0:00:06 > 0:00:11# Katie Morag Ran away across the ocean
0:00:11 > 0:00:15# Katie Morag Over the sea to Struay
0:00:15 > 0:00:19# Katie Morag Ran away across the ocean
0:00:19 > 0:00:24# Katie Morag Over the sea to Struay
0:00:24 > 0:00:26# Katie Morag. #
0:00:29 > 0:00:30'I love parties,
0:00:30 > 0:00:35'and I reckon Grannie Island's are the best in the whole wide world.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37'They go on way past our bedtime.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40'But as long as we've brushed our teeth
0:00:40 > 0:00:44'and put on our jammies, we're allowed to stay up.
0:00:44 > 0:00:49'Grannie Island doesn't call them parties. She calls them ceilidhs.'
0:00:54 > 0:00:58Right then, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen.
0:00:58 > 0:01:06Let's gather round. Who's ready tonight for some real entertainment?
0:01:16 > 0:01:21'We may not have a cinema, or a swimming pool, or even a bus,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25'but everyone agrees that Struay's got talent.'
0:01:30 > 0:01:35Time for another story. Whose turn is it to pin the tail on the island?
0:01:35 > 0:01:36Me! Me! Me!
0:01:36 > 0:01:41Er, I think you'll find, Agnes, it's Sasha's turn. Come on, Sasha.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44There you go.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48There you go now.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55'We always play pin the tail at Grannie Island's ceilidhs.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00'The children take turns of sticking a wee pin on the map of Struay.
0:02:00 > 0:02:06'Then one of the grown-ups tells us a tale about that part of the island.'
0:02:10 > 0:02:14Mmm-hmm. The island of Fuay.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Who knows a story about the island of Fuay?
0:02:17 > 0:02:22- I know a wee story about the Isle of Fuay.- Matthew it is, then.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Here, Peter, pass me over one of those shells, will you?
0:02:32 > 0:02:33Thank you.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Long ago, here on Struay,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41there lived a teenage girl called Annie Jessie.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45She was born in a house on the headland beyond the new pier,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49and from that place there is a lovely view of the Isle of Fuay.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52When Annie Jessie was young she had to look after
0:02:52 > 0:02:55her brothers and sisters as her mother had sadly died.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Her father was a teacher
0:02:57 > 0:03:00and he was away all day at the school.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02When he got back with the older children,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05he expected the house to be clean and tidy,
0:03:05 > 0:03:07and the evening meal on the table.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11Not only had Annie Jessie to look after the family,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14but also the cow, the pig, the hens, the sheep,
0:03:14 > 0:03:16the dogs and the cats.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20After breakfast, her father would go off to school, and Annie Jessie,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22after she had fed all the animals,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25would go to the peat bank with the little ones,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28and collect fuel for the stove.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31At the end of the day, once the children were asleep
0:03:31 > 0:03:33and with her father working at the table,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37she would get into the boat and row out into the bay to catch fish
0:03:37 > 0:03:41for the next day's breakfast and supper.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Now, one particular evening it was wild weather.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Annie Jessie sheltered behind the boat on the shore,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50waiting for the storm to pass.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53She listened to the wind roaring and screeching around her.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57But there was another sound, like someone crying.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Annie Jessie stumbled over the slippery seaweed
0:04:00 > 0:04:03and saw the most amazing sight.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Now, I'm sure you all know what a mermaid is.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09But what she saw was a merboy.
0:04:09 > 0:04:10He was in front of her,
0:04:10 > 0:04:14sitting on a rock with tears streaming down his face.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Annie Jessie asked why he was upset.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18The merboy said he had lost his comb
0:04:18 > 0:04:21and that the Sea King would be furious.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23"He is in charge of all us sea creatures
0:04:23 > 0:04:25"and can be very fierce.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29"We merboys and mermaids must comb our hair twice a day."
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Annie Jessie told him to dry his tears.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36"I'll get you another comb," she promised, "and bring it tomorrow."
0:04:36 > 0:04:40The merboy smiled for the first time - such a lovely smile -
0:04:40 > 0:04:45and disappeared into the foaming waves with a happy flip of his tail.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47How was Annie Jessie to get a comb?
0:04:47 > 0:04:49There was only one comb in HER house,
0:04:49 > 0:04:53which was needed every morning for all the family.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55And it was often lost.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59As she wandered back along the shore she saw some long, flat razor shells
0:04:59 > 0:05:03just like this one, and put them in her pocket.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06That night Annie Jessie couldn't sleep.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10Feeling cold and lonely, she remembered her promise to the merboy
0:05:10 > 0:05:13and remembered the razor shells in her pocket.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Her fishing knife was sharp.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19It wouldn't take long to carve one of those long, flat shells.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23So she lit a candle, and sat close to the light.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27But the shell was brittle and soon broke in two.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30The second, third and fourth shells all shattered.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Dawn was breaking and it came to the last shell.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38And pffft! The candle guttered out.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41In the half-light of the skylight window, Annie Jessie worked
0:05:41 > 0:05:46ever so carefully, and this time made the most beautiful comb.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50She carved some hearts and kisses on it, then raced down to the shore.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54"Merboy, here is your new comb!" Annie Jessie called.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57"Thank you," he smiled, as he took it from her.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59"It is beautiful.
0:05:59 > 0:06:00"And so are you."
0:06:00 > 0:06:05Annie Jessie smiled. She thought HE was beautiful, too.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08The merboy told Annie Jessie to untie the boat and follow him,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11and he would find her the best fish,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14and would continue to do so from that moment on.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18Being with the merboy was the best part of the day for Annie Jessie.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21The family had mounds of fried fish for breakfast,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24and colossal fish pies for supper.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Grateful though she was to the merboy,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30she knew he could not help with her other chores.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33When the weather was too bad for fishing, she sat beside him
0:06:33 > 0:06:35on the rocks,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38and told him how lonely and exhausted she sometimes got.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41And how she wished she could have a life with him.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45"Would you really like to live with me?" he asked, hopefully,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48for he had had the same thoughts.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51The Sea King had heard about their romance
0:06:51 > 0:06:53and decided to do something about it.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56So a large, rolling wave rose far out to sea,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00and as it came close to land, it turned into a team of white horses
0:07:00 > 0:07:04with foaming manes, pulling a huge shell chariot towards the shore.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08The Sea King stood tall and fierce. He boomed out his message.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12"A little sea bird has told me you have fallen in love
0:07:12 > 0:07:14"and want to be together."
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Annie Jessie and the merboy agreed wholeheartedly.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21But she knew she could not leave her family, and told the Sea King.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24"They will be fine," bellowed the Sea King.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27"I'll send a new teacher to Struay who will help your father
0:07:27 > 0:07:29"at the school, and at home.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32"And I will make you a beautiful place to live."
0:07:32 > 0:07:36And so saying, he turned to the sea and raised his hands.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40The setting sun darkened, and suddenly it was deepest night.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Thunder and lightning grumbled and flashed.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47Annie Jessie and the merboy huddled together on the rocks.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52"Look," commanded the Sea King. And he pointed to the horizon.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Where there had been dark sea a moment before,
0:07:55 > 0:07:59there was now a small island bathed in sunlight.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04"This is your island," announced the Sea King.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06And so it was
0:08:06 > 0:08:09that Annie Jessie and the merboy went to live on the island.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13And what do you think they called it?
0:08:13 > 0:08:16They called it the Isle of Fuay.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21One fine evening, Annie Jessie met the new lady teacher
0:08:21 > 0:08:23who was helping her father dig up the tatties.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26"I like it here," smiled the lady teacher.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30Annie Jessie's brothers and sisters all cheered.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Annie Jessie made razor shell combs for all the family
0:08:33 > 0:08:38and the lady teacher, and a spare one for the merboy,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41just in case he lost his special one.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44And that is the story of the Isle of Fuay.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48APPLAUSE
0:08:48 > 0:08:51That was great, Matthew. I loved that story.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54I think it's one of my favourites.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Alistair and Jane, come on. It's time you gave us a tune.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01'We love the ceilidh stories, and always want to hear more.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05'But Grannie Island says the same thing, "Time for another tune."
0:09:05 > 0:09:09'And by the time the grown-ups have finished dancing
0:09:09 > 0:09:11'we're usually fast asleep.'