seemed natural to call the islands the Popcorn Islands. It suited them so well, and the people were proud to come from a place with a name like that.
They were, not at all surprisingly, all very happy – until things suddenly went very badly wrong.
2
The Popcorn Ship Arrives
Lucy lived on one of the popcorn plantations on Big Island. She had a brother, Sam, who was a couple of years younger than she was, and a friend, Hermione, who lived on the neighbouring plantation. She and Hermione spentmost of their time together, and even at night they could send messages to one another by torch. All you had to do was to stand at your bedroom window and flash the message out across the darkness of the popcorn fields. Then the answer would come back through the night: flash , flash, flash!
During the popcorn-picking season, the island school was closed. This allowed all the children to play their part in bringing in the harvest, which was something everybody had to do. Even the island teacher and the island policeman had to lend a hand. And at the end of it all, when the popcorn crop was safelyharvested, everybody had a wonderful party on the beach, with people singing the old popcorn-picking songs and eating as much of everything as they could possibly manage.
There were dancing competitions, too, and Sam always did very well at these. He was double-jointed, which meant that he could dance under a pole which was only a couple of hands’ width above the ground. Everybody enjoyed watching Sam show just how bendy his bones were and they clapped and cheered when he finished his performance.
The next day, the popcorn ship was due to arrive. This ship came without failthe day after the harvest was completed and everybody would go down to the harbour to welcome it. Captain Foster, who owned the ship, was very popular on the island as he always allowed the children to come aboard and drink the special lemonade that he made for them. It tastedlike no other lemonade, and everybody was allowed to drink as much of it as they wanted.
Captain Foster had a dog, Biscuit, who was also popular with the children. He was not a very large dog, and he walked in a peculiar way, sideways rather than forwards. Yet he was very friendly, and would bark with delight when any of the children came on board.
Lucy was one of the first to welcome Captain Foster on that particular day. She and Sam ran down to the harbour and were soon joined on board by Hermione. They gave lemon drops to Biscuit, who could not resist them, and chatted toCaptain Foster while they drank their lemonade. Then, when everybody had had enough lemonade, the serious business of loading the popcorn began.
The loading of the popcorn usually took the whole day, and again everybody had to lend a hand. Then, when the last sack had been put into the hold and the hatches lowered into place, everybody went ashore to wave farewell to Captain Foster and Biscuit. The Captain did not like to spend too long in the harbour, as he had a long way to sail with his cargo of popcorn and he knew that he would have to return straight away to get the second half of the crop.
Lucy and Hermione ran down to the beach near the harbour and waved to Captain Foster as the popcorn ship sailed out into the open sea. Then, when it was no more than a dot on the horizon, they went home.
That night, Lucy flashed a message through the darkness. “When do you think Captain Foster will be back?” she asked, in the special code that they had invented.
Flash , double flash , flash , flash , came the reply, which meant, “I think he’ll be back next Sunday, although he might make it by Saturday.”
Lucy thought that it might be Monday, as she had heard that there were storms atsea and these might hold Captain Foster up. They were both to be proved wrong. The next day, as Lucy was sitting reading in her room, she heard her brother shout from his tree house in the garden.
“The popcorn ship!” yelled Sam. “Look!
They were, not at all surprisingly, all very happy – until things suddenly went very badly wrong.
2
The Popcorn Ship Arrives
Lucy lived on one of the popcorn plantations on Big Island. She had a brother, Sam, who was a couple of years younger than she was, and a friend, Hermione, who lived on the neighbouring plantation. She and Hermione spentmost of their time together, and even at night they could send messages to one another by torch. All you had to do was to stand at your bedroom window and flash the message out across the darkness of the popcorn fields. Then the answer would come back through the night: flash , flash, flash!
During the popcorn-picking season, the island school was closed. This allowed all the children to play their part in bringing in the harvest, which was something everybody had to do. Even the island teacher and the island policeman had to lend a hand. And at the end of it all, when the popcorn crop was safelyharvested, everybody had a wonderful party on the beach, with people singing the old popcorn-picking songs and eating as much of everything as they could possibly manage.
There were dancing competitions, too, and Sam always did very well at these. He was double-jointed, which meant that he could dance under a pole which was only a couple of hands’ width above the ground. Everybody enjoyed watching Sam show just how bendy his bones were and they clapped and cheered when he finished his performance.
The next day, the popcorn ship was due to arrive. This ship came without failthe day after the harvest was completed and everybody would go down to the harbour to welcome it. Captain Foster, who owned the ship, was very popular on the island as he always allowed the children to come aboard and drink the special lemonade that he made for them. It tastedlike no other lemonade, and everybody was allowed to drink as much of it as they wanted.
Captain Foster had a dog, Biscuit, who was also popular with the children. He was not a very large dog, and he walked in a peculiar way, sideways rather than forwards. Yet he was very friendly, and would bark with delight when any of the children came on board.
Lucy was one of the first to welcome Captain Foster on that particular day. She and Sam ran down to the harbour and were soon joined on board by Hermione. They gave lemon drops to Biscuit, who could not resist them, and chatted toCaptain Foster while they drank their lemonade. Then, when everybody had had enough lemonade, the serious business of loading the popcorn began.
The loading of the popcorn usually took the whole day, and again everybody had to lend a hand. Then, when the last sack had been put into the hold and the hatches lowered into place, everybody went ashore to wave farewell to Captain Foster and Biscuit. The Captain did not like to spend too long in the harbour, as he had a long way to sail with his cargo of popcorn and he knew that he would have to return straight away to get the second half of the crop.
Lucy and Hermione ran down to the beach near the harbour and waved to Captain Foster as the popcorn ship sailed out into the open sea. Then, when it was no more than a dot on the horizon, they went home.
That night, Lucy flashed a message through the darkness. “When do you think Captain Foster will be back?” she asked, in the special code that they had invented.
Flash , double flash , flash , flash , came the reply, which meant, “I think he’ll be back next Sunday, although he might make it by Saturday.”
Lucy thought that it might be Monday, as she had heard that there were storms atsea and these might hold Captain Foster up. They were both to be proved wrong. The next day, as Lucy was sitting reading in her room, she heard her brother shout from his tree house in the garden.
“The popcorn ship!” yelled Sam. “Look!
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