrust forward her enormous fat tongue, and force the water out through this whalebone sieve of hers.

It was like draining a dish of string beans through a colander.

Having swallowed the mess of jellyfish and squid, she would open her mouth again, and wait for another lot to come in.