0:00:09 > 0:00:11# Katie Morag
0:00:11 > 0:00:13# Far away across the ocean
0:00:13 > 0:00:15# Katie Morag
0:00:15 > 0:00:17# Over the sea to Struay
0:00:17 > 0:00:19# Katie Morag
0:00:19 > 0:00:22# Far away across the ocean
0:00:22 > 0:00:24# Katie Morag
0:00:24 > 0:00:26# Over the sea to Struay. #
0:00:32 > 0:00:38My name is Katie Morag McColl and I live on the island of Struay.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41I suppose it's quite wee, but it's ginormous to me, and everyone
0:00:41 > 0:00:46looks out for me when I'm out and about having my adventures.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49Some people like everything to be new and shiny,
0:00:49 > 0:00:50but I'm not one of them!
0:00:50 > 0:00:54I like my old teddy, my old dolls and my old welly boots!
0:00:54 > 0:00:58People sometimes give me new things and that's really very kind,
0:00:58 > 0:01:00but I never ever want to play with them.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02I don't like it when things change.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04I like them how they are right now.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09And, if it was up to me, that's exactly how they'd stay!
0:01:09 > 0:01:11But it isn't up to me.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Yesterday, my teacher, Mrs Muir, told us that she was leaving Struay
0:01:15 > 0:01:17to go and live on the mainland.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Hurry up, sweetheart. You'll be late for school.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23And that wasn't the only big change that was going to happen.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25My mum was going to have a baby.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Mrs Muir told us she was like a magpie.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35She kept all kinds of things and didn't like throwing them away.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Thank you, Agnes.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40You know, I think I've got every jotter from every child
0:01:40 > 0:01:41I ever taught here.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44I call it my box of memories.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46- Miss?- Yes, Katie Morag?
0:01:46 > 0:01:49How many years have you been here for?
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Ooh. Lots and lots!
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Since your mum was knee-high to a grasshopper.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56So, why do you have to leave?
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Well, nothing stays the same for ever.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02Not the flowers, or the trees, or the eagles, or the bees.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Our new baby was inside mum's tummy,
0:02:06 > 0:02:08growing bigger every day.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Grannie Island said it wouldn't be too long
0:02:11 > 0:02:13till it was ready to come out.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15- Oh!- What's wrong?
0:02:15 > 0:02:17The baby kicked me.
0:02:17 > 0:02:18That's not very nice.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20It's just the baby's way of saying hello.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23You were a bit of a kicker yourself, Katie Morag.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Say that again!
0:02:25 > 0:02:28What are you doing there, Katie Morag?
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Looking up in the dictionary what "attention" means.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32"Attention"?
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Agnes says when the baby comes, I won't get any.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42We all wanted to give Mrs Muir a going-away present.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Agnes was going to sing a song, so I couldn't do that,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48and Sasha was doing a painting for her.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Wow! It looks just like her.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54I wished I'd thought of something like that.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Then Neilly Beag came by at tea-time
0:02:56 > 0:02:58with some of his lovely cream meringues,
0:02:58 > 0:03:01and I had a really good idea.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04- Freshly made. - I could save mine...- Katie Morag.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06..and give it to Mrs Muir.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Look what Neilly Beag's brought. Do you want one?
0:03:11 > 0:03:13But the silly thing went and got itself eaten,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17so I had to come up with another plan.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22Then I remembered what Mrs Muir had said about her big box of memories.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26I made a big poster to tell people to come to our house
0:03:26 > 0:03:29with anything that reminded them of Mrs Muir,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32or anything that might remind Mrs Muir of them.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35Then I got the most ginormous cardboard box
0:03:35 > 0:03:38I could find, to put all the special memories in.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Liam! No wonder the box was so heavy.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46After that, all I could do was wait
0:03:46 > 0:03:49and see if my idea was going to work.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13I couldn't believe how many people came by to drop off
0:04:13 > 0:04:15one of their special memories.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19I was absolutely rushed off my feet.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22The one thing I was worried about was Mrs Muir finding out
0:04:22 > 0:04:24what I was doing.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27And there were quite a few close shaves.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- Hello, Katie Morag.- Hello, Miss!
0:04:40 > 0:04:41Can I have a pack of white envelopes
0:04:41 > 0:04:45- and a dozen second-class stamps, please?- Coming right up!
0:04:48 > 0:04:50What are you doing exactly?
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Just...practising.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54What for?
0:04:54 > 0:04:55Just practising.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Here we go.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Well... Good luck with it, then.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05Thank you very much.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Pretty soon, it seemed everyone on the island came by with something
0:05:13 > 0:05:18for Mrs Muir's memory box and they all said what a good idea it was.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Well, almost everyone.
0:05:29 > 0:05:30All right, Neilly Beag?
0:05:30 > 0:05:32As well as can be expected.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Well, look at all this wonderful stuff!
0:05:40 > 0:05:43People have really loved your idea, haven't they?
0:05:43 > 0:05:45Neilly Beag didn't.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49- No.- I thought him and Mrs Muir were friends.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52They are! She's his oldest friend on the island.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Why hasn't he put something in the memory box?
0:05:55 > 0:05:59And that's when my mum said what she usually says
0:05:59 > 0:06:01when I ask a difficult question.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Why don't you ask your father?
0:06:04 > 0:06:06That's exactly what I did.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Oh. Well...
0:06:08 > 0:06:12And he said what he usually says when I ask a difficult question.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Why don't you ask Grannie Island?
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Luckily, Grannie Island never tells me to ask someone else.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23In fact, I should have just asked her in the first place.
0:06:23 > 0:06:30So, everyone's given something for the memory box, except Neilly Beag?
0:06:33 > 0:06:37I thought Mrs Muir was his oldest friend.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40So, that's your explanation, right there.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Problem is, I don't always understand Grannie Island's answers.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Tell you what.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Why don't we pop over and see him?
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Oh, there you are! We've been looking everywhere.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Och, just giving the old girl a bit of a spruce-up.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Aye, well, we could all do with some of that.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Oh, I brought you some porridges.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08- Thank you.- Show you how they should be made!
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Not bad.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Not great. But not bad.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Katie Morag has a question for you.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Fire away, Katie Morag!
0:07:24 > 0:07:28I'm collecting things for Mrs Muir's memory box.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32Everyone's put something in, except you.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35And then the strangest thing happened.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37The wind blew a speck of sand up from the beach
0:07:37 > 0:07:40and it landed right in Neilly Beag's eye.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42Memory box, eh?
0:07:42 > 0:07:46She wouldn't be needing a memory box if she wasn't leaving.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50Things change, Neilly Beag.
0:07:50 > 0:07:51They have to.
0:07:51 > 0:07:52Why?
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Why should they change, when they're perfectly good as they are?
0:07:58 > 0:08:00Thanks for the porridges.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06- What do you reckon? - He's sad.- Mm-hmm.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09He doesn't want anything to change.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Aye, that's right.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Mrs Muir was his oldest friend and he's going to miss her.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18But she's worked at the school a long time now, and she needs a rest.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21And she wants to spend more time with her grandchildren.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24- Just like us.- Exactly!
0:08:25 > 0:08:29And, yes, we'll miss her and she'll miss us, but she's going
0:08:29 > 0:08:32to be really happy on the mainland and we should be happy for her.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Will everything change when the baby comes?
0:08:42 > 0:08:45Well... Some of the things will.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48I mean, your mum and dad will be very busy for a while
0:08:48 > 0:08:51and they won't get as much sleep as they need to.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Now, from time to time, they might get a bit cranky.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56And poo-ey.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01But there's one thing that's not going to change.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05Your mum and dad will love you just as much as they do now.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10And there will be a bonus at the end of it.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13You'll have a little brother or sister!
0:09:13 > 0:09:16And, before you know it,
0:09:16 > 0:09:21that smelly wee tumshie will be one of the best friends you've ever had.
0:09:21 > 0:09:22Eh?
0:09:22 > 0:09:25All right.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32That's a lovely job she's done.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Aye, she's going to miss her. We all will.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38And Grannie Island said there's something else she's worried about.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45- I'm starving!- So am I.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49Hold your horses. The sausages aren't burned yet!
0:09:50 > 0:09:55Has anything been bothering you, Katie Morag?
0:09:55 > 0:09:57I know we've been talking a bit about the baby.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01You've been talking a LOT about the baby!
0:10:01 > 0:10:04I know. It's just...
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Well, things change when there's a baby in the house.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11You and mum won't get much sleep and you'll probably be a bit cranky,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14but you'll still love me as much as you do now
0:10:14 > 0:10:16and I'll have a baby at the end of it.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19- Well, that's right.- Absolutely.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Can I have my sausages now?
0:10:40 > 0:10:43I've got a song I'd like to sing for you, Mrs Muir.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49SHE SINGS IN GAELIC
0:10:59 > 0:11:04# Sad am I without thee. #
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Mrs Muir loved all her gifts.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10She especially liked the magical memories
0:11:10 > 0:11:12and everyone that shared them.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17Everyone told their stories and they were all wonderful.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23# They're a pathway to thee. #
0:11:23 > 0:11:27SHE SINGS IN GAELIC
0:11:40 > 0:11:45- ALL:- # Sad am I without thee. #
0:11:45 > 0:11:50Finally, it was Mrs Muir's turn to talk to the class for the last time.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53I'm overwhelmed by the kindness shown to me today.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57I may be leaving Struay, but Struay won't be leaving me.
0:11:57 > 0:12:03So, to all my friends on the island - each and every one of you -
0:12:03 > 0:12:06I thank you from the bottom...
0:12:07 > 0:12:10I'm sorry. Sorry, I'm late.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Nothing new there.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17I didn't want this day to come...
0:12:19 > 0:12:24..because I didn't want my dear old pal to be leaving.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26And then, the strangest thing happened.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29The wind blew some sand all the way up from the beach,
0:12:29 > 0:12:33through the closed window, into Neilly Beag's eye, again!
0:12:33 > 0:12:37She was my good friend, then, and she's still my good friend now.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44That's her sitting right beside me in the school, all these years ago.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48And now, there's only two of us left.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54Now you might think I'm just an old bodach - an old man.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58And that Mrs Muir is just an old cailleach - an old woman.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03But, one time, we, too, were young, like you people.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07I'd never heard Neilly Beag talk so much in my entire life.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Some of it was sad, but most of it was really funny.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15He told us all the things him and Mrs Muir used to get up to.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17And some of them you wouldn't believe,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20especially not from a TEACHER!
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Then, finally he finished and it was time to go home.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35It's easy to forget sometimes,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38but grown-ups are just like normal people.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41They get worried and upset about things, too.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44And, sometimes, you just need to have a little chat with them,
0:13:44 > 0:13:46to make things better.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48That was something else I would have to teach the baby,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50when it finally arrived.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55(I could hardly wait.)