ON THIS PAGE YOU CAN READ SHORT STORIES ABOUT BIRDS.   YOU CAN SEND IN YOUR OWN SHORT STORIES TO BE PUBLISHED ON THIS PAGE .   JUST EMAIL THEM TO ME.   THE STORIES BELOW ARE ONES THAT I HAVE WRITTEN.

You can read my online story at Christchurch library, 'The rescue of Faye' by clicking on the picture:

NEW GO TO THE ART GALLERY AND YOU CAN PRINT OUT THIS STORY BELOW IN PICTURES TO COLOUR, THEN MAKE YOU OWN BOOK.

Hoiho and the end of the world

a story by Janet Marshall

Hoiho was a penguin. A yellow eyed penguin. She lived by the sea. She swam and fed in the sea. Hoiho liked to build her nest in the scrub and bush by the sea.  This year she had put her nest in amongst the roots of an old tree, in a patch of native bush. She laid two chalky white eggs and began to sit on them.   All was peaceful when suddenly something hit Hoiho on the head. She looked up. Something else fell on her. Then more things began to fall on her, and they were VERY SMELLY!“What's the matter?” asked a group of kakarikis.   “The tree is falling down!” cried Hoiho.   “Oh, my goodness!” the kakarikis chattered. “We must warn the other birds.”   Just then Ngiri ngiro, the tomtit, arrived. He wanted to know what all the fuss was about.   “All the trees are falling down!” the kakarikis told him.            “"Oh dear!” said Ngiro ngiro, and he rushed off to tell his friend Toutouwai, the robin.   “Oh! Toutouwai, the forest is falling down. I'm afraid it will fall into the sea!”   “That's terrible,” said Toutouwai. “We must tell all the other birds.”   At the same time Kawau, the black shag, was flying overhead. He heard what was said.   “How dreadful,” thought Kawau, and he flew back to the beach to warn the other sea birds.   “The sky has fallen and the forest is falling into the sea!” he told everyone.   Torea, the oystercatcher stared at him.   “Are you sure?” she said.   All the birds stared at Kawau, and then at the sky.   "Oh yes! I heard Ngiro ngiro tell Toutouwai. So it must be true."   They all went to find Ngiro ngiro.   “Well, the kakarikis told me,” Ngiro ngiro protested.   They all went to find the kakarikis.    "But Hoiho told us,” the kakarikis all chattered together.    Hoiho went to her nest.   “I'm sure it's true. Look at this.”        She showed them all the smelly things that had fallen on her.   “Oooh! Yes!” Everyone agreed.    Suddenly there was a flash of blue, and Kotare, the kingfisher, appeared.   “Hello. Why are you all here? What's the problem?”

“The forest is falling into the sea!” cried all the birds at once. “The world will surely end!”   They showed Kotare the evidence in Hoiho's nest.   Kotare began laughing.   “The trees aren't falling down. That's the rubbish from my nest above. I've been cleaning it, ready for my new family. I'm afraid it's a bit smelly!”

When they heard this all the birds heaved a big sigh of relief, especially Hoiho.

“But please, next time let me know when you are going to spring clean,” she said as she settled down on her eggs again.

And all the birds went back to what they were doing before they thought the world was going to end.

THE END

ELVI'S NEW FRIEND  by Pixie-faye aged 9, from Nelson NZ.

Once upon a time there was a young chick named Elvi.   He lived in a hole in the old beech tree.  You see, Elvi was abandoned by his mum and dad.   So Elvi is all on his own.   One day he went for a stroll when he saw a strange creature on the forest floor.  It was brown, with a long beak.  It looked up at Elvi and said "Hello fella, and how are you?"   Elvi couldn't reply.   He just stood there with his beak open.  (You see, Elvi hadn't heard anyone say that before.  The only word Elvi had ever heard was "Bye" from his parents.)    

"Hello, are you OK?" asked the 'thing'.   Now what breed are you?"   Elvi had no idea what the 'thing' was.  Quietly Elvi said "A Kaka."  Oh," the 'thing' replied.  "Well, I am a Kiwi.  Well, I had better get on.  We'll talk again tomorrow."    So Elvi went to the old beech tree, snuggled in and fell asleep.    

In the morning Elvi went for a walk and there was Kiwi.   "Come down here fella," Kiwi shouted.   So Elvi flew down.  The Kiwi said "Would you like to meet my son Ethan?     Ethan came out from the grass and said "Hi, do you want to play?"  So they did, and from that day on Elvi played with Ethan and learnt lots more words and sentences, and from then on Elvi was never alone. THE END.

BIRDS by Pixie-faye

Birds - pretty birds - nice pretty birds - colourful nice pretty birds - cute colourful nice pretty birds - funny cute colourful nice pretty birds.

CHICKS by Pixie-faye

Chicks - cute chicks - yellow cute chicks - brown yellow cute chicks - grey brown yellow cute chicks - black grey brown yellow cute chicks.

TIKI'S TOUR

Kea lived high on a mountain range.   When he wasn't looking for food he was looking for fun.   One day in Summer he saw a campsite with tent and backpack.   Kea flew down to investigate and was soon ripping open the backpack with his sharp beak and claws.   The contents spilled out onto the ground and Kea thought it was great fun. Suddenley something caught his attention. Something green and shiny. Kea tugged at a cord and pulled a jade pendant from the bag.  He flew off to a dry riverbed close by and began playing with the strange object. Finally, though, he got bored and flew off, leaving the pendant lying amongst the stones and rocks.

Summer turned to Autumn, followed by Winter.   Snow covered the mountain range, burying the pendant in a thick cloak of soft white.   Then came Spring, bringing sun and rain.   The snow melted.   The riverbed, where the pendant lay, turned into a fast flowing stream.   Rocks and stones tumbled in the rushing water, and the pendant was carried downstream.   After several weeks it had been carried to where the stream fed into a fast flowing mountain river.   The river was filled with large boulders and rocks.   The pendant tumbled against them until it finally lodged beneath one.   There it lay, caught in the wild river, dark and deep.   Then one sunny day Whio the blue duck found it while searching for food beneath the rocks in the rapids.   Whio swam to the surface with the pendant but soon found it too big and too hard to eat and she dropped it back into the water.   Caught in the flow again the pendant was gradually carried down the river.   Past rocks and tree roots and fish the pendant travelled, arriving on a rainy day in a lake at the base of the mountain.  Here the pendant would have stayed, lost to the world, if not for Papanga the little black scaup.   Diving deep amongst the lakeweed for food Papanga spied the still shiny pendant, taking it with him as he bobbed to the surface of the lake.   He swam with it to the sandy lakeside.

"This isn't any use, it's far too hard to eat!" he said and left it where it lay on the lake edge.   It wasn't there very long before it was found by a passing Weka.   She was very inquisitive and took it for her collection of bits and bobs that she had found.   Weka's new treasure lay among her collection until one warm, bright day in mid -summer.   Karoro the black-backed gull was flying past when he saw the pendant glinting in the sun.  He flew down to investigate, sure it must be something good to eat.   "This looks tasty" he thought, grabbing the pendant in his beak.   He flew off with it to a nearby beach to enjoy this new meal in peace and quiet.   But no matter how he tried he could not swallow the hard green object.   Finally, in total frustration, he picked up the pendant and flew off inland, the cord dangling down from his beak.   He flew over hills and valleys and was just about to drop the annoying thing in a raupo swamp when Kahu the harrier saw him.  Kahu had babies in her nest in the swamp and she did not want nosy Karoro near them.   She chased him away, flying so close that Karoro dropped the pendant.   As it fell the open cord slipped over Kahu's head as she flew beaneath Karoro.   Kahu had no idea what it was that now hung heavily from her neck and she flew off twisting in the air trying to loose the strange object.   

As all this was happening it was being watched.   Watched from the top of a tree by two rascally magpies.   They were fascinated by the weird thing that now hung from Kahu's neck so up they flew, heading straight toward Kahu.   Taken by surprise Kahu began to fly higher.   Higher and higher she flew.   Over farms, over forest.   On up over mountain bush and herbfields, leaving the magpies far behind.   Twisting and turning she tumbled through the sky, the mountain range spread out far below her.   Suddenly the cord slipped off Kahu's head and the pendant fell to the ground. It landed, unharmed, in a dry riverbed, high on the mountain range.

One day, not long after, two trampers came to the dry riverbed to rest.   Something glittered in the sunlight and it caught the attention of one of the trampers.   She picked it up.   "Hey look!  It's the jade pendant I lost here last summer.   It must have been laying here all the time".

BIRDS IN THIS STORY

THE NESTING HOLE

It was spring and the birds were looking for homes for their families.  Kotare, the kingfisher had found a lovely, cosy hole near the top of an old beech tree.    "You can't nest there," said Morepork.   "I want that hole for MY nest."   "No," said Kakariki."   "I want that hole for MY nest."   Titipounamu the rifleman said, "It's far too small for all of you.   I'll have that hole for MY nest.   I'll line it with soft feathers for my eggs."   "Too small!" said Kaka.   "I will soon make it bigger with my sharp beak, and I shall have it for MY nest."   They all wanted the cosy hole in the old beech tree, but only one of them could have it.   What could they do?   Suddenley the wind, tired of listening to them argue, decided to do something.   He took a deep breath and he blew, and BLEW, and BLEW.   He blew through the hills.   He blew through the trees.He blew until the top of the old beech tree fell down.   As the tree fell, holes appeared in its huge trunk.   "Look," said kaka, "here is a big hole for me at the top."   "And here is a nice, deep hole for me," said Kotare the kingfisher.   Morepork said quietly, "Oh, this hole is for me and my family."   "I'll have this little hole, hidden in the moss," said Titipounamu the rifleman.   And Kakariki chose a lovely, snug hole in the middle of the trunk.   "Now, is everyone happy?" said the wind, as he settled down to a gentle, spring breeze.

Birds in this story

KAKA     KAKARIKI     KINGFISHER (Kotare)    MOREPORK    RIFLEMAN (Titipounamu)

Copyright(c) 2006 Janet Marshall. All rights reserved.
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