The Adventures of Nanny Piggins by R. A. Spratt

tell it in a downpour, at twilight, on the open ocean. And Nanny Piggins did have a clue to help her correct recognition. She had noticed the Korean flag painted on the side of the ship.
    'Ahnyong,' Nanny Piggins called up to the two men. This is how you say 'hello' in Korean. Nanny Piggins may never have been to the seaside but she had spent many long nights playing backgammon with two Korean trapeze artists. And they had taught her enough Korean to buy a chicken, rent a motorbike, tell someone to be quiet in the cinema and all the other things essential for day-to-day life in their country.
    'Ahnyong,' the two men called back. They were no doubt surprised to find three children and a Korean-speaking pig adrift in the ocean. But they were hospitable seamen. They soon had Nanny Piggins, Derrick, Samantha and Michael safely aboard their ship. They also rescued the suitcases so boo-boo was safe too, much to Samantha's relief.
    The Korean ship was a fishing boat with a crew of five men. They were on their way back to port when they had been caught in the storm. But their boat was much better equipped to cope with the turbulent weather than the tiny rental boat. The Koreans had a warm cabin below deck, a cupboard full of dry towels and most important of all, a kitchen from which the most delicious smells were emerging.
    That night Nanny Piggins and the children learnt a valuable lesson. Korean food is every bit as good as Chinese food. Together Nanny Piggins, the children and the fishermen had a wonderful feast. They ate fresh barbecued fish with steamed vegetables and all sorts of wonderful and peculiar Korean pickles. Then afterwards, for dessert, Nanny Piggins opened up the suitcases and found another three chocolate cakes. It was a wonderful party. They played 'Pin the Tail on the Tangnagui' (which means 'donkey' in Korean) as well as 'Kim Says' (which means 'Simon Says' in Korean) and generally had a marvellous time.
    They were all quite sad when the fishing boat pulled into the harbour and dropped Nanny Piggins and the children off by the taxi stand. Nanny Piggins tried to persuade the fishermen to come back to Mr Green's house for a late supper and dancing, but they were tired from a long day of fishing and rescuing small children, so they promised to come another time.
    As they sat in the warm taxi winding their way home, Nanny Piggins sighed with contentment. 'Well, children, I must say, I never knew that a day at the beach could be so much fun,' she said. 'We really must do this more often.'
    'Not too often,' said Samantha.
    'No, just often enough,' said Nanny Piggins.
    After a few yawns and some valiant attempts to keep their eyes open, the four of them were soon asleep. And in her dreams, Nanny Piggins started to come up with even more brilliant ideas for their next daytrip.

C HAPTER 8
    Nanny Piggins
and the Home Intruder
    It was two o'clock in the morning and the house was completely dark. That is not to say that everyone was in bed. Quite the contrary. Mr Green was away on business, so naturally Nanny Piggins and the children had decided to stay up half the night playing Murder in the Dark, which is why all the lights were turned off. Usually, when they were all asleep, Mr Green insisted that lights be left on. Th is, supposedly, was to fool stupid burglars into believing that someone in the house suffered from terrible insomnia and was awake all night every night.
    The rules of Murder in the Dark require one person to be elected the murderer. Then everyone creeps around in the darkness until the murderer finds someone and kills them by simply tapping them on the shoulder and whispering 'I'm murdering you' in their ear. It is actually a lot less violent game than the name suggests. Certainly less violent than most of the games Nanny Piggins and the children liked to play. A lot of injuries do occur but that is not from the murdering. That is from bumping into the furniture while the lights are out.
    The current