[00:00.78] 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
[00:03.55] Part one.
[00:06.62] Chapter one.
[00:09.34] Sea Monster.
[00:13.67] The year of 1867 was the year of the sea monster.
[00:20.42] A huge creature that glowed in the water appeared from nowhere and rammed several ships at sea.
[00:30.04] Then it disappeared faster than a killer whale.
[00:36.99] Everyone was talking about it.
[00:40.51] What was it?
[00:43.56] Did it come from the bottom of the oceans or from outer space?
[00:52.25] Whatever it was, people were scared.
[00:58.83] They wanted the creature hunted down and the seas made safe.
[01:07.78] My name is Pierre Aronnax, Professor of Natural History at the Museum of Paris.
[01:16.80] I was in New York when the sea monster was first spotted.
[01:21.48] I was there to talk about my new book.
[01:28.51] I don't want to be boastful, but it was the most up-to-date book about life under the waves.
[01:37.50] And because I was an expert on sea life, the New York Herald asked me what I thought the sea creature could be.
[01:47.85] I said it had to be an unknown sea creature of great size and power that came up from the unexplored depths.
[01:57.81] The United States planned an expedition to get rid of the monster, and the Abraham Lincoln, the fastest ship in the US Navy, was chosen for the job.
[02:11.16] I was asked to join the trip, together with my friend and assistant, Conseille.
[02:20.43] Consil was worried about the fossils we had brought to show everyone in New York.
[02:27.64] What will happen to them? he said.
[02:32.48] They'll be fine.
[02:35.03] Everything will be sent back to France, I said.
[02:40.66] I can't turn down the chance of being the first scientist to see this monster.
[02:48.58] It will be a fantastic mission, even if it is going to be dangerous.
[02:57.77] The idea of danger made Consil go pale.
[03:04.79] Perhaps I should stay behind with the fossils, he said.
[03:11.88] I'm much better at making notes on dead creatures than chasing live ones that bite.
[03:22.63] Consil loved paperwork much more than working outdoors.
[03:28.95] So I dug the fossils up while he stayed safely at a desk, writing down what I had found.
[03:39.05] But Consil did not stay behind.
[03:44.56] He was a good friend and much too loyal to let me face danger alone.
[03:54.49] The captain of the Abraham Lincoln was a man called Farragut.
[04:01.62] He was an experienced and brave seaman, and no ship could have been better armed.
[04:10.40] We had harpoons and a gun that fired explosive shot.
[04:15.80] There was also a cannon that could fire up to 10 miles.
[04:25.91] But better than all our weapons, we had the famous Ned Land on board.
[04:35.47] Ned Land was a Canadian harpoon with a sharp eye and a quick arm.
[04:43.12] He was the best whale hunter alive.
[04:48.48] Tall, strong and cool.
[04:56.38] Ned was also the only person on the ship who did not believe in the sea monster.
[05:03.89] Why don't you believe that we're looking for some kind of a giant whale? I asked him.
[05:12.59] Ned grinned broadly at me.
[05:17.00] A whale couldn't have scratched the steel plates of a steamer, never mind sink it, he said.
[05:26.94] But there are stories of ships that have had bites taken out of them by sea creatures, I said.
[05:35.20] Wooden ships, maybe, replied Ned.
[05:42.34] But ships made of steel, I doubt it.
[05:48.57] And I'd want to see proof before I'd believe it.
[05:55.79] Weeks passed and nothing happened.
[06:01.94] We went up and down the North Pacific for two months, but we saw nothing except calm, empty waters.
[06:13.75] Everybody on the ship became short tempered and bored.
[06:19.89] We were beginning to look like fools.
[06:24.48] Where was this famous sea creature?
[06:32.68] This is stupid, Consil said.
[06:37.35] We're wasting our time.
[06:40.51] This isn't serious scientific work.
[06:45.76] Everyone is laughing at us.
[06:50.77] You're right, Consil, I admitted.
[06:56.68] We should have gone back to Paris.
[07:02.53] But at that moment, I heard a voice shouting out through the salt air.
[07:08.48] It was Ned Land.
[07:12.00] Ohoy! he cried.
[07:17.07] Look out there! It's the sea monster.