Your Story Hour

Aunt Nikki: Hey everybody, come on! Your story hour is on. Welcome to Your Story Hour. I’m Aunt Nikki.

Uncle Jon: And I’m Uncle Jon, and we’re here to bring you today’s inspiring story.

Aunt Nikki: Uncle Jon, I understand it’s time for part two of our story on Jacques Cousteau.

Uncle Jon: That’s right, Aunt Nikki. But before we get started, let’s give all the boys and girls an overview of what’s happened so far.

Aunt Nikki: Good idea. Jacques Cousteau was an underwater diver, photographer, and engineer who helped create the apparatus we use nowadays to breathe while scuba diving.

Uncle Jon: This invention helped him explore the seas, discovering treasures like 2,000-year-old Roman pottery and deep-sea creatures never before seen by man.

Aunt Nikki: And last time, Uncle Jon told us that Jacques Cousteau’s greatest adventures were yet to come. I’m looking forward to finding out what they are.

Uncle Jon: Well then, let’s hop on board with Aunt Carole as she tells us the story we call, "Under the Sea."

Aunt Carole: Jacques Cousteau's invention of the Aqua-Lung had opened up the underwater universe to scientists and divers. His next adventure would surprise the whole world. While the United States and Soviet Union were in a race to put a man on the moon, Jacques Cousteau raced to build a home under the sea.

Guest (Male): People are dreaming of a future among the stars, but really, they should look to the seas.

Aunt Carole: Jacques and his team began to build a house that would be submerged 10 meters below the surface of the Mediterranean Sea. The original idea came from Dr. Bond, an American military physician, whose plans for an underwater house were rejected by the US Navy.

Guest (Male): Living underwater as you propose, Dr. Bond, just isn't feasible.

Aunt Carole: Jacques Cousteau, however, was very interested in the idea. Imagine if scientists could live in the ocean they were studying. Mankind would be that much closer to solving the mysteries of the seas. He and his team constructed an underwater dwelling based on Dr. Bond's designs.

The tubelike house was very small, only 18 feet long and 8 feet wide. But in this tiny space fitted a bed and shower, a table and chairs, a bookcase, radio, and television. The house sat on the continental shelf near Marseille, France, and that's where it got its name, Conshelf.

Air was pumped into the Conshelf from the surface. Aquanauts, that's what we call people who stay underwater for days at a time, could go in and out of the house through a hole in the floor. On September 14, 1962, the aquanauts prepared for their ocean adventure.

Guest (Male): Well, my two brave aquanauts, are you ready to do what no man has ever done before and live in an underwater house for a week?

Guest (Male): Yes, Captain Cousteau.

Guest (Male): I'll have doctors dive down to check your health daily, and cameras have been installed in the Conshelf to keep an eye on you.

Guest (Male): And of course, to capture moving pictures of us for one of your legendary films.

Guest (Male): Of course.

Aunt Carole: All around the world, newspapers reported about the two men who were living in the ocean. Readers were fascinated by the aquanauts.

Guest (Male): Dear, have you seen this week's feature article?

Guest (Female): No, what's it about?

Guest (Male): Two Frenchmen who are living under the sea.

Guest (Female): Living under the sea? Is that even possible?

Guest (Male): Well, I wouldn't have thought so before reading this, but not only are they living, they're living in style. The article says right here that hot water is even pumped down to them from their ship.

Guest (Female): Much of the world doesn't even have access to hot water, and here men living under the sea have that luxury. That's amazing. But what do they eat?

Guest (Male): Their meals are prepared on the ship and lowered to their pod in pressure cookers every day.

Aunt Carole: Jacques took great care in providing for all of the needs of his aquanauts. However, the constant monitoring took a toll on their spirits. Not dissuaded from his dream, Jacques' underwater living experiment was even larger the following year.

Conshelf Two sat in the Red Sea off the coast of Sudan. It had two capsules. The main living area was shaped like a starfish and was therefore called Starfish House. The main pod was equipped with large windows opening up to spectacular views of the ocean.

It could sleep eight people, contained a kitchen, a laboratory, and a room for developing film. This time, the air pumped into the house was a combination of oxygen and helium, which raised the pitch of the aquanauts' voices. On their 26th wedding anniversary, Jacques and Simone experienced this phenomenon firsthand when they put on their Aqua-Lungs and dove down the 10 meters to visit the aquanauts.

Guest (Female): Starfish House is adorable.

Guest (Male): Yes, and it will house five people and a parrot quite comfortably for a month.

Guest (Female): I can't believe there's a parrot down here. How fun to have a pet to keep the aquanauts' company.

Guest (Male): Oh, the parrot's not our only pet.

Guest (Female): Really?

Guest (Male): Follow me down to the entrance at the bottom of the pod and I'll show you. Here he comes.

Guest (Female): What a brightly colored triggerfish. You've trained him to show up for a snack whenever you tap on the porthole?

Guest (Male): Yep, he's pretty clever. And if you think the triggerfish is beautiful, just wait until nighttime. The whole reef will glow in the dark with bioluminescence. It will be the perfect display for our anniversary.

Guest (Female): And speaking of our anniversary, we dove down here to share our special meal with some very special aquanauts.

Guest (Male): We're honored that you'd spend this evening with us.

Aunt Carole: Jacques and Simone enjoyed eating with the aquanauts. 60 feet below where they sat in the Starfish House was a smaller hub called Deep Cabin. The aquanauts could travel to and from Deep Cabin in an updated version of the Diving Saucer that used jets of air to propel the mini-submarine through the water, and two aquanauts lived in Deep Cabin for a week.

Jacques faithfully filmed the divers as they spent their month under the sea, and the documentary, "World Without Sun," won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1964. The next year, his team built Conshelf Three and lowered it 336 feet into the Mediterranean Sea. Six aquanauts, including Philippe, one of Cousteau's sons, would live in the globe-shaped house for three weeks.

Guest (Male): Well, my son, are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?

Guest (Philippe): Yes. It's pretty exciting as a photographer to live on the edge where no cameraman has ever lived before.

Guest (Male): I've done my best to make Conshelf Three a good place to live.

Guest (Philippe): I know you have, Father. It's spacious compared to the last one. Why, Conshelf Three is even a two-story house.

Guest (Male): All thanks to oil, the black gold.

Guest (Philippe): Yes, I know. The oil industry invested in our project because they're interested in seeing if underwater colonies could be used to increase production.

Guest (Male): But if it also helps science, the time you spend down there will be a success.

Guest (Philippe): Yes. Although breathing air that's 98% helium is going to make it impossible for us to talk to each other. I guess it's just a sacrifice one makes for science.

Aunt Carole: During the three weeks his son and the other aquanauts lived in Conshelf Three, Jacques filmed them from inside the Diving Saucer. Their experiment was successful, but Jacques' dreams of creating underwater colonies were abandoned when the oil industry realized that robots were a safer, more cost-effective investment than human divers.

At this time, Jacques turned his attention towards sailing the world again. The Calypso was updated to include two Sea Fleas, the nickname for one-man submarines used for underwater filming that could reach depths of 300 meters. In 1967, Captain Cousteau and his team boarded the Calypso. Hundreds of people lined the cliffs around a harbor in Monaco to cheer on the crew as they embarked on their longest and most important expedition.

Guest (Male): Look, it's the Calypso!

Guest (Male): She's setting sail!

Aunt Carole: For the next four years, Jacques, wearing his signature red cap, explored the oceans of the world, taking videos of all the beautiful and unusual creatures he could find for a TV show called "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau." Each episode amazed audiences around the world.

Guest (Male): Look, there's a shark! Lower the cage. It will let us observe a shark feeding frenzy safely.

Guest (Male): Do you see them?

Guest (Male): Yes. The sea turtles are coming up on the beach to lay their eggs.

Guest (Male): Turn on the recording equipment. The killer whales are talking to each other.

Guest (Male): Captain Cousteau, look! What is it? Squid? Millions of squid, and they’ve come to the surface to mate.

Guest (Male): The sea otters are completely unafraid of us. Give it one of the crabs to eat. Here you go, buddy. He's sure eating it up.

Guest (Male): But with his white whiskers, he certainly looks wise.

Guest (Male): Watch this. I've trained this dolphin to give me a kiss. Oh, what a clever boy.

Guest (Male): Careful out there. Some of these walruses weigh close to two tons.

Guest (Male): What are the penguins doing?

Guest (Male): The male penguins are building nests for their mates. Look, that brave penguin is stealing a stone from another's nest.

Aunt Carole: The TV series lasted for nine years with Jacques Cousteau and his team making thousands of dives, filming coral reefs, elephant seals, columns of migrating lobsters, shipwrecks of the Caribbean, aquatic frogs in Lake Titicaca, the melodious songs of humpback whales, spawning salmon in Alaska, saltwater iguanas of the Galapagos Islands, manatees in Florida, nautilus at night, hippo and crocodiles in the Nile River, beavers building their dams in Canada, and many other wonders of the underwater world. It inspired a new generation of scientists, divers, and engineers to keep exploring the unmapped corners of the oceans to learn more about our beautiful planet.

Aunt Nikki: Wow, Uncle Jon, the oceans are full of some pretty cool animals. I love seeing videos of dolphins and sea turtles.

Uncle Jon: Me too, Aunt Nikki. And of course, I love thinking about the Creator who made those amazing creatures. Genesis chapter one tells us that on the fifth day of creation, God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing that lives in the water and that moves about in it.

Aunt Nikki: Our God is so creative. Think of the variety of animals that are in the ocean, from the transparent jellyfish to the rainbow-colored triggerfish.

Uncle Jon: From the miniature seahorses to the giant blue whale.

Aunt Nikki: From the soft fur of sea otters to the brittle spines of sea urchins. God made them all.

Uncle Jon: We think the story of Jacques Cousteau is worth telling because of how he opened up the love of the ocean to so many people around the world.

Aunt Nikki: And in fact, the second half of our program today is about a family who used one of his inventions.

Uncle Jon: Oh, really?

Aunt Nikki: Yes. We're going to join the King family from New Zealand who are about to go on an adventure.

Uncle Jon: Let me guess. Scuba diving?

Aunt Nikki: You've got it. So let's dive right into the rest of our program called, "Under the Sea."

Aunt Carole: It was the first Monday of January, and Mason King woke up early, full of energy. The New Zealand sun was shining brightly, perfect weather for his first outdoor adventure of the summer. As Mason bounded out of his bedroom en route to the breakfast table, he pounded on his sister Mia's door.

Mason: Wake up! Wake up, sleepyhead!

Mia: I'm up. I'm up. Some older brother you are. Getting me up early during summer break.

Mason: But today's a special day.

Mia: I know, I know. Come on to the kitchen. I'll fix us some toast. You've been talking about today for weeks. It's the day we get to take your girlfriend scuba diving.

Mason: Hey, Cora worked hard to earn her open water diving certification just like you did. Give her a break.

Mrs. King: Are you kids squabbling again?

Mia: No, Mom.

Mrs. King: Good. Your dad and I took the day off work especially to go scuba diving with you.

Mason: You're the best, Mom.

Mrs. King: Well, this best mom would hate for our day to be ruined by you two picking at each other.

Mia: We won't. Promise.

Mrs. King: Your dad's already out loading the scuba gear we rented into the car. As soon as you two are finished with your toast, we can be on our way.

Mason: Then I'll eat as fast as I can.

Aunt Carole: Mason and Mia raced to finish their breakfast. Then they piled into the back seat of the SUV while Dad drove to the other side of Auckland where Cora lived. Cora was waiting for them in the driveway, sporting a purple tankini and matching sun visor. Mason eagerly scooted into the center seat so that Cora could sit beside him.

Cora: Thanks for letting me tag along on your adventure, Mr. and Mrs. King.

Mr. King: Our pleasure.

Mrs. King: You're Mason's girlfriend. We're thrilled to have you join in on our family fun.

Mia: As long as you and Mason don't get all mushy.

Mason: Mia!

Cora: Don't worry, I won't. Unless I see a dolphin. Then all bets are off. I always get mushy over dolphins.

Mr. King: Well, if we do see any dolphins, it'll be our lucky day.

Aunt Carole: From Cora's house, it took about an hour and a half to reach Mangawhai Heads. During the drive, Cora entertained everyone with tales of her recent visit to Eden Park Stadium to watch the Black Ferns, her favorite rugby team. And before they knew it, they were pulling into the parking lot at the harbor. Mason helped his dad pick a sleek rental boat, and then everyone pitched in to transfer all the scuba gear from the trunk of the SUV to the deck of the boat.

Mr. King: Mia, will you take the flippers?

Mia: Sure, Dad.

Mr. King: And Mason, help me with the cooler. Man, this thing’s a beast. What’d Mom pack for lunch?

Mason: I think it's something simple like Marmite and veggie sandwiches, crisps, and apples, but she shoveled ice into all the empty spots.

Mia: So that's why it's so heavy.

Mr. King: Is there anything left in the car, Mia?

Mia: That looks like it's everything, darling.

Mr. King: Then let's pile in and be off.

Mason: I call dibs on sitting in the bow. Come on, Cora.

Cora: Okay. So, where’s your dad taking us, Mason?

Mason: To an underwater forest of kelp.

Cora: Sounds exciting.

Aunt Carole: Their boat zoomed away from the mainland over choppy ocean waves, and pretty soon they could see the sheer rocky cliffs of the islands jutting up from the sea. Once the pinnacles were towering over them, Mr. King steered the boat to an area that was far enough away from the cliffs that it would be good for deep diving.

Mr. King: All right, divers. This is where we're laying anchor. Mason, do you want to do the honors?

Mason: Sure, Dad.

Mrs. King: Now everyone needs to pull on a wetsuit over your swimwear. Mia, Cora?

Mia: Thanks.

Mason: Okay, I'm suited up. Here, turn around and I'll help you zip up the back.

Cora: What a gentleman.

Mia: Hey, no mushy-mushy.

Mason: We're not being mushy, Mia.

Mr. King: Okay then, I guess you can help Cora with the rest of her gear.

Aunt Carole: Mr. King inspected the air tanks to make sure they didn't have any defects. Then he handed them out and helped everyone attach their tank to a vest called the BC, short for buoyancy compensator.

Mr. King: Pull the straps of the BC tight. Good. Now we can attach the mouthpieces by sliding the regulator valve over the tank valve.

Aunt Carole: Next, the family made sure their spare regulators, called an octopus, were securely in place.

Mr. King: How's it look, Mia?

Mia: I'm all good.

Mr. King: Let me just check your air pressure. Excellent. It's at 300 pounds per square inch.

Mia: That means I have a full tank.

Mr. King: Right you are, kiddo. Now take a deep breath through the regulator to make sure it works. Shucks, you aren't going to run out of air down there, sis.

Mason: Mason!

Mr. King: Just kidding. You know I love you, Mia. Since you think you're so clever, son, what's our next step?

Mason: Get into our scuba stuff and then buddy up.

Mr. King: Right. We need to double-check everyone's gear so we'll be safe underwater.

Aunt Carole: To no one's surprise, Mason buddied up with Cora, while Mr. and Mrs. King double-checked each other before looking over Mia's getup. Everything seemed to be in order, so they went over one last bit of instruction.

Mr. King: Once we put in our mouthpieces, talking is going to be pretty difficult. So, darling, please remind us of the diver signs.

Mrs. King: Thumbs down means go down. Right, we descend. Just as thumbs up means we ascend back up to the surface. And if I make a fist and I point it in that direction?

Mia: That means there's danger over there.

Mrs. King: Mm-hmm. But let's pray we don't encounter any danger on our dive today.

Aunt Carole: One by one, everyone jumped into the ocean. When they were all treading water in a circle, Mr. King made the thumbs down signal, and they began to descend in a cloud of bubbles. The water was turquoise blue and crystal clear. At first, they found themselves in a kelp forest, green fronds undulating peacefully with the waves. Here and there, large orange spider crabs perched on kelp trunks like hawks sitting in treetops. Mason turned toward Cora to point out the crabs, but she was already excitedly gesturing at a different piece of kelp.

When Mason swam closer, he spied a pot-bellied seahorse hanging onto the seaweed with its curled tail. He grinned and flashed the okay hand sign so that Cora would know he saw it too. Cora grinned back and held her hands in a square, pretending to snap a picture with an imaginary camera, before turning to follow Mr. King as he led them farther away from the cliffs.

Everywhere they turned, the sea was alive with color and motion. To one side, a wall of deep-blue maomao fish swarmed over boulders covered in seaweed. And farther down at their base, the snakelike head of a yellow moray eel swayed back and forth as it searched for prey. Mason exhaled deeply to empty his lungs and sink lower as he kicked his flippers and propelled himself closer to the eel. He reached out his hand, and in a startled burst, the eel vanished into the shadows to hide.

Disappointed, Mason turned around to look for Cora again. He spotted her in the distance, arms linked with Mia as they tried to swim like mermaids while trailing behind his parents who were exploring past a drop-off. Mia was performing a series of graceful twirls when a school of giant kingfish flashed by, their bright yellow tails reflecting rays of sunlight that were filtering down into the deep blue.

There must have been hundreds or even thousands of kingfish. Mason hurried to catch up with his family. Of course, the regulator muffled his voice, and nobody understood that Mason was saying, "Kings and kingfish unite." Mason laughed at himself for even trying to talk while diving. Then he stretched out his limbs and watched while dozens of curious kingfish approached again and again. Everyone was so engrossed with the friendly school of kingfish that no one realized that they were being caught up in an underwater current that was sweeping them farther and farther away from the island.

It was Mason who noticed first. He immediately made the thumbs up sign to signal the need to ascend. Cora saw him right away, but the others were swimming in the opposite direction. When Mr. King looked over his shoulder and saw Mason, he grabbed his wife and daughter's arms to get their attention. Mason made a fist, danger, and then repeated the thumbs up sign. His dad responded with a thumbs up, showing he understood. Then everyone began to slowly ascend to the ocean's surface.

Mr. King: What is it, Mason?

Mason: The boat. We’re too far away from the boat.

Mr. King: You're right, son. Everyone, swim sideways to the current. Let's try to get clear.

Aunt Carole: The King family swam as hard as they could, but ocean currents are stronger near the surface, and they didn't seem to be making any headway.

Mia: Dad, I'm tired.

Cora: Me too, Mr. King. I don't know if I can make it.

Mr. King: Then let's stop swimming and just float. The important thing is that we're together.

Mason: Right. Us and all the sharks.

Mia: Sharks?

Mason: I looked it up once, and we have 113 different species of sharks right here in New Zealand.

Mr. King: Mason, don't scare your sister. Shark attacks are rare.

Mia: Rare or not, I’m going to keep my eyes peeled for unfriendly fiends.

Aunt Carole: As the current swept them farther and farther away, they scoured the ocean for any sign of danger. At first, they floated alone with only petrels for company. The small seagulls soared over the waves in search of squid to feed upon. But then...

Mia: Look! What's that? I see a gray fin cutting through the water toward us.

Mason: Uh-oh. That sure looks like a shark fin to me.

Mr. King: You're right, darling. And not a baby one either.

Aunt Carole: Great white sharks had been spotted in these waters before, and the King family watched in horror as a massive beast got closer and closer, the outline of its distinctive gray body coming into focus. The shark glided by the group slowly and then circled around to approach them again.

Mia: Mom, Dad, what are we going to do?

Mrs. King: I don't know, darling. Can we say a prayer, Mr. King?

Mr. King: Yes, that's a good idea, Cora.

Mason: I'll pray for us, Dad. Thank you, son. God, please be with us and keep us safe.

Mia: Yes, please.

Mrs. King: Put a hedge of protection around us so the shark can't harm us. In your name we pray, amen.

Mason: Mom, Dad, look! It's dolphins.

Mia: Dolphins?

Cora: A whole pod of them. Bottlenose, I believe. Oh, they're so cute. That one bumped me.

Mia: Me too.

Mr. King: They aren't just bumping us. They're pushing us closer together and swimming around us in a tight circle.

Mason: Not a circle, Dad. It's a hedge. A hedge of protection.

Mia: A dolphin hedge of protection. Look, now they’re splashing the water with their tails.

Mr. King: I think they're trying to scare the shark away.

Mason: God sent dolphins as an answer to our prayer.

Aunt Carole: Mason was right. Their prayers were answered, and the bottlenose dolphins acted as a hedge of protection, tirelessly keeping the shark at bay. They continued circling the family for hours. Eventually, the great white gave up and swam away, but the dolphins continued to keep the King family company as they floated on the ocean waves.

Mia: Mom, I'm thirsty.

Mrs. King: I know, darling.

Cora: How long are we going to be stuck out here in the ocean?

Mason: Maybe we should pray to be rescued.

Cora: You should, Mason. I mean, God answered your prayer to protect us from the shark.

Mason: Okay. God, you're amazing. I prayed and you sent us miracle dolphins. Thank you. But can you send us a boat to rescue us too? Amen.

Aunt Carole: For a while, it seemed like God wasn't going to answer this prayer. Nothing changed. They were still floating in the middle of the ocean surrounded by a pod of friendly dolphins. But then, the dolphins started doing something new.

Mia: The dolphins are jumping. I wonder why.

Mr. King: Maybe they're trying to tell us something. Look, a boat! Hey, we're over here! Over here!

Aunt Carole: The exhausted family waved their arms frantically and then watched hopefully as the vessel, which looked to be a tour boat, approached.

Guest (Male): We've got you. Here, catch the life buoy.

Mr. King: Got it. Here, Mia, you go first.

Guest (Male): One, two, up we go.

Aunt Carole: Within minutes, they were all rescued and were seated on the deck of the boat with blankets wrapped around their shoulders.

Guest (Male): There, you should feel warmer soon.

Mr. King: Thank you so much for helping us.

Guest (Male): Of course. And it's the most exciting thing that ever happened on the tour.

Mr. King: How did you find us?

Guest (Male): Well, I was bringing this tour group back from seeing the petrel nesting grounds on the outer islands. We was going straight back to the harbor. But then I saw dolphins jumping. Since everyone wanted to see the dolphins, we headed this direction. And then we saw you.

Mr. King: Well, we truly were saved by bottlenose dolphins twice.

Aunt Nikki: Uncle Jon, it’s pretty cool that the dolphins were an answer to not just one prayer, but two.

Uncle Jon: It really is amazing. But you know, Aunt Nikki, I've heard of more than a dozen accounts of dolphins saving people's lives, and this part of our story was based on their experiences.

Aunt Nikki: I think my favorite thing is that it was an animal story. I always love a good animal story.

Uncle Jon: I imagine many of you boys and girls are thinking the same thing. And you know what? I have good news for you. Your Story Hour has a number of fantastic animal stories. For example, there's the story of "The Good-for-Nothing Mutt," where the heroic dog Swamper, that the neighbor Mr. Beemer thinks is good for nothing, actually helps to save Mr. Beemer's life when he falls on the ice one cold winter day.

Aunt Nikki: There's "Maggie and the Big Yellow Dogs," where a young girl in Africa gets lost and is protected by lions, which she mistakenly believed were big yellow dogs.

Uncle Jon: There's "The Raven and the Ring," where a poor family in Poland is surprised when their grandfather's raven shows up with a very significant ring in its beak.

Aunt Nikki: And in "Amazing Mini-Miracles," there are two stories of God using birds to save people. One of them is a chicken.

Uncle Jon: That's right. I remember that the chicken laid an egg every day, which provided the nourishment a wounded soldier needed to survive until he was rescued. Almost all of these stories remind me that God invites us to call on Him when we are in trouble. In fact, Psalm 50:15 says, "Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."

Girls and boys, we never know how God is going to answer our prayers. But we can always trust that God hears us because He loves you very much. And so do Aunt Nikki and I.

Aunt Nikki: Goodbye until next time.