Fly Me to the Clouds Old Jack's Boat

Hello there. How are you today?

Salty and I have a tale or two to tell you about this beach

and the rock pools

and all the magical things that have happened here.

# Come with me, we're off to the sea to where I used to play

# Looking back when I was a boy and the fun we had each day

# Over the cobbles and through the streets playing in the sun

# Friends to meet with games and treats

# Adventures just begun

# Stories from a magical world washed in by the sea

# Meet the rock pool creatures there

# It's amazing what you see

# Looking back when I was a boy

# Shrimps and starfish, crabs and snails in twinkly rock pool tales

HE LAUGHS

# Those lovely rock pool tales. #

TOOT!

Oh, hello.

I was just going to give Salty one of her biscuit bones.

Ready? Hey, come on.

Here.

There you are. Look at that.

Yes, Salty, you're the best biscuit-biter on this boat.

You know, I was Jack, the Cloud-Catcher once. Yeah.

Would you like to know how I got that name?

Right, I'll tell you the story.

It all happened when I was a boy in a twinkly time long, long ago.

I used to run down to the beach as often as I could

meeting up with my best friends, Little Ernie and Little Sailor Sue.

One special day a circus came to Staithes

and we got candyfloss as a treat.

When the show was over we ran to the beach talking about all the

magical things we'd seen.

I really liked the juggling.

Sue was wearing a fluffy headband

and she played balancing on the rocks.

I'm Soaring Sue, the tightrope walker.

"And you are Twirly Ernie, the best cup-spinner in Staithes!"

But I couldn't think of a circus name for myself,

so I made my way over to our favourite rock pool.

Sue and Ernie came, too and,

as we settled down and gazed deep into the glittery waters,

a magical world appeared before our eyes.

The rock pool looked more magical than usual on this particular day

because every year the rock pool creatures put on a show...

SALTY WOOFS

Yes, Salty, I know you like a show. So do I.

And every year they had the same audience -

a very enthusiastic family of visiting pipefish.

"Hello, folks, here we are again"

said the longest pipefish excitedly.

The pipefish curled their tails around the seaweed

so they wouldn't float off and they piped with excitement,

"Ooh, aah, ee, we can't wait to see the show!"

Bertram, the butterfish, whizzed up to greet them.

Now he was dressed up as Bertram Butteroli, the showman,

in a sparkly top hat and a matching bow tie.

"Is the show going to start soon?" asked the smallest pipefish.

They piped with excitement -

"Pi-pi-pi! Pa-pa-pa! Pi-pi-pi! Pi-pi-po! Pi-pi-pi-pi!"

"I hope it's even better than last year" said a very stripy pipefish,

bobbing up and down eagerly.

And suddenly, Bertram announced,

"Lady pipefish and gentlemen pipefish,

"little pipefish and stripy pipefish,

"please give your loudest cheer

"for Sally, the ju-u-uggling starfish!"

Sally cartwheeled into the centre of the sandy floor

juggling some of her favourite shells and, as the music got faster,

so did Sally's juggling.

"Wiggly-jiggly, I wish I could do that!" said the littlest pipefish.

"We like your juggling, Sally. It's brilliant"

said the longest pipefish.

"And it was brilliant the last time you did it, too."

"But can you do anything new?" the stripy pipefish piped up.

Well, it just so happened that Sally did have a new juggling trick

which she'd been practising.

The musical rock played a drum roll

as Sally started juggling her shells again.

Then, one by one, she tossed each shell aside so that they made

a magnificent wibbly-wobbly shell tower.

The pipefish cheered, Sally bowed

and then cartwheeled off.

"Next it is Sheena, The Fearless.

"This little shrimp can trapeze with ease" cried Bertram,

as Sheena swung out doing a somersault

and catching the trapeze again just in time.

The pipefish cheered.

"And now for my latest trick.

"You won't have seen this one before!"

Sheena told the pipefish.

Then Sheena twisted herself upwards

in a long frond of trailing seaweed.

Higher and higher she went.

Then suddenly she dropped swiftly like a stone.

The pipefish gasped.

Then, boi-oi-oing!

The seaweed stopped just short of the rock pool floor.

Blump!

The pipefish were ecstatic!

"And last, but not least, it is Andrew,

"the amazingly aerodynamic acrobat!" cried Bertram.

Andrew the anemone appeared and leapt onto his seaweed trampoline.

He started showing off his somersaults and his twists

and he jumped so high that he jumped right out of the rock pool,

did a special spaghetti twist and then splashed right back down again.

"Ah, jiggly-wiggly!" cried the littlest pipefish.

"Your spaghetti twist is just as good as the last time you did it.

"But can you do any new tricks?" asked the stripy pipefish.

SALTY WHIMPERS

Yes, I know, Salty, there is no pleasing some people, is there?

And there's no pleasing some pipefish either.

Andrew hadn't practised any new tricks, but he didn't seem to mind.

"I can do anything," he boasted to the pipefish.

"Can you bounce all the way to the clouds?"

asked the longest pipefish.

"Course I can," said Andrew, "I'll show you."

Yes, I know, Salt, I know.

Being boasty isn't good at all.

Sally was worried about her friend.

"The clouds are a very long way, Andrew.

"I'm not sure anyone can bounce as far as that."

But Andrew was determined.

Boing, boing, boing he bounced

and he bounced, but he couldn't reach the clouds.

He tried again - bo-oi-oi-oi-oi-oing!

And again - boing! But it was no use.

"Oh, I wish I hadn't been so boasty," he thought,

but he decided to try one last time.

Boing! Boing!

Boing!

Up he went and then on the way down, guess what happened.

He brushed past Sue's fluffy headband,

taking some with him.

He landed and the pipefish cheered.

"Look!" cried the pipefish,

"He's been to the clouds and he's brought

"a little slip of cloud back with him."

"Er, yeah, well, um..."

Andrew tried to explain, but the pipefish were too busy cheering.

"Yeah, thank you for the show" said the stripy pipefish.

"Even better than last year!"

I looked down at my candyfloss

and that looked very fluffy, too

and then I thought of a circus name for myself.

I'm Jack, the Cloud-Catcher!

"I'm Jack, the Cloud-Catcher"

I said, holding my candyfloss up as if it were a cloud on a stick.

And off we went back down the beach.

Twirly Ernie spinning his cup.

Soaring Sue balancing on the rocks

and Jack, the Cloud-Catcher, with the cloud on a stick.

And we played for the rest of the day until the tide came in

and covered the rock pool like a great seaweedy blanket.

Ah, Salty, they were magical days back then, they were.

Salty, come here. Come on.

Come on. I've found something behind your ear. Look at that.

You were hiding that, weren't you?

HE LAUGHS

Good girl.

Yes, you can always find a bit of magic if you look, can't you, girl?

You come back soon for some more Rockpool Tales, all right?

Goodbye. It's empty. Sorry.