by s fowler
Tom, Sam and Will lived in a large rambling house situated in the midst of an unkempt garden through which ran a bubbling and rapidly flowing stream.
One night Sam was woken by a tapping on his bedroom window. He peered outside to see an owl perched on the window sill. On opening the window the owl appeared agitated and explained to Sam that he needed his help urgently. Sam called his brothers, Tom and Will, and they all put on their outdoor clothes over their pyjamas, crept downstairs to the rear lobby, pulled on their wellington boots and slipped out the back door to follow the owl. Swooping over a large rhododendron bush the owl pointed with his beak to something hidden behind: a raft and three paddles.
The owl directed them to the stream and they all set off on the raft with the owl at the helm, flapping its wings and hooting in owl language, hurry, hurry! The raft floated easily on the stream’s bubbling current and the boys guided it around the bends with their paddles. They turned left at the end of the vegetable garden and swung round to face the low bridge where the walnut tree overhung. As they ducked safely under the bridge the boys noticed the owl take off with a great flapping of its wings and narrowly avoiding the tree’s extended branches. Along they went, passing the alms houses where the stream began to widen, passing the row of cottages with their black windows and sleeping occupants, and then diving under the road where it met the roundabout, into a broad channel where they could hear the noise of rushing water of the main town’s river meeting their small waterway.
The owl swooped low to check on their progress and then ascended rapidly with dextrous wing movements to avoid the black silhouettes of the trees and bushes bordering the lakeside. Will was tempted to look upwards to watch the owl but his brothers told him to concentrate on his paddling, their minds solely on the project in hand.
As they rounded a small island their paddling became more intense as the river joining their stream began to take control and carry them more speedily along. The raft seemed to enjoy the buffeting it was receiving from the more exaggerated current and the boys’ balancing act on the raft kept them from tipping off. Tom remarked that the body-boarding they had practised on their holidays in Cornwall must have given them experience in balance and provided great help as the speed of the raft increased. They rushed passed the old boathouse and quay from where the water-skiers entered the lake, until they emerged onto the lake itself with its moon-glistening and softly lapping waves drawing them into the centre.
The owl was now perched on a large wooden post by the side of an island right in the centre of the lake and was beckoning them towards him. They drew into the sandy inlet and Tom reached over to tie the raft to the post before they all gingerly disembarked and stacked their paddles against a tree trunk. The only sounds they could hear were the rustling of leaves in the branches above them and the splashing of the small waves made by their passage across the lake.
The owl proceeded to fly low around the island and the boys followed by small slow steps in the muddy puddles of the shallows and by quicker steps on the firmer, crunchier gravel beach. Then they heard a flapping and squawking. Standing by a low nest made of twigs and grass stood a magnificent swan and around its beak was entangled a plastic four-ringed can holder. The swan’s beady eyes turned to them immediately and it tried to shake its head vigorously to free itself from the plastic. The owl spoke gently to the swan and explained that Tom, Sam and Will were there to help. As Will and Tom knelt down beside the swan, it calmed down and allowed Sam to approach it and carefully release the plastic holder from its neck gradually passing it over its head and beak until it was free.
The swan spoke to the owl in its own language and the owl explained to the children that it was so grateful for their help because it had been unable to feed its young signets which were huddled in the nest. Pleased they could help, the boys returned to the raft to paddle home but the owl directed them further around the island until they reached a hidden entrance by a mulberry tree. The owl insisted that they enter the entrance, and although the brothers felt slightly frightened not knowing where it would lead, they trusted the owl, and found themselves in a dark tunnel lit only by a line of glow-worms crawling along the walls.
After a few minutes they emerged into a small harbour, and leaving the raft, they entered the courtyard of a magnificent castle. All around the walls stood seagulls standing to attention holding red and green tapered feathers. Up a flight of steps leading to the entrance, they were greeted by a fine looking mallard, with its vivid glossy green feathers shining in the moonlight. The boys were mesmerised by their experience as they entered a large oval door into a cave of enormous capacity. At one end stood a throne made of willow boughs on which a golden eagle sat dressed in an elaborately adorned cloak of multi-coloured feathers.
The owl bowed low before the throne and the boys followed suit until the eagle addressed them with a welcome speech in eagle language which the owl translated. They were told that here was the King of the Lake and he was so pleased with their kind action to save the swan and her signets that he wanted to thank them personally. Tom, Sam and Will were amazed at the attention they had received and bowed again before retreating from the castle throne room.
Climbing back onto the raft, the owl led them back through the tunnel, and across the lake until they joined the town’s river upon which they were rapidly borne along until they met their own stream. By this time they were very tired and their paddling was becoming erratic but the owl encouraged them to continue, under the roundabout, passed the cottages and alms houses, and nearly forgetting to duck under the low bridge, before entering their very own garden.
The owl gave a few hoots before disappearing up into the night sky as the three brothers hid the raft behind the bush and crept wearily back into the house and into bed.
