Daisy Dawson at the Beach

by Steve Voake

  Chapter 1 Summer Vacation

  Chapter 2 Morning Visitors

  Chapter 3 Rabsy and Raberta

  Chapter 4 Dancing with Pinchy

  Chapter 5 Dolphin in Danger

  Chapter 6 Rescuing Rabbits

  Chapter 7 Raindrops and Rainbows

  It was the last day of school, and Daisy was saying good-bye to the class gerbils, Burble and Furball.

  “Can we stay with you for the summer?” asked Furball. “We could invite the squirrels over for a sleepover and watch movies about gerbils who save the world.”

  “Sorry,” said Daisy. “I’m going on vacation tomorrow, so Abigail’s going to look after you.”

  “Does she have any movies about gerbils saving the world?” asked Burble.

  “I don’t think so,” said Daisy, “but she does have popcorn.”

  “Ooh,” said Furball. “I like her already.”

  “It doesn’t take much to make him happy,” said Burble. She waved at Daisy through the bars. “Have a great summer, Daisy D!”

  “You, too!” said Daisy.

  As she walked home, she noticed Trixie the cat sneaking through the long grass toward Flapperton, a sparrow. Daisy had made friends with Flapperton only that morning when she had given him some of her pancake.

  “Hey, Trixie!” she called as loudly as she could. “What are you up to?”

  As Flapperton squawked and flew up into the trees, Trixie stared at Daisy with cool green eyes.

  “Thanks a bunch, Daisy,” she said. “How would you like it if I scared your dinner away?”

  Daisy smiled sweetly. “You’re welcome to try,” she said, “but I don’t think peanut-butter sandwiches scare easily.”

  “You didn’t upset her, did you?” chuckled Boom the dog as Trixie slunk away again into the long grass. “I really hate it when cats get upset.” He put his paws on the fence and rested his chin on the warm wood. “How was school?”

  “Finished for the summer,” said Daisy. “Which means now I can go swimming every day!”

  “Swimming!” echoed a voice from somewhere in the old oak tree.

  There was a loud splash, and Daisy turned to see a small squirrel climb out of the water trough. As he shook himself and waved, another squirrel belly flopped into the water behind him.

  “Splashdown!” shouted the first squirrel, clapping his paws together. “The squirrel has landed!”

  “Hazel and Conker!” cried Daisy as Hazel swam to the side and tumbled out onto the grass.

  “Hello, Daisy,” said Conker, squeezing the water out of his tail. “Want to go for a swim?”

  “Thanks for the offer,” said Daisy, “but I think I’ll wait until I get to the seashore.”

  “Seashore?” said Hazel, drying herself with a leaf. “What’s a seashore?”

  “You know,” said Conker. “That thing in the park that goes up and down.”

  “The sun?” said Hazel.

  “I think he means a see saw,” said Daisy.

  “That’s it,” said Conker. “I’ve always wanted to go on one.”

  “I’m talking about the sea shore,” explained Daisy patiently. Conker looked confused. “It’s also called a beach,” she added helpfully. “It’s a place with water and boats and ice cream.”

  “Is it very scary at the beach?” asked Hazel.

  “No, it’s great,” said Daisy. “Why?”

  “Because you said it makes you scream.”

  “Huh?” said Conker.

  “You said ‘It’s a place with lots of boats and water and I scream.’”

  “No, not ‘I scream,’” said Daisy. “Ice cream.”

  “I know. That’s what I said.”

  Daisy shook her head. “No, ice cream. You know when the water trough freezes over in winter?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Well, it’s a little like that.”

  “Can you skate on it?”

  “Not really. You sort of … eat it.”

  “Wow,” said Conker. “This beach place is nuts.” He stared at Daisy for a moment and then asked, “Where’s that funny thing you put all your stuff in?”

  Daisy glanced over her shoulder and realized that Conker was talking about her backpack.

  “I put it down over there,” she said, pointing, “but I won’t need it now since school is out for the summer.”

  At that moment, Meadowsweet the mare trotted out from beneath the oak tree and leaned over the fence to nuzzle Daisy’s hair.

  “Hello, Meadowsweet,” said Daisy. “I was just telling everyone that I’m going to the beach tomorrow.”

  “How lovely,” said Meadowsweet. “I knew a donkey who went there once. He wore a straw hat to keep the sun off his head, and he used to let the children ride around on his back.”

  “That sounds like fun,” said Conker, looking up at Meadowsweet.

  “Don’t get any ideas, young squirrel,” said Meadowsweet. “It’s too hot for that kind of thing.”

  “Is the water there as big as the river?” asked Boom.

  “It’s called the ocean, and it’s bigger than the river,” said Daisy. “Sometimes you can see the whole sky in it.”

  “The whole sky,” whispered Hazel. “Imagine that.”

  Daisy saw that Boom was looking worried and remembered Meadowsweet telling her that he had once fallen into deep water as a puppy.

  “Don’t worry, Boom,” she said. “I’m a really good swimmer.”

  As she knelt down and stroked his ears, he whispered, “The ocean’s a big place, Daisy. Promise me if you ever get lost in it, you’ll swim toward the sun.”

  “The sun?” Daisy frowned. “Why?”

  “Because the sun’s above the field,” said Boom. “And if you swim toward it, you’ll find your way home.”

  Daisy was dreaming of blue skies and sandy beaches when she woke to the sound of a bird coughing. When she pulled back the curtains, she saw Flapperton on the windowsill, slapping a small sparrow on the back with his wing.

  “Ooh, that’s it,” said the smaller sparrow. “A little to the left, maybe.”

  “Is everything all right?” asked Daisy, opening the window. Although she had become used to talking animals, this was the first time she had ever been woken up by a coughing sparrow.

  “Oh, hi, Daisy,” said Flapperton. “Thanks for saving me from that cat yesterday, by the way.”

  “That’s OK,” said Daisy. “What’s the matter with your friend?”

  “It’s a toast crust,” Flapperton explained. “Harry here tried to eat the whole thing, but it got stuck in his throat.”

  Harry coughed a bit more. Then he put his wing over his beak, because his mother had taught him that this was the polite thing to do.

  “Hang on,” said Daisy. “Be back in a second.”

  She raced downstairs to the kitchen, where her mom and dad were setting the table for breakfast.

  “You’re up bright and early,” said Dad. “Going to help pack the van?”

  It was then Daisy remembered that they were going on their camping trip today. For a moment she was so excited, she forgot why she had come downstairs.

  “Should I get the surfboard?” she asked. “And the snorkels and masks?”

  “That would be good,” said Dad, looking at her pajamas. “But maybe the first thing you should get is … dressed.”

  “Have some breakfast first,” said Mom. “I’ll make some more toast.”

  The thought of toast reminded Daisy what she had come down for. She opened the fridge, took out a bottle of orange soda, and headed back upstairs.

  “Soda for breakfast?” said Mom. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

  “Absolutely not,” said Dad.


  He opened the fridge and peered inside.

  “I don’t suppose there’s any left?”

  “Hold still, Harry,” said Daisy, picking up the little sparrow in her left hand.

  Harry coughed and looked up at her. “Will it hurt?” he asked.

  “Not at all,” replied Daisy, “although it might make your beak tingle for a while. Ready?”

  Harry nodded and shut his eyes as Daisy tipped the first few drops into his beak.

  At first, nothing happened. Then Harry gave a little squawk and began to dance around on Daisy’s hand, flapping his wings and chirruping loudly.

  “Is he all right?” asked Flapperton. “He seems a bit … bonkers.”

  “That’s just the fizz,” said Daisy. “He’ll be fine.”

  “Whoo-hoo!” exclaimed Harry, staggering sideways as Daisy set him down on the windowsill. “That got those crumbs!”

  “All clear?” asked Flapperton.

  “You betcha,” said Harry. “Throat clear, eyes clear, head clear. And my beak’s all bibbly-bubbly. Thanks, Daisy!”

  “No problem,” said Daisy. “Now promise me you’ll go easy on those crusts.”

  “Promise,” said Harry, and flew off to do a figure eight around the chimney pots.

  “You could come and watch us fly around the park if you like,” said Flapperton. “I’m going to show Harry how to do loop-the-loops.”

  “Normally I’d love to,” said Daisy, “but I’m going to the beach today.”

  “The beach? That’s near the ocean, isn’t it?” Daisy nodded. Flapperton was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “I met some swifts once who told me stories about the ocean. They used to fly thousands of miles to distant lands. And one day, when they were skimming across the ocean, they flew through a rainbow and the whole sky was alive with colors. Can you imagine anything more wonderful?”

  “It sounds nice,” agreed Daisy.

  “The thing is,” said Flapperton, “although I practice every day, I know I’ll never be able to fly as far or as high as they do. But I still dream about it, Daisy. I still dream about flying through rainbows.”

  As he looked at her, Daisy saw the bright sky reflected in his eyes.

  “Will you tell me about it?” he asked. “When you come back, will you tell me about all the things you’ve seen?”

  Daisy smiled. “Of course I will,” she said.

  She watched him fly away across the rooftops, then closed the window and clapped her hands together.

  “Time to start packing!” she said.

  After they parked at the site, Mom and Dad started to unpack the van.

  “I’ll be finished soon,” Mom said to Daisy. “Then we can go down to the beach for a swim.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” asked Daisy.

  “You could fetch some water,” said Dad. “Then I’ll put on the kettle and make us a nice cup of tea.”

  The campsite was on a cliff top overlooking the ocean. It was a hot, blue day, and as Daisy watched the sun sparkling on the water, she imagined running across the sand toward the waves. She guessed that most people were already on the beach, enjoying the warm sunshine.

  She had just turned on the tap to fill the bucket when she heard a little voice say, “Look. It’s a magical cloud lady.”

  “Are you sure?” asked another voice.

  “Yes. She fills a cloud with rain, puts it up in the sky, and then it comes down blib-a-loober-lub. Like that.”

  Daisy turned off the faucet and looked around.

  “Why did she stop?” asked the second voice.

  “Because she doesn’t want it to rain a lot. She just wants it to rain on the heads of the mean foxes who will say, ‘I’m not going out rabbit hunting in this weather,’ and stay inside and not come and eat us all up.”

  As Daisy peered beneath the trees, two baby rabbits danced out of the shadows and stood blinking in the sunlight.

  “Hello,” said Daisy, getting down on her hands and knees so as not to scare them. “What are your names?”

  “I’m Rabsy,” said the slightly taller of the two, “and this is my sister, Raberta.”

  “Hello, Magical Cloud Lady,” said Raberta shyly. “Thank you for making it rain on the mean foxes.”

  Daisy smiled. “My name is Daisy Dawson, and I don’t make it rain on the foxes,” she said. She held up the bucket to show them. “This is to put water in so people can drink it later.”

  “Like a cloud,” said Raberta.

  “Well … yes, I guess so,” agreed Daisy. “But clouds live up in the sky, and this one’s going back to my campsite.”

  “Won’t it mind not being up with all the others?” asked Rabsy.

  “I don’t think so,” said Daisy. Then, an idea struck her. She took her camera from her pocket and snapped a picture of the sky. She turned the camera around and showed the picture to the rabbits.

  “She caught them!” squeaked Raberta, hopping about with excitement. “She caught the clouds in her magical cloud catcher!”

  “Shake them out so we can have a better look,” said Rabsy.

  “They’re not really in there,” Daisy explained. “They’re just pictures so you can see them again when you get home.”

  “Like Rabsy, you mean?” asked Raberta. “I always see him again when I get home. Usually holding a carrot.”

  Rabsy nodded. “I like carrots,” he said.

  At that moment, Daisy heard her mother calling.

  “I think I’d better be getting back,” she said. “We’re going surfing.”

  “Surfing?” asked Raberta. “What’s that?”

  “Oh it’s a lot of fun,” said Daisy. “You lie on a surfboard, and the waves take you all the way to the beach.”

  “What’s a beach?” asked Raberta.

  “That brown crumbly thing at the bottom of the cliff,” said Rabsy.

  “Oh,” said Raberta. “And what are waves?”

  “The blue uppy-downy things.”

  “And what’s a surfboard?”

  “A foam floaty thing,” said Daisy.

  “Oh, right.” Raberta thought for a moment. “So you lie on the foam floaty thing and look at the white cloudy things until a blue uppy-downy thing takes you to the brown crumbly thing?”

  “Sounds about right,” said Daisy.

  “Wow!” said Raberta. “Can Rabsy and I try?”

  “I don’t know,” said Daisy. “It’s not the kind of thing rabbits usually do.”

  “That’s why we should do it,” said Raberta. “I want to be the first rabbit to ride on a foam floaty thing!”

  “Me, too!” said Rabsy. “I want to be first, too! Oh, can we? Please, Daisy, puh-lease?”

  Daisy was about to say she really didn’t think it would be a good idea, when she remembered how sad Flapperton the sparrow had been about the things he couldn’t do. She didn’t have the heart to make the rabbits sad, too.

  “I tell you what,” she said. “If you come down to the beach tomorrow, I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Oh, thank you,” said Raberta, hugging Daisy’s leg and planting rabbity kisses all over it. “Mwah, mwah, mwah!”

  Daisy smiled. “See you tomorrow,” she said. “By the blue uppy-downy things.”

  “Look,” said Dad as they were enjoying their tea. “Aren’t those rabbits over there?”

  Daisy turned to see Rabsy and Raberta standing by the bushes, gazing up at the sky.

  “I could have sworn I just saw one of them point up at the clouds,” he said.

  “That’s probably because they think I put them up there,” said Daisy. “They’ve got amazing imaginations, those rabbits.”

  Dad smiled.

  “They’re not the only ones,” he said.

  “Did you know,” said Dad, staring out at the waves, “that more than half of our bodies are made up of water?”

  “Mine isn’t,” said Daisy, taking another bite of her sandwich. “At the moment, mine’s mostly made u
p of peanut butter.” She stood up and looked around to see if there was any sign of the rabbits. She hadn’t seen them for a couple of days and wondered if they had changed their minds about learning to surf. “Can I go swimming now?”

  “You’d better finish your sandwich first,” said Mom. “Why don’t you go and look in the tide pools? You never know what you might find.”

  As Daisy wandered across the sand, two seagulls landed nearby and stared at her.

  “I-think-she’s-got-some-food!” squawked the first one. “I-think-she’s-got-some-food-I-bet-she’s-got-some-food-I saw-her-with-some-food-where-did-she-put-her-food?”

  “I-think-I-see-her-food!” squawked the second one. “I-think-I-see-her-food-I-do-I-see-her-food-I-want-to-have-her-food-and-you-can’t-have-her-food!”

  “You can both have some,” said Daisy, tearing the crusts off the sandwich. “But first you have to calm down or you might choke, and I don’t have any soda left.”

  “Eek!” said the first seagull.

  “Ulp!” said the second one, shutting his beak with a loud clack.

  “That’s better,” said Daisy, throwing them half a crust each.

  “You’re a funny-looking seagull,” said the first one when he had finished off his bread. “Did your feathers fall off or something?”

  “I’m not a seagull,” said Daisy. “I just know how to talk to animals, that’s all.”

  “You talk funny,” said the first one. “You should use the back of your throat more. Ark! Ark! Like that.”

  “Ark! Ark!” said Daisy.

  “Not bad. But you need to work on it.” The seagull waddled closer. “I don’t suppose you can talk to fish, can you?”

  “I don’t know,” replied Daisy. “I’ve never tried.”

  “Well, you should try.”

  “She should try, shouldn’t she?” said the other seagull.

  “When you get down to the water, ask them all to swim up to the surface.”

  “Swim up to the surface,” echoed the other seagull.

  “So you can eat them, you mean?” said Daisy.

  “Ark! Ark!” shouted the seagulls together. “Eat-the-fish! Eat-the-fish!”

  “I don’t think I will, thank you,” said Daisy. “But it was nice to meet you!”

  “I said that to a fish once,” said the first seagull. “Nice to eat you! Ark! Ark!”