Similar episodes were going on throughout the massive penguin colony. There was so much to see, like in a picture book where each time you looked there was some new tiny story to discover in the illustrations.
“This is the biggest gentoo colony in Antarctica,” Dr. Drake said proudly. “We’ve had a continuous study site here for over a hundred years.”
“Gentoo?” Joel asked. “What’s that?”
“There are many species of penguins in the world. Gentoo is the name of the species of the Popper Penguins. My grandfather sent Mr. Popper his original penguin from this very colony.”
“Oh,” Joel said.
“Oh my!” Mrs. Popper interrupted. “Have you seen what’s going on over there?”
“That’s what I was talking about before!” Nina protested. “Now do you believe me?”
“Wow,” Yuka said.
“Well, I never,” Mrs. Popper said.
The Popper Penguins, fresh off their trip from the Arctic, had waddled and tobogganed right into the middle of the gentoo colony. There they’d lined up in a row, making quiet orks that sounded almost like coughs, waiting for the attention of the other birds. And attention is just what they got. A ruckus rose from the colony as they noticed the strangers. Those that weren’t tending nests came right over, crowding in, knocking one another over to get the best view, making a deafening chorus of penguin calls.
Once they had the attention of the other penguins, the Popper Penguins began to perform.
While the Antarctic penguins watched, Patch lay on the ice for a long pause, then pretended to wake up and stand and look about. Another penguin joined her, peering about dramatically. They were followed by ten more, until there were twelve penguins in all. They marched in a perfect circle, all waddling in unison, then formed a square before becoming a semicircle. Two of them separated from the group and got into a mock fight, buffeting each other with their flippers and biting the air. They both fell over, as if dead.
“They’re performing Nelson and Columbus!” Nina exclaimed.
“Oh no, does that mean the ladder-and-board act from the original show is next?” Joel asked, covering his eyes. “I heard that was a complete disaster.”
As they watched, the twelve penguins marched in formation up an ice cliff, where they crowded at the summit. Then they went completely still.
“What’s supposed to happen now?” Mrs. Popper asked.
“I’m not sure,” Joel said.
The audience of a thousand penguins and five humans began to murmur.
Then Patch let out an ear-piercing cry. As one, the penguins made a great show of pushing one another to the ground, tobogganing off the peak in all directions, letting out loud squawks as they tumbled away before getting to their feet again down at the bottom, appearing very proud of themselves. It all looked a bit like a firework display, only made of penguins.
Once they were finished, the Popper Penguins lined themselves back up in a straight line, while the Antarctic penguins broke out into a raucous chorus of orks and gaws. The Popper Penguins took neat bows, or at least as best they were able with their stout bodies. (It was difficult to bow without a waist.)
The gentoos surged forward, crowding around the Popper Penguins, greeting them with a frantic display of clacking beaks and loud calls. They lifted the Popper Penguins so they surfed over the top of the colony, making orks of delight as they accepted the crowd’s admiration.
“Well, I’ll be!” Yuka said.
“The scientific world has never seen anything like this,” Dr. Drake marveled.
“The Popper Penguins passed down stories about Antarctica and Stillwater!” Nina said.
“Maybe they’ll keep passing these stories down in the wild colony here,” Yuka proposed.
“Fascinating,” said Dr. Drake. “We’ll need to publish studies on this right away. Are you prepared to work with me, Yuka?”
“I’m revising my dissertation in my head right now!” he said. He and Dr. Drake then descended into a lot of scientific language that Nina and Joel couldn’t understand at all.
Their attention was soon drawn to the young chicks at their feet. Mae and Ernest had enjoyed the Popper show, jumping up and down in glee and doing their own pantomime version of the specialized steps along with the Popper Penguins. But now they looked almost mournful. Head down, Ernest was already making his slow waddling progress back to the boat. Mae made an oork that sounded very familiar to the Popper kids by now: She was ready for some canned tuna fish. Ernest made an oork that they also knew very well: It was time for his favorite nature program on the ship’s shortwave radio.
Joel gave Nina a long look. Their plan for getting the two young chicks back to the wild wasn’t working out. Not at all.
FAREWELL, DR. DRAKE
WHILE JOEL AND Nina holed up in the research station, they heard a clamor from the icy valley as the Popper Penguins gave yet another command performance.
The Popper children weren’t out enjoying the show, though—they were too worried about Mae and Ernest. The young penguins were eating dried squid from a pile on the floor, in between moves in their version of chess. Joel and Nina hadn’t been able to figure out the rules yet, but it seemed to involve a lot of pecking and fighting and pawns flying everywhere.
“It’s almost like they don’t know that they’re penguins,” Joel said.
“I’d say that’s exactly right,” Dr. Drake said from the doorway. Nina and Joel looked up, startled. “When they’re born, young birds go through a process called imprinting. In order to learn the
