A seal, a dolphin and a whale

Mirjam and I are on a day trip in the Dutch province of Zeeland. We are in a picturesque town, where we are participating in a guided tour. During the tour, the guide takes us to a location on the intersection of a narrow old street and the city square. She points to three holes in the ground, right in the middle of the street, with a diameter of ca. 50 cm. The holes contain water, and they seem to be quite deep.

"The holes are connected to the ocean, and each hole belongs to a species", she explains, "The hole to the right belongs to the seals. The hole in the middle to the dolphins. And the hole to the left to the whales." As if they were waiting for these words to be spoken, a seal, a dolphin and a whale appear in their respective holes.

Though the animals are far bigger than 50 cm, especially the whale, they have no trouble passing through the holes. They seem to be at ease, and slightly amused by the behavior of the people in the tour group. Their faces are wise, almost human. The tour guide starts a conversation with them, but I don't understand a word. In the end the animals get bored, dive, and disappear.

Back in Leiden, at the house of Mirjam's parents, we have invited all the physicians of the city to a garden party, to hear their opinion on the appearance of the sea creatures. The subject matter is thoroughly discussed, but the physicians cannot agree on an explanation. The discussion becomes heated, then violent. The physicians leave the party one by one, angry and frustrated.

In the end Mirjam and I, plus the catering person we hired to organize the party, are the only ones left. The garden is a mess, littered with paper cups and plates as well as food leftovers. We feel that we have witnessed something very special in that town in Zeeland, but we are at a loss what it means. The physicians didn't make us any wiser either. We start cleaning up.

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