THE SCHOLAR
The Psalms say that Leviathan, that great biblical water beast, was moved by the Lord from the sea to the desert. I should say that the body of Leviathan was moved to the desert. Don’t you see? Clearly, the ancient Israelites had encountered huge bones in desolate settings and sought an explanation. These bones, I believe, were from dinosaurs. Leviathan itself, I believe, was none other than a whale. After all, as Aristotle would point out, whales are too large to be taken in at one viewing. Therefore, no ancient could have known what one looked like. Nor could any moderns until quite recently. As proof, the whales of Edward Lear, that noted Victorian illustrator, look very odd indeed to the modern eye. In conclusion, Leviathan was a whale when alive; and a dinosaur when dead.(A WHALE has been sitting and listening. It has a mixed drink. It attempts to
clap its flippers.)
THE WHALE
(Hear, hear!)Arf! Arf!
(Suddenly---and quite sadly---THE WHALE chokes on a cocktail sword and
dies. It becomes a dinosaur.)
THE END.
