The Adventures of Piper of the Glen Read online

  Title Page

  THE ADVENTURES OF ROYAL PIPER OF THE GLEN

  By

  Derek Reid

  Publisher Information

  ARTHUR H. STOCKWELL LTD.

  Torrs Park Ilfracombe Devon

  Established 1898

  www.ahstockwell.co.uk

  Digital edition converted and

  Distrbuted in 2012 by

  Andrews UK limited

  www.andrewsuk.com

  © Derek Reid, 2004

  First published in Great Britain, 2004

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder.

  Illustrations by Sam Hanson

  Piper Gets Lost

  Piper was born in a place called Glenuig, he lived with his brothers and sisters, they all played every day and had so much fun they didn’t want to stop.

  Piper loved to play with the lambs, they would run up and down the hills together till they could run no more.

  One night Piper was very naughty, he sneaked out to play on the hills again with his friends, but he couldn’t find anybody there because they were very good lambs and had gone straight to sleep. The lightning struck and the rain came down so hard he could not see, he cried and cried but nobody came.

  He walked on and on till he came to a big stone building where he lay down in a corner all wet and hungry and so cold. He missed his brothers and sisters so much the tears rolled down his face, but soon he fell off into a deep sleep.

  Piper was awakened by a voice “Hello, hello, who are you and where did you come from?”

  “But where am I?” said Piper. “And who are you?”

  “I am Tawny Owl” he said, “and this is my castle, it’s called Ewloe Castle.”

  “But why are your eyes closed Tawny Owl?” said Piper.

  “Because I cannot keep awake at night and owls are supposed to keep awake.

  Thump, thump, came a strange sound, and in through the doorway appeared a kangaroo. To Piper he looked like a large rabbit sitting on its back legs.

  “Oh you have a stranger in the camp” said the kangaroo. “He looks very tired and hungry to me.”

  “His name is Piper” said Tawny Owl.

  “But why do you wear the crown on your head?” said the kangaroo.

  “Because my real name is Royal Piper of the Glen.”

  “My oh my you’ve come a long way” said the kangaroo.

  “What do you keep in the pocket on your chest?” said Piper.

  “That’s a pouch for carrying baby kangaroos around for safety and keeping them out of mischief.”

  “You make a lot of noise when you’re walking” said Piper.

  “That’s because I am supposed to jump, but I find it too difficult and everyone laughs at me and it makes me unhappy and I have no friends.”

  “Would you both like to come with me?” said Piper. “I’m looking for the road back home. Where I live the sand is pure white and soft as silk, and the sea is so clear you can see the crabs dancing at the bottom. It is such a special, wonderful place you can make a wish there.”

  “Wonderful wonderful perhaps I could make a wish to help keep me awake at nights” said the owl.

  “And perhaps if I make a wish too I could jump and jump so high everyone would love me” said the kangaroo.

  The kangaroo had some scraps of food left over, he gave some to Tawny Owl and some to Piper before they made their long journey to Scotland.

  Meeting New Friends

  On the journey home they were chatting to each other about the wish they would each make.

  “Excuse me” said a voice above. “You are walking all over the nuts I have just picked. It’s taken me ages to collect them.” The squirrel jumped down from the tree and stood in front of the group. Fist clenched he said “I’m not scared of anyone, so if you want a fight let’s get going.” With that he started to dance around waving his fists.

  “Sorry for walking over the nuts Mr Squirrel. We will help you pick some more.”

  “No it’s okay - sorry I lost my temper, that’s why nobody likes me and losing my temper gets me into all sorts of trouble. If only I could always be nice to people.”

  They decided to sit down and take a rest and talk to the squirrel.

  “Perhaps if you come with us” said Piper “you could make a wish and be a much nicer squirrel and not want to fight everyone.”

  “I will come with you then, but where are we going?” said the squirrel.

  “We are going to Glenuig. There is a special place there for making wishes.”

  As the group walked further through the wood they came across a rabbit sitting on a log, in his hands he held a pair of wobbly sticks,

  “Hello” said Piper “why are you holding those wobbly old sticks?”

  “They hold me up because my legs won’t work properly” said the rabbit.

  “Come with us” said Piper, “we are going to a wonderful place called Glenuig, there you can make a wish. ”

  “I can’t,” said the rabbit, with a tear in his eye. “I can’t make it that far.”

  “Can’t! Can’t!” said the kangaroo. “There’s no such word as can’t.” With that he picked up the rabbit with his sticks and put him in his pouch. “Happy now.”

  “Yes thanks” said the rabbit.

  “Great let’s get going then.”

  Leaving Ewlow Castle far behind Piper stopped in his tracks, he was looking at the top of the hill, and there in the distance was a golden glow so bright it lit up the whole sky. “Home, home” he said “at last I’m home.”

  They all ran as fast as they could towards the light and when they reached the top of the hill they all looked down in wonderment.

  It was such a wonderful place with the lambs running up and down the hill and the sand so white and soft as silk, and the water so clear you could see the crabs dancing at the bottom; what a wonderful magical place.

  “Glenuig” said Piper “I’m home.”

  As they ran down the hillside the lambs came dancing to meet them. Piper’s brothers and sisters ran to meet them as fast as they could. They all hugged and hugged each other to bits.

  “Let me take you to the Golden Bush” said Piper to his new friends. “There you can make only one wish.”

  So down they sat around the magical bush.

  “The green leaves will rustle” said Piper “and the wind will come, then all the leaves will turn to gold, then you can make a wish.”

  Then the wind came and the leaves turned to gold, they all made a wish. The kangaroo began to jump and jump so high he touched the clouds. Tawny Owl opened his eyes so wide and round he could see the man on the moon. The squirrel was so happy and friendly everyone loved him, and the woodcarver made the rabbit the finest pair of sticks you ever did see, so fine he could walk for miles and miles straight and tall.

  Piper was glad to be home again but he missed the excitement of his adventure and making new friends, so he thought to himself ‘If I buy a car I could travel to far away places,’ this made Piper happy too.

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  Derek Reid, The Adventures of Piper of the Glen

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