The Tale of Angelino Brown

by David Almond

  “Poor lad,” says Betty. “You’re all wore out.”

  They carry him up to bed and put on his pyjamas and lay him down in Paul’s bed, below Paul’s photo.

  Betty and Bert sit on the bed.

  Bert tells the tale of “The Little Mermaid”.

  Angelino sighs with happiness as he listens.

  When the tale is done, Betty switches out the light.

  “Night-night, son,” they both whisper.

  “Night-night,” whispers Angelino. “Nighty-night.”

  That night they all sleep long and deep and dreamless sleeps.

  The next morning, still in her dressing-gown, Betty goes in to wake Angelino.

  “Come on, sleepyhead,” she whispers.

  He smiles at her through the morning light.

  She lifts him up. She puts her arms around him. He’s grown, yet again, and everything’s different.

  Betty looks down, over his shoulder. Angelino’s wings are left behind. They lie there on the bed where he’s been sleeping.

  “Angelino!” she gasps. “Bert, come and see!”

  Angelino giggles.

  “Morning, Mum,” he says. “Morning, Dad.”

  This all happened several years ago. Bert and Betty kept the wings, of course. They wrapped them in soft white paper and kept them in a nice clean wooden box. Sometimes they take the wings from the box, just to touch them gently and to look at them fondly, to remind themselves of how their Angelino used to be, before he turned into an ordinary little lovely boy.

  Also by David Almond

  A Song for Ella Grey

  The Boy Who Climbed into the Moon

  The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas

  Clay

  Counting Stars

  The Fire-Eaters

  Half a Creature from the Sea: A Life in Stories

  Harry Miller’s Run

  Heaven Eyes

  Kit’s Wilderness

  Mouse Bird Snake Wolf

  My Dad’s a Birdman

  My Name Is Mina

  The Savage

  Secret Heart

  Skellig

  Slog’s Dad

  The Tightrope Walkers

  The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents

  are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used

  fictitiously. All statements, activities, stunts, descriptions, information

  and material of any other kind contained herein are included for

  entertainment purposes only and should not be relied on for

  accuracy or replicated as they may result in injury.

  First published 2017 by Walker Books Ltd

  87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ

  Text © 2017 David Almond (UK) Ltd

  Illustrations © 2017 Alex T. Smith

  The right of David Almond and Alex T. Smith to be identified as author

  and illustrator respectively of this work has been asserted by them

  in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,

  transmitted or stored in an information retrieval system in any

  form or by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical,

  including photocopying, taping and recording, without prior

  written permission from the publisher.

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data:

  a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  ISBN 978-1-4063-7528-2 (ePub)

  www.walker.co.uk