Little Boats 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 rockpools,

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 rockpool creatures there It's amazing what you see

# Looking back when I was a boy

# Shrimps and starfish Crabs and snails

# In twinkly Rockpool Tales

Ha-ha! # Those lovely Rockpool Tales. #

Oh, hello.

Salty and I have just got back from a lovely walk,

and I've just washed her very muddy paws.

HE LAUGHS There we are.

You know, Salty likes to watch her boat

bobbing around on the water.

Look at that. Hey-hey!

There you are, girl.

Do you know, this boat once belonged

to Little Sailor Sue?

Yeah.

Here, let me 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.

And one day, we were waiting for the tide to go out

so we could play by the rockpools.

Now, to pass the time, Little Sailor Sue was digging

a big hole in the sand to sail her new toy boat.

She was digging, filling up her bucket from the sea,

and bringing it back to pour it in.

Blip! Blop! Blip! Blop!

But as fast as Sue could put the water in,

it just disappeared into the sand.

Oh, no! The water's going away.

But she wasn't for giving up. Oh, no.

I'm going to stay here.

So, Ernie and I decided to head to the rockpools.

And when we arrived, we gazed deep down

into the glittery waters.

A magical world appeared before our eyes.

This morning, it was peaceful

and quiet in the rockpool.

Reginald the Great Wise Limpet, sat on his rock

and gazed at the boats far out to sea.

Sally the Starfish and Andrew the Anemone

bobbed up to the surface to visit Reginald.

"I'd be sad if I was sat on a rock all day

"with nothing to do," said Sally.

Now, Reginald actually rather enjoyed his life on the rock.

He sat there because that's what limpets do,

they stick themselves to rocks when the tide goes out.

And what Reginald liked was the peace and quiet,

listening to the sounds of the seaside.

In fact, he was a very happy limpet -

not sad at all.

"We need to do something to cheer Reginald up," said Sally.

Andrew thought...

"I know, Reginald likes boats,

"so let's have a boat race for him."

"Oh, yes," said Sally. "He'd love that."

Reginald overheard them.

"Actually," he said,

"I'm quite happy just sitting here

"in the peace and quiet."

But Sally and Andrew, they were already gone.

They'd scuttled across the rocks to see what the tide had washed up

on the shore. And they found some old scraps of cloth,

some sticks, and driftwood.

"We can build boats with this!" Sally said.

"How?" asked Andrew.

"Well, driftwood floats, so that can be the boat.

"And the cloth can be the sails."

So, the two friends set to work...

Bash! Bash! Bash! Bash! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Reginald tried to close his eyes, but his lovely,

peaceful rockpool wasn't very peaceful

or quiet any more.

Bash! Bash! Boom! Bang! Bing! Bom! Bom!

-Woof!

-Yeah, what a lot of noise, wasn't it, Salty?

Anyway, finally, after a lot of hard work,

the two little friends finished their boats.

"Let's race!" cried Andrew.

"You can start the race, Reginald!" shouted Sally.

"First one to that piece of seaweed on the other side

"of the rockpool wins!" shouted Andrew.

"Go," sighed Reginald.

But nothing happened.

What do you think was wrong, Salty? Hmm?

That's right, girl, yes - there wasn't any wind to fill the sails.

Without wind, the little boats weren't going anywhere.

"Don't worry," said Sally. "I'll get Belinda, she can help."

Sally shouted out as loud as she could,

"BELINDA!"

Belinda the Blenny popped her head out of the water.

"Did you want me?"

Sally explained that they were cheering up Reginald

by racing boats, but there wasn't any wind for the sails.

"Oh, no problem, I'll be the wind," laughed Belinda,

and she took a deep breath.

And then she blew as hard as she could at the little boats.

SHE BLOWS

The sails fluttered briefly, but the little boats didn't move.

"Bother!" said Andrew. "Belinda's not got enough puff."

And with a splash, he dived into the water

in search of more rockpoolers.

Sally looked over at Reginald.

"Not long now," she shouted.

"You'll be fun having soon."

"Marvellous," said Reginald, patiently.

Just then Andrew popped up

with Buster the Crab, Sidney the Snail and Bertrum the Butterfish.

"I've brought some friends to blow our boats

"across the rockpool," he smiled.

They all took a deep, deep breath,

and they blew as hard as they could...

HE BLOWS

..and the sails of the little boats filled up,

and the boats started to move.

But then, they stopped again.

Sally couldn't understand.

"What's wrong?" she said to Andrew.

"I don't know," said Andrew.

"You still don't have enough puff

"to make the boats move," panted Bertram.

"So, we need the biggest, puffiest friend that we know," said Andrew.

"Bluey the whale!

"BLUEY!" he shouted.

"Can I help?" he shouted back.

"YES!" shouted Andrew.

It really was a very shouty day.

"Can you blow our boats across the rockpool?

"We're cheering Reginald up!"

There was an enormous puff of wind.

Bluey had started to blow.

Now, whales are very, very big,

and their puffs are

very, very puffy indeed.

Suddenly, the wind from Bluey's blowing

filled the sails of the little boats, and they shot off.

"Woohoo!" shouted Andrew and Sally.

"Isn't this fun, Reginald?"

"Weeee!" said Andrew.

"Uh-oh," thought Sally

as they went flying up

and splashed and landed right beside Reginald.

Andrew and Sally were laughing,

and they made Reginald laugh, too.

REGINALD LAUGHS

Reginald laughed the biggest, boomiest laugh that Andrew and Sally

had ever heard. "Ho-ho-ho, ho-ho-ho!"

Then, it was all very peaceful

and quiet in the rockpool again.

There was a long pause and Reginald,

he blinked for a moment and then...

Then he smiled. A really, really big smile.

"I have had a marvellous day

"just watching the two of you having fun.

"Why don't you ask Bluey to blow again?

"Only, this time, maybe

"not quite as hard," he chuckled.

So, that's exactly what Bluey did.

The little boats raced on the rockpool

for the rest of the day,

and each of the rockpoolers took a turn.

Oh! It was brilliant fun.

And Reginald sat peacefully and quietly on his rock

and watched the boats,

a very happy old limpet.

Ernie and I had the same idea at the same time.

"Sue!"

We called Sue, and she ran over to join us to play.

-"Why don't you sail your boat in the rockpool?"

-"Good idea."

-Little Sailor Sue's boat set sail...

-All aboard!

..bobbing on the water.

It was perfect, and we played and played

until the tide came in and covered the rockpool

like a great, seaweedy blanket.

Here, Salty,

I know somebody else who likes to play with toy boats.

Right. I'm on my way, here.

HE HUMS

ERNIE LAUGHS

I'm on my way! Ha-ha!

And why don't you join us for some more Rockpool Tales next time?

Goodbye. Come on, girl.

DOG BARKS Let's go and see Ernie. Come on!