Middle Garden Matter

Philip Ridler

Description

This matter is of the utmost importance to the pets and birds who live in the middle garden, the two gardens on either side and the park nearby. So the animals involved have asked me to share it with you, dear reader, in the form of a story for you to judge the rights and wrongs therein. If you are aged from eight to twelve, you are particularly well placed to tune into their adventures and give advice on how they should behave, or not behave, as the case may be. Why did Chirpy the sparrow change his name to Trip? Were Kitta and Motto the cats really cruel? Did Gordonzola the bulldog want to eat a double cat burger? If you were a princess in a sycamore tree, would you act like Prunella the magpie or react like Crowden the crow? Finally, clever reader, I'm sure you like solving puzzles. Well, then, while you're putting your thinking cap on, how about deciding why the subtitle, 'Hobble and Trip', actually perfectly represents the true meaning of this story? Read, solve and enjoy!

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Date de parution: 31 mai 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528953016
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

About the Author
Philip Ridler was born in Birmingham, England, in 1945. From the age of two, he grew up in Oxford and now lives in Banbury, Oxfordshire. He is a retired school teacher, having taught in Birmingham and Iceland. He has also undertaken Christian work in Iceland and has a degree in Icelandic.





Copyright Information
Copyright © Philip Ridler (2019)
The right of Philip Ridler to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781787108691 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781528953016 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2019)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ


Dedication
This story is dedicated to all hobbles and trips everywhere, whether physically, mentally or emotionally challenged in the storms of this life.


Acknowledgements
The author is indebted to Pastor David Cooke and Mark Paine, without whose encouragement and advice this story would never have been written.


1 Gutter’s End

C hirpy was one of five. Sparrows, that is. They held a high position in the neighbourhood, being on the corner of the roof with the best view over the three gardens and across the park. Perched strategically above the middle garden, their nest was called Gutter’s End, a choice residence by any standards and one ideally suited to seeing and being seen, which is very important if you want to keep up with appearances. Chirpy’s parents weren’t snooty or anything like that but they did like to keep abreast of current affairs and maintain their standard of living, to be everything a sparrow should be and a little more besides if the opportunity flew by. Indeed, others thought it upmarket to build their nests as close as possible to Gutter’s End, and there could be a hint of snobbery in the air at times.
Not that Chirpy was interested in such things at his age. He had more pressing concerns like being squashed against the side of the nest by his siblings or vying with them for the juiciest titbits at meal times. He soon learned that if Chirpy stretched his neck a bit higher and squawked a bit louder, the squelchy caterpillar would come his way and would not be lost in the greedy mouths of others. He was not greedy, of course, just his brothers and sisters. Yet his mum and dad seemed to see things differently.
For every now and then, they would chide him with a, “Now! Now! Chirpy! Be a good boy and wait for your turn! Remember, the Big Bird in the Sky is watching you!”
He used to look up into the blue expecting to see a giant sparrow but the brightness of the spring sun made him blink instead.
As Chirpy grew, he became more aware of his surroundings. He looked at his nest mates and they looked at him. Their scrawny bodies were beginning to sprout feathers. He’d been told that three of them were boys and two girls but he couldn’t see any difference from where he was squatting and anyway – he couldn’t count. One thing he knew was that he was a boy. He couldn’t explain what that meant but he knew it to be true. Also, he enjoyed the warmth and company his siblings afforded him even if they did jostle for food and space. He decided he would stay there for the rest of his life. It was the place he was familiar with and it was safe. Mum and dad were there to look after him. The matter was settled.
Sometimes he managed to look out into the big wide world beyond to see what was there. He couldn’t focus on the gardens or the park yet but he noticed one or two nests nearby. There was one at number 40 next door, on the end of a gutter, just like his. In it were some youngsters and he just knew the fledgling with the glint in her eye was a girl. He liked looking at her. She glanced his way and at first he blushed but then found himself addressing her unashamedly.
“Hello! I’m Chirpy!”
“Hi! I’m Shrilla!”
It wasn’t a long conversation but it was all they could manage for now and the essentials were conveyed anyway.
No, life wasn’t bad at Gutter’s End.


2 A Rude Awakening

O ne morning when Chirpy woke up, everything seemed normal, or was it? Both he and the others had been growing fast. Feathers now covered their bodies and they looked quite presentable replicas of their parents, if somewhat smaller. They’d put on weight too and there was little room for manoeuvre in their cramped nest. They had begun to flap their wings about and Chirpy got annoyed with the others for constantly beating him from both sides, even though he forgot he was doing the same to them.
To make matters worse, he found it more difficult to position himself in such a way as to be able to look across at number 40 next door and see how Shrilla was getting on. It gave him a different sort of kick from his brothers and sisters to gaze at her and talk to her but he hardly got a glimpse of her these days.
Why, he thought to himself, hadn’t his parents realised how confined their home now was and made provision with a larger nest? Surely they could afford an extension? Why hadn’t the problem been dealt with?
He didn’t feel chirpy anymore. Neither his siblings crowding in on him, nor his parents, nor the Big Bird in the Sky were contributing to his happiness right now. If they really cared, they’d do something about it. The most important thing was his wellbeing and he’d tell his mum and dad so when they flew back with his next meal, which he hoped would be soon.
So he waited and waited. As he waited, a sense of foreboding crept up on him. He couldn’t explain it but something today was different. In fact something was wrong. He forgot to be annoyed. He became anxious. What was it that daunted him? This was silly. Everything was all right. Any moment now, his mum would fly back with a tasty treat…
“Chirpy! It’s time to go!”
His parents had returned to give him the shock of his life!
“Go? Go where?”
“Go out of the nest, of course! You’re grown up now! Your wings are ready, ready to fly! Now you can fly away and fend for yourself just like mummy and daddy!”
“But I don’t want to!” Chirpy protested, “I want to stay here!”
“Nonsense! You’re a bird! Birds don’t live in their parents’ nest all their lives! They fly, catch their own food and make their own nest. That’s what you must do!”
“How can you be sure I can fly?” he argued back, “I want to stay here, I tell you! Choose one of the others!”
“Now! Now! Chirpy! You’ve always wanted to be first in everything and now you can be the first to fly! The others will follow, you can be sure of that! Now, come on! Hop onto the edge of the nest, take a deep breath, flap your wings like mad and, guess what? You’ll fly away to new adventures!”
They nudged him with their beaks out onto the very rim of safety. His tiny claws gripped like mad on an outer twig. He peeped down into the abyss. He didn’t like what he saw. To scramble back was his only option.
“No you don’t, Chirpy! Come on! Out you go!”
The beaks that fed now prodded him into the mouth of the unknown.
“Please, Mummy! Let me stay!”
“I’m only being cruel to be kind, Chirpy! Now, do as you’re told! Flap your wings and you’ll be all right!”
Chirpy found himself on the edge again. Suddenly his parents gave him a mighty push! He lost his grip. He began to fall. Down, down, down, away from his nest, away from home, away, away and away…
“Flap your wings, Chirpy! Flap your wings!”
As he hurtled down in free fall, the last words of his parents brought him to his senses.
“Yes! Flap wings! Flap my wings!”
He started to flap, flap and flap. His fall began to steady. His dive evened out. Airwaves formed cushions around his body and channelled the direction of his flight. Now he was moving down in slow spirals instead of shooting headlong. He was flying!
“I can fly! I can fly!” he chirped.
Just then, he hit a branch of a tree which seemed to come at him from nowhere. Stunned, he fell to the ground.


3 Middle Garden Menace