The Tompot Blenny Old Jack's Boat

# 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 Adventure's 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

# Those lovely rock pool tales. #

Oh! Oh, hello.

Look at this. Look, have you seen that?

Salty found a piece of driftwood washed up from the beach.

Can I have it? Thank you very much.

Yes, there was a lot down there, you know, after that storm last night,

and she's brought it back for me. Isn't she thoughtful?

Thank you very much, Salty.

Not sure what I'm going to do with it though.

Unless... Shall I tell you a story about a piece of driftwood?

WOOF!

I'll do that.

It all happened when I was a boy,

in a twinkly time, long, long ago.

In those days,

I used to run down to play on the beach as often as I could,

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

We'd all found pieces of driftwood.

I found a couple of long pieces that looked like swords.

"We could be pirates," I said to Sue. She laughed.

"Ha-hargh!" she roared, grabbing her sword, and we dashed off

to play a game of Pirate Chase.

Ernie came dashing after us, "What about me?" he shouted.

"I'm the bestest, scariest, fighty-est pirate in the world!"

And he waved his driftwood sword at us.

But it was tiny, not much more than a twig!

Ernie sighed.

"Actually, I don't think I can be the bestest, scariest, fighty-est

pirate in the world with this," he said.

"Come on," said Sue, "let's find you another one.

"There's bound to be lots of driftwood by the rockpools."

So, we dashed off.

When we arrived, out of breath, Ernie hunted for driftwood

and we found ourselves looking into a lovely rock pool.

We gazed deep down into the glittery waters...

And there, a magical world appeared before our eyes.

One morning, after a very angry storm,

the rock pool was looking a bit strange.

There were pieces of driftwood, mud, seaweed

and broken shells all tangled up together.

What was even stranger was the water in the rock pool was going very,

very slowly down.

It was as if the rock pool had sprung a leak.

Meanwhile, Sally the starfish and Andrew the anemone were

exploring their strange, new, messy world.

Sally looked around her in wonder.

"There are bits of mud floating in the water and look

"at all the broken sticks."

Andrew bounced along behind her.

"The storm must have washed them in from the big world outside," he said.

Look, said Sally suddenly.

They had reached a deep, dark corner of the rock pool

that the rockpoolers called The Big Plug.

This was because there was a large ancient stone jammed tight into a

hole and the hole opened up into a long tunnel that led to the sea.

If the stone was moved, it would be like taking a plug out of a bath.

All the water in the rock pool would, whoosh, drain away.

That was why Sally was worried. The ancient stone had moved.

"It must have been the swishing and swooshing in the storm," she said.

WOOF! Yes, yes, Salty, yes.

The rock pool really had sprung a leak.

"We need to tell somebody," said Andrew. "If the water drains

from the rock pool, we won't have a home."

There was only one person to see in a crisis,

Reginald, the great wise limpet.

But before they could dash off, they heard a strange voice.

"Hello!"

It was from a very long and odd-looking fish.

"I'm Morris, I'm a Tompot Blenny. I think I've been washed

"into your rock pool. It's a nice example of a rock pool.

"I expect there are lots of interesting things to study here."

He was a very chatty fish.

Although she was in a rush, Sally introduced herself and Andrew.

"Oh, pleased to meet you," said Morris.

"I'm not from around these parts. I'm not even an East Coast fish.

"The West coast is where I live, mainly.

"I'm also an occasional visitor to Portugal."

Sally didn't know what an East Coast or West Coast, or a Portugal, was.

"Oh, well, that's all very interesting," said Sally,

"But I'm off to see Reginald. There's a big problem to sort out."

"Oh, can I help?" said Morris, "We Tompot Blennies are very helpful.

"We know all sorts of things, I think it's because we're inquisitive."

He really was very chatty, Salty.

"Well," said Sally, interrupting him, "Perhaps you could

"go and ask Bertram the Butterfish to join us?"

"We might need his help too. He lives in the Rocky Ridge, over there."

So, Morris dashed off to look for Bertram,

and Sally and Andrew swam up through all the drifting wood to the

surface of the rock pool.

When they got there, a sad sight greeted them.

The water in the rock pool was draining away fast

and Reginald was way above them, stuck to his rock.

They called to him, "Reginald!"

But he couldn't hear them.

They were too far away.

"What are we going to do?" said Sally.

"We'll have to hope Bertram can help us," said Andrew.

Now, Bertram had been tidying up his little home after the storm.

He'd made a rather spiffy door for its entrance out of driftwood.

It fitted perfectly.

"Lovely," smiled Bertram.

But, at that moment, bash!

The door went flying off its hinges and the huge face of Morris appeared.

"Hello, I'm Morris. I'm a Tompot Blenny.

What a lovely tiny home. I'm interested in the way creatures

"set up their homes. I'm a very inquisitive fish."

Bertram looked at the large piece of driftwood lying on his floor.

"My door," he said.

"Looks like it was once part of a barrel," said Bertram's visitor.

"They have a lot of barrels in Portugal, you know."

Bertram had no idea what Portugal was,

or what Morris was going on about.

Just then, Sally arrived. She popped her little head through the hole.

"Bertram," she cried, "come quickly."

"It's The Big Plug, it's come out.

"What?!" cried Bertram, his hat rising above his head.

He turned to Morris, "Why didn't you say?"

But before Morris could explain that he was about to,

but he was a very chatty fish, Bertram whizzed past him

and the little rockpoolers all dashed over to The Big Plug.

When they arrived, Bertram pushed his nose against the rock to try

and roll it over the hole, but it was stuck fast.

"Argh! Help me!" he spluttered.

Sally and Andrew helped to push as hard as they could,

but that stone would not budge.

Not a bit.

"It's too heavy. We'll never get The Big Plug back in," wailed Sally.

Then they heard a familiar voice - it was Morris.

"You need a lever," he said.

Bertram stopped pushing and said, crossly, "The last thing we need

"at the moment is a chatty fish and you are a very chatty fish."

"What's a lever?" asked Sally.

Morris carried on, chattily.

"It's a long piece of wood or metal, or maybe some other material,

"but it needs to be strong."

"But what do you do with it?" asked Andrew, a little impatiently.

"Oh," said Morris, "you put it under a heavy object and push down on it.

"Levers can help you move things."

Well, that was the only idea they had and the water in the rock pool

was disappearing fast,

so the rockpoolers and Morris worked together.

They found a long, strong piece of driftwood

and jammed it under the rock,

then they all pushed down with a mighty heave.

And slowly,

slowly,

slowly, the rock started to move.

And finally, with a grinding, grating, cr-blop,

it rolled back into place, plugging up the hole.

"Oh, we've done it!" cried Sally. "The lever worked," laughed Andrew.

Even Bertram had to admit that Morris knew what he was talking about.

"Well," said Morris, "we Tompot Blennies are very inquisitive fish.

"Because we ask lots of questions, we know the answers to lots of things."

And he chattered and chattered

to the little rockpoolers for the rest of the day.

He really was a very chatty fish, Salty. He was indeed.

And, when the tide came back in,

as it always does, it filled up the rock pool again.

Morris, the Tompot Blenny,

said a fond farewell and he swam back to the West Coast

and on to Portugal.

But he promised to visit them again, as soon as possible,

for another chat.

When we looked up from the rock pool, Ernie was nearby.

I called over to him,

"Have you found any driftwood, to make a sword yet?"

"Oh, yes, look," said Ernie, proudly.

And he held up a dripping piece of driftwood he'd just scooped up.

He swished it in front of him proudly, "Isn't it great?"

"Swoosh!"

With a snap, it fell apart in his hands

and he was left holding a tiny twig.

It was just like the one he had before!

Ernie's face fell. We couldn't help laughing.

"I don't think I'll be able to play pirates today," said Ernie.

"Of course you can," said Sue. "Here, you can borrow mine.

"We'll take turns."

Well, we all thought this was a great plan.

Ernie threw away his twig and off we went.

And then we played and played,

until the tide started to come in

and covered the rock pool like a great seaweedy blanket.

Well, Salty, are we going to visit the West Coast, or the East Coast,

or even Portugal?

Or shall we go to the Mermaid Cafe for a cup of tea

and a nice bit of cake? What do you think?

That's what we'll do then, yes.

So, why don't you join us for some more rock pool tales next time?

Goodbye. Come on, then.

You can have a bit of cake as well.