Flora's Flute Old Jack's Boat

And good day to you!

# This is the place to be

# For Salty Dog and me

# Down by the harbour, we'll be there

# Round every corner, there's something to share

# Give us a cheer Our friends are here

# Just Salty Dog and me. #

Ha-ha, come on, Salty!

# This is the place to meet

# Down at the end of the street

# Seagulls flying up in the blue

# There's always a cup of tea waiting for you

# Out in the Sun, having some fun

# Just Salty Dog and me

# Haul away, haul away

# Sing the song of the sea

# Hoist the sail, I'll tell you a tale

# Of Salty Dog and me

# This is the place to go

# And these are the people we know

# The village is busy with things to see

# And there's the Rainbow down by the quay

# They're stories to tell, join us as well

-# Just Salty Dog and me. #

-MOBILE PHONE RINGS

JACK HUMS

Ha-ha! Hello!

Hello, Jack! Hello, Salty!

Captain Periwinkle, what have you there?

Ice-cream machine, one of Emily's.

I borrowed it while she was in the sweet shop,

but it's not working properly.

-Sam's trying to...

-Fix it!

-What's the...

-Time?

-No, no, what's the...

-Flavour?

-Rasberry Ripple, I think!

No, what's the problem with the machine?

Ah, well, every time I pull this lever... Oh!

-Yeah.

-..that happens.

-Well, I suggest you don't pull it, then!

-That's what I said!

-Have you tried...

-Hammering it?

-No.

-Screwing it?

-No!

-Pulling the lever again?

No! Not again!

Have you tried asking Emily to help?

It's her machine and there's nothing she doesn't know about ice cream.

What a good idea, Jack! We'll do that, Sam.

With you all the way, Captain P!

We'll leave them to it, then. Good luck, you two.

-See you later, Jack! Here you go, Sam.

-Thanks!

There she is! The Rainbow!

Well, what have you got for us today, my dear?

Heh-heh!

Come on, Salty!

Here we are.

There you go, Salty, in your basket.

Good girl, that's it.

You know, girl, that funny old ice-cream maker

needs somebody with a magic touch, I think. Oh, dear!

Now, do you remember when we met someone with a magic touch?

Do you, Salty? Little Flora?

Yes, let me get comfortable,

and I'll tell you the magical story of Flora's flute.

This will make your whiskers whiffle.

Once upon a twinkly time, the Rainbow set off from Staithes,

waved goodbye to Whitby and disappeared over the horizon.

Salty wasn't feeling her usual Salty self that day.

She was in an iffy-offy mood, so I sang her a song.

# Just Salty Dog and me

# Upon the briny sea

# All we've got is the day to share

# Let's mosey together to who knows where

# I'll bob for a while and make Salty smile

# Just Salty Dog and me. #

We'd set sail for the horizon and almost reached it when...

"Blargh! "Brumm!"

..the Rainbow let out a big billowing cloud of black smoke

and that was followed by a "Chug!" and a "Clunk!"

and a bit of the Rainbow's pipework fell off.

"Oh, not you as well, Rainbow," I said, trying to fit it back.

You know, the perfect way to cheer these iffy-offy moods

is a visit to Moonstone Park.

Moonstone Park is one of our favourite underwater places.

If you need a spring in your step, that's the place to get it.

It tickles Salty's whiskers with all the sniffs to sniff.

But, best of all, is that Moonstone Park

is where Flora Flowertail lives.

Now, she plays the flute and makes Salty's ears twitch

and her tail twirl.

"We haven't seen Flora for a while, have we, girl?" I said,

as we dropped anchor and headed below.

The park was bursting with beds of sea flowers

-sprouting from carpets of green.

Salty dashed around faster than her feet could carry her!

And then, suddenly, I heard a frilly, trilly flutey sound.

It was Flora. I followed the music and there she was,

a honey-coloured fish, playing a flute.

Salty's ears twitched and her tail started twirling.

There were lots of fish listening, as well.

"Bravo!" we all cheered, when Flora had finished.

"When we grow up, can we play the flute?" cried the cod twins.

"Flora's fantastic! She is a very special little fish."

"Oh, I'm not that special," Flora blushed. "It's my flute."

"It was given to me by a Moon Maiden

"and I'm sure it's the Moon Magic that makes it sound so beautiful."

"A Moon Maiden?" I said.

"We've met one of those, haven't we, Salty?

"It must be very precious treasure indeed."

And, with that, my words were caught by a bubble

and floated off to the other side of the park.

And who do you think heard them? Uh-huh!

Kitty Cutlass!

"Did someone say treasure?" she said.

And her piratey eye peered at Flora's flute

through her telescope.

She was dazzled by the flute's glimmering shimmer

and its Moon Magicy sound put her in a giddy mood.

And, without a care for Flora or the fish that listen to her,

Kitty thought, "I want that flute all to myself!"

We'd no idea that Kitty was planning tricksy-tricks and devious deeds

until Salty spotted her hand

creeping out from a bushy bit of seaweed.

She was holding a long sucker plant. It was heading for Flora's flute.

"Look out!" Salty woofed.

But with a slurp, the flute was sucked from Flora's fins.

"It's mine!" cried Kitty, and she disappeared with the flute

out of the park, back on board the Hurly Burly.

Her ship caught a gust and she whooshed away.

"Follow that pirate!" I shouted.

"OK, jump on board," cried Donnie the Dolphin

and, before you could say 'tizzely-squids',

he dashed us back to the Rainbow.

I fired up the boiler and we gave chase.

The Rainbow can be a fast little boat,

so it didn't take long for us to catch up with the Hurly Burly.

Salty spotted the flute on deck.

It was looking a little less glimmery and shimmery than before.

"Give us back that flute, Kitty," I cried.

"It's for everyone to enjoy!"

Kitty scoffed, "I want it!"

And with that, she put the flute to her lips and blew.

THE FLUTE HONKS

Out came a honking, swonking noise. Blaargh!

Salty put her paws over her ears.

The flute wasn't making the frilly, flutey sound we were used to.

"This doesn't sound like treasure," Kitty said.

"What a load of old rubbish!"

She tossed the flute over her shoulder.

It bounced off the Hurly Burly's rigging,

snapping a rope and sending the mast crashing down to the deck. Boom!

Right on the engine!

"My lovely ship!" cried Kitty.

The flute, meanwhile, flew up, in the air towards the Rainbow.

"Catch it!" I cried, as Salty stretched out her paws.

Now, paws aren't very good for holding flutes

and Salty couldn't hold it.

With a little wiggle, the flute slipped out of her grip

and, sploosh, dropped right under the water.

Salty dived in, her belly full of brave butterflies.

I watched her paddle down and down, but with a gulping bubble,

the flute was swallowed up by the sand on the seabed

and was lost forever.

"That useless flute has broken my ship," Kitty moaned.

And she got out her paddles and started to row all the way home.

"Serves you right!" I said,

as a sad, bedraggled Salty climbed back aboard.

We headed off to give Flora the terrible news.

Now, all these adventures had put Salty and the Rainbow

back in that iffy-offy mood.

"Chug, clunk," went the Rainbow,

as a bit of her pipework fell off again.

"I'm sorry, Flora," I said, when we were back in the Moonstone Park.

"Thank you for trying," she said,

and her petally fins just drooped a bit.

"I wish I could listen to you play your flute again,"

the cod twins cried.

"Maybe you could tootle the Rainbow's whistle

"to cheer us up a bit, Jack!"

And, with that, Salty's whiskers started whiffling.

She was having one of her bright ideas!

She bounded back to the Rainbow

and returned in a flash with that fallen-offy bit of pipe.

She cleaned it up, made it nice and shiny,

and handed it to Flora.

"Give it a toot!" I cried.

"But I need a Moon Magic flute to make a nice noise," Flora said.

"I'm no good without it. I'm just not that special."

"Try it," we said.

So, Flora tried it

and out floated a frilly, trilly, flutey sound.

The pipe started to glimmer and shimmer like moonlight.

You see, Salty knew it wasn't the flute that was magic,

it was Flora's playing.

Moon Maidens only give gifts to very special little fish

and looking at the smiles that Flora gave everyone,

it was clear that she was a very special little fish indeed.

"Thank you," Flora fluttered.

"Toot-toot!" the Rainbow tooted.

We left everyone listening to Flora's magical music.

Night had fallen when we set off, so with a moonlit path leading our way,

we headed back to Staithes and home.

Flora's music was absolutely lovely.

If you close your eyes, you can still hear it.

Did you like that story, Salty?

All true, of course.

Mind you, my stories always are.

Come on, girl.

Heh-heh, here we go!

Emily's come to fix the ice-cream machine!

-Hello, Jack!

-Nice to see you, Jack. Have you come for some ice cream?

Yes, I have. How's the fix-it job coming along?

There's a bit of a pickle. Every time Sam goes to pull it...

ALL: Don't pull it!

-I don't think I have any clean towels left!

-Oh!

I don't know what you're all moaning about.

How did you do that? Let's have a look!

-Oh, not again!

-Oh, dear!

I don't know how you do it!

It's a gift!

-Emily, you can stick to serving the ice creams from now on.

-I will!

And speaking of serving ice cream, could we be having some, please?

Well, Salty, that's it for today.

We'll see all our friends again next time.

Oh, and we'll see you next time, as well! Bye-bye!

Come on, girl.