0:00:10 > 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 > 0:00:20# Katie Morag
0:00:20 > 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 > 0:00:37My name is Katie Morag McColl, and I live on the island of Struay.
0:00:37 > 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 > 0:00:49This is where I live with my family.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52My mum and dad run the shop and Post Office.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56This is the bedroom I share with my brother Liam.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58My mum says it's an absolute midden.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01This is the croft where Grannie Island lives
0:01:01 > 0:01:04with her animals and hens.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07This is the Redburn Bridge where I play pooh sticks.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13And I think it's the best place in the whole entire world,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
0:01:22 > 0:01:28I was really sad when Mrs Muir left us to go and live on the mainland.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32She'd been my teacher since forever, and everybody loved her!
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Today was the day our new teacher started,
0:01:36 > 0:01:38and I was a little bit worried.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43What if I didn't like him? What if he didn't like ME?!
0:01:43 > 0:01:46I was a little bit excited, too, though.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50Mum said the teacher had a son called John,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53and he was going to be joining our class!
0:01:53 > 0:01:57That meant we'd have a whole new person to play with!
0:01:59 > 0:02:03We all got in early that morning, cos we couldn't wait to see
0:02:03 > 0:02:08what our new teacher was like. But Agnes said she already knew!
0:02:08 > 0:02:10I saw him getting off the ferry!
0:02:10 > 0:02:15- Did not!- Did so!- Did not! - Did so!- Did not!
0:02:15 > 0:02:18- Did so! - Fine then, what does he look like?
0:02:22 > 0:02:27He's big, and scary and mean, and he kind of walks around like this...
0:02:27 > 0:02:30With a big snarl on his face...
0:02:30 > 0:02:32Grrrr!
0:02:32 > 0:02:36He's got big horns coming out of his head and a yellow tongue.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39And you don't want to be too near him
0:02:39 > 0:02:43when he's hungry or he'll gobble you up for his dinner.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46My goodness, he sounds awful!
0:02:46 > 0:02:52'He didn't look like a monster, in fact he didn't look scary at all.'
0:02:52 > 0:02:55Right... Good morning, boys and girls.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57I'm Mr Mackie.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02OK, let's try that once again, shall we?
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Good morning, boys and girls. I'm Mr Mackie.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09ALL: Good morning, Mr Mackie!
0:03:09 > 0:03:14- That's better! This is John, your new classmate.- Hey.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16'I wasn't so sure about John, though.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19'I wasn't sure about him at all.'
0:03:19 > 0:03:22It's going to take me a couple of days to remember all your names
0:03:22 > 0:03:26so be kind to me. But I have a good idea of who you all are
0:03:26 > 0:03:29because of the descriptions Mrs Muir has given to me!
0:03:29 > 0:03:34I think one of the best ways for us all to get to know
0:03:34 > 0:03:39one another is to tell one another about some of our favourite things!
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Now every one of you will take it in turns to get up
0:03:42 > 0:03:45and do your show and tell to the rest of the class.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Now, you could choose a person,
0:03:48 > 0:03:50or a pet...
0:03:50 > 0:03:53or even a place!
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Now, who's got something special they'd like to tell us about?
0:03:58 > 0:04:00How about the rest of you?
0:04:02 > 0:04:04Any ideas?
0:04:05 > 0:04:07No?
0:04:07 > 0:04:10OK, John. what would you like to tell us about?
0:04:10 > 0:04:13The big ginormous place I come from!
0:04:13 > 0:04:15That's a great idea!
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Now, what about...you?
0:04:18 > 0:04:21What's your favourite thing?
0:04:21 > 0:04:23'I couldn't think of anything to talk about.'
0:04:23 > 0:04:29All right, um... what's the one thing you couldn't do without?
0:04:29 > 0:04:32My wellies.
0:04:32 > 0:04:33Excellent answer!
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Don't worry. You don't have to make your minds up just yet.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40Have a wee think and over the next couple of days we'll all take it
0:04:40 > 0:04:45in turns to tell each other the things we think are really special.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47All right?
0:04:50 > 0:04:53- Here you go.- Is the postcard for your talk, Agnes?
0:04:53 > 0:04:58Yep. And I'm going to play my fiddle
0:04:58 > 0:05:01and sing a song about all the animals on my farm!
0:05:01 > 0:05:06- And what's your favourite thing, John?- The place I come from.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10That's nice, is it very special?
0:05:10 > 0:05:12It is, it's the best!
0:05:12 > 0:05:17- There's a brand-new cinema with lots of screens!- Wow!
0:05:17 > 0:05:21And a shopping centre and an ice skating rink and everything!
0:05:21 > 0:05:24That sounds great! And how about you, Katie Morag?
0:05:24 > 0:05:28- What'll you be talking about? - It won't be my wellies!
0:05:28 > 0:05:32- You could talk about Struay!- Struay? There can't be much to talk about.
0:05:32 > 0:05:37There's TONNES to talk about. I could talk about it all day!
0:05:37 > 0:05:41In fact, that's exactly what I'm going to do!
0:05:45 > 0:05:49- He's right, Struay IS boring! - Nonsense!
0:05:49 > 0:05:53We don't even have a cinema with one screen, or a shopping centre,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57- or anything!- Well, let's think.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01We've got the Teller of Tall Tales standing stones...
0:06:01 > 0:06:04- They're quite interesting. - And the Wild Goat place!
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Silly stones, stupid goats!
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Maybe I SHOULD just talk about wellies..!
0:06:15 > 0:06:18There's a train station, double decker buses,
0:06:18 > 0:06:22and hundreds of shops that you could buy absolutely anything you wanted.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25There's an ice-skating rink, and there's a swimming pool,
0:06:25 > 0:06:29and loads of restaurants that you can go to any time of the day.
0:06:29 > 0:06:30In my old school, there was
0:06:30 > 0:06:34probably the size of the whole island of Struay in one class,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38but the best thing of all is the cinema. Seven screens!
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Seven screens...?!
0:06:40 > 0:06:43And you can even watch movies in 3D!
0:06:43 > 0:06:45And that, ladies and gentlemen,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48is Inverness - the place I come from.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51And the best place to live in the entire world.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Seven screens...? Why would you need seven screens?
0:07:02 > 0:07:05You've only got one pair of eyes!
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Screwdriver...
0:07:09 > 0:07:11And there's hundreds of shops!
0:07:11 > 0:07:14There's all I need in Struay Shop.
0:07:14 > 0:07:15Washer.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23It's just that Struay's soooo boooring!
0:07:23 > 0:07:26- Says who?!- John.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Well, John doesn't know what he's talking about.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32There's plenty of amazing things on Struay.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34You just need to know where to look.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42That's it.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46You come with me...and I'll show you.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Well now, Katie Morag...
0:07:49 > 0:07:52What was in the incubator last time we looked?
0:07:52 > 0:08:00- Eggs.- That's right. Just boring old eggs on boring old Struay.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Right... Take a look at this!
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Awww..!
0:08:05 > 0:08:07CHICKS CHEEP
0:08:10 > 0:08:12Do you want to lift one out?
0:08:20 > 0:08:22It's like Granma Mainland's powder puff!
0:08:22 > 0:08:23It is indeed!
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Pop it in there again.
0:08:29 > 0:08:30Well, where are we?
0:08:31 > 0:08:33On the beach!
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Wrong! We're at the Struay Zoo!
0:08:36 > 0:08:38We don't have a zoo!
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Well, what's that over there?
0:08:41 > 0:08:43It's a...um, gannet.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45That's right!
0:08:45 > 0:08:50Now, a gannet flies way up in the sky, almost as high as the clouds,
0:08:50 > 0:08:55then they turn back and dive down into the water like a rocket!
0:08:55 > 0:08:59Wham! And they hit the water at very nearly 100mph.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Wow! Really?!
0:09:01 > 0:09:06And that's so that they can dive right down, really deep,
0:09:06 > 0:09:07and catch more fish!
0:09:07 > 0:09:10- What's that over there? - It's a seal.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14A seal! Did you know, the seal has super-powers!
0:09:14 > 0:09:18They can hold their breath underwater for ten whole minutes!
0:09:18 > 0:09:20That's impossible!
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Not for a seal, it's not!
0:09:22 > 0:09:24What's that?!
0:09:24 > 0:09:26Otter!
0:09:26 > 0:09:28They're amazing beasts!
0:09:28 > 0:09:31You know, they float in the water on their backs
0:09:31 > 0:09:33and eat their dinner right off their tummies!
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Wow!
0:09:35 > 0:09:37I've watched them doing it.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40Oh, Katie Morag,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42look at this!
0:09:42 > 0:09:45What's this?
0:09:45 > 0:09:47A bean! Oh, look!
0:09:47 > 0:09:51That's a seed from a giant tree that's far, far away,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54along a huge river called the Amazon.
0:09:54 > 0:09:55Wow!
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Probably took a whole year before it reached us.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04'Grannie Island told me all the secrets of the sea-bean,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07'and how to polish it so it shone just like a jewel.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10'And by the time she'd finished,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13'we'd reached the very top of Ben Bog.'
0:10:13 > 0:10:14Well, now, Katie Morag...
0:10:14 > 0:10:18When you were talking about the cinema in Inverness,
0:10:18 > 0:10:20I thought of this place.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23The thing is, we only have the one screen here,
0:10:23 > 0:10:28but it's the biggest screen you could ever imagine!
0:10:31 > 0:10:32Is that the evening star?
0:10:32 > 0:10:34Do you know the proper name for it?
0:10:34 > 0:10:39I do! And it's not even a star! It's Planet Venus!
0:10:39 > 0:10:45That's right! And all in genuine 3D technicolor!
0:10:45 > 0:10:48I can see the stars coming out!
0:10:48 > 0:10:50That's it!
0:10:50 > 0:10:51So bright!
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Well, that's because we've no street lighting here, Katie Morag.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58If we were in the city, there would be too much light for us
0:10:58 > 0:11:01- to see the stars properly! - That's sad.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Aye. But they DO have double-decker buses!
0:11:04 > 0:11:06SHE LAUGHS
0:11:08 > 0:11:12I would like to tell you about the Isle of Struay.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16'And so I ended up talking about Struay after all!
0:11:16 > 0:11:20'I said we didn't have buses or lots of shops,
0:11:20 > 0:11:24'but we did have fluffy chicks that look like powder puffs!
0:11:24 > 0:11:29'And gannets that dive like rockets, seals that hold their breath,
0:11:29 > 0:11:31'and otters who float on their back
0:11:31 > 0:11:33'and eat their dinner off their tummies!
0:11:33 > 0:11:35'And we didn't have a cinema,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39'but we did have our own 3D screen with all our stars
0:11:39 > 0:11:41'and planets in the sky!'
0:11:41 > 0:11:44But the best thing I found was a treasure.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48And I found it with Grannie Island on the beach.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51It comes from the River Amazon.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54It would've taken about a year to get here.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- Wow!- What is it..?!
0:12:05 > 0:12:09It's a sea-bean from the River Amazon!
0:12:09 > 0:12:11It's just like a jewel.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13'The class couldn't believe it when I told them
0:12:13 > 0:12:15'the story of this particular sea-bean...
0:12:15 > 0:12:19'Though I must admit, I added a bit of my own imagination.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23'I told them how it had floated miles and miles across the ocean
0:12:23 > 0:12:26'and about all the dangers it faced on the way!
0:12:26 > 0:12:29'An entire year, it had to fight off sharks
0:12:29 > 0:12:33'and giant octopuses, and how every time it got near the beach,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36'a great big wave would throw it out to sea again.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40'Finally it made it onto the beach, right here on Struay,
0:12:40 > 0:12:45'and waited till we found it - me and my Grannie Island.'
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Goodness, goodness, my goodness, Katie Morag!
0:12:48 > 0:12:52What a beautiful object. And what a remarkable story!
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Tell me, what are you going to do with the sea-bean now?
0:12:56 > 0:13:00I'm going to give it for a present to someone who doesn't have one.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15Welcome to Struay, John. I hope you like it here.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Thank you!
0:13:21 > 0:13:26'We looked for sea-beans every time we went to the beach after that,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28'but we didn't find another one.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32'We didn't mind, though - we found lots of other things instead!
0:13:32 > 0:13:37'Like shiny pieces of glass, or funny bits of wood.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40'But mostly we found how easy it is to make friends with someone,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44'even if you come from different places.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49'My Grannie Island lives across the bay
0:13:49 > 0:13:52'and we have a special torch signal.'
0:13:52 > 0:13:54(Goodnight, Grannie Island.)
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd