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- Herausgeber: Little Tiger Press
- Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020
Cosy up this winter with a collection of heart-warming animal stories from some of your favourite authors!Enter a winter wonderland as a penguin chick looks forward to his first Penguin Parade, a seal pup shares his dream of singing with a new friend and a rescue-centre puppy hopes to find a home in time for Christmas.Featuring stories from Holly Webb, Michael Broad, Caroline Juskus, Penny Dolan, Elizabeth Baguley, Malachy Doyle, Caroline Pitcher, Guy Bass, Karen Wallace and Narinder Dhami.
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Contents
Pip the little penguin hopped up and down, flapping his tiny, feathery flippers. He was bursting with excitement, for in two days’ time, on Christmas morning, he and his big sister, Toots, were going to march in the Penguin Parade.
“The youngest penguins march at the front,” explained Toots, “and if we march nicely, children bring us buckets of shiny, silvery, sparkly presents.”
“Ooh!” said Pip. “What sort of shiny, silvery, sparkly presents?”6
“It’s a surprise,” said Mum.
“Humph,” said Pip. “Do you know, Toots?”
Toots giggled. “Of course I do. I’m older than you.”
“That’s not fair,” said Pip. “Please tell me.”
Mum shook her head. “It’s tradition,” she said. “Every young penguin gets a shiny surprise for their first Penguin Parade.”
But Pip didn’t want a surprise. He wanted to know NOW!
“Go and practise your marching,” said Mum, tickling Pip under his chin. “You’ll need to keep up with the other penguins and lots of them are bigger than you.”
Pip swung his flippers and jiggled his head.
“Don’t forget to move your legs as well!” 7Toots laughed.
“I know that!” said Pip, waddling off. But secretly he had quite forgotten. He was too busy thinking about his shiny surprise.
Toots followed him. “Try and move your feet like me,” she said.
Pip hopped in the air and shuffled his feet, but they tangled together and he toppled, beak first, into the crisp white snow.
“Silly Pip!” Toots chuckled. “Not so fast.”
8Pip shook the snow off his fluffy feathers and carefully placed one foot in front of the other.
“Now you’re too slow,” Toots said. “You’ll get left behind.”
A fat white snowflake fell, plop, on Pip’s head. It made him jump. “It tickles!” He giggled.
“Now you’re dancing,” sighed Toots. “Try not to be so bouncy, Pip.”
Pip tumbled on to his belly and slid across the snow. “I’m going to practise on my own,” he grumbled. “I can’t do it when you’re looking at me.”
“But everyone will be watching on Christmas morning,” his sister said. “Just copy me.”
“No,” said Pip, and when Toots wasn’t 9watching, he marched off in the other direction, skipping and hopping. And every time a snowflake landed on his head it made him wiggle and giggle.
By midday he’d marched all the way to an enormous wooden house, standing on its own in the middle of the snow. It was painted red and green, and Toots had once told him it was where Santa Claus lived. His elves made presents for all the children and on Christmas Eve Santa delivered them on his magical, flying sleigh. Santa was outside feeding one of his reindeer.
“Hello,” Pip said. “I’m Pip and I’m practising my marching for the Penguin Parade.”
“How jolly,” said Santa. But he didn’t look jolly.10
“Is something wrong?” asked Pip.
“One of my elves isn’t feeling very well. He’s caught a horrible cold.”
“Oh dear,” said Pip. “Perhaps I can cheer him up! This always makes my sister laugh…” He began to march.11
But Santa still looked sad. “I’m sure my elf would love that,” he said. “But he’s fast asleep. And now I don’t have anyone to stuff the teddies for the girls and boys.” He shook his head glumly. “I’m worried I won’t have my presents ready to deliver on Christmas Eve.”
“Oh no,” said Pip. “Shall I stay and help you?” Then he tripped on his feet and fell, splat, in the snow.
“I think you’d better practise your marching, little Pip,” said Santa kindly.
Pip waddled off and practised until the sky grew dark, but still he could not get it right.
12“Can you march now?” asked Toots, when Pip finally arrived home.
“Of course,” fibbed Pip. “I marched all the way to Santa’s house. He’s a bit sad as one of his elves is not very well and can’t stuff the teddies.”
“Poor Santa,” yawned Toots, falling asleep.
Mum nestled Pip under her flipper. “Time for you to go to bed too, little Pip.”
But Pip couldn’t sleep. He kept worrying about his marching and Santa Claus, and the girls and boys who might not get their presents. He peeped out from Mum’s flipper and looked up at the inky sky. It was glittering with stars. Shiny, silvery, sparkly stars.
I wonder if that’s my surprise, thought 13Pip. A bucketful of stars! He watched them twinkling until he fell asleep and dreamed of Santa flying his sleigh through a starry sky.
“Wake up, Pip!” Toots squealed, early the next morning. “It’s Christmas Eve! Only one day till the Penguin Parade. We need to practise our marching.”
“Sorry, Toots,” said Pip, “but I think I’m going to help Santa instead.”
Mum smiled. “Santa will be delighted,” she said. “Perhaps you should help too, Toots?”
Toots shook her feathery head. “I need to keep marching,” she said. “I want to be 14the best in the Penguin Parade.”
Pip marched off to help Santa and every time a snowflake fell on his head he giggled and hopped.
“Look at Pip!” Toots’s friends laughed. “He’s going to look so silly tomorrow!”
Toots didn’t like them saying that. “At least he’s practising,” she said with a sigh.
Pip pretended not to hear them and marched on to Santa’s house.
He knocked on the door. “Hello, Santa,” said Pip. “I’ve come to help you stuff the teddies. I can use my beak like this.” He picked up a mouthful of snow.
“How kind,” said Santa. “My elves will be pleased.”
“Is the poorly elf feeling any better?” asked Pip.15
Santa shook his head. “He’s still tucked up in bed,” he said. “And now some of the other elves are sneezing too.”
Pip followed Santa into his workshop. It was filled with elves in stripey green jackets and red hats, and lots of them were sniffing and sneezing as they hammered and sewed, and wrapped and glued.
“This is Pip,” said Santa. “He’s come to help.”
The elves were surprised to see a penguin. “Hello, Pip,” they said, as one of them handed him a red hat. “You’d better have this to keep your head warm. We don’t want you catching a cold as well.”
“Now I need to go and get the sleigh ready. I’ll leave you to it, Pip!” said Santa.
Pip had never worn a hat before. It 16was a bit big and slipped over one of his eyes. But he felt very grand and soon he was busy stuffing toys. In fact, he worked so hard that he did not notice when day eventually turned into night.
Finally they were finished. They went 17outside to find Santa.
“We did it!” cried the elves, as they danced round the sleigh, which was piled high with toys. “Thank you, little Pip.”
“We wouldn’t have managed without you,” said Santa. He looked up at the night sky. “The children will be in bed by now. I need to start delivering their presents.”
Pip pointed his flipper up at the twinkling stars. “Those are my presents,” he said.
“Ho, ho, ho!” Santa Claus laughed. His fat belly jiggled and his rosy cheeks shone. “I don’t think so, little Pip.”
Pip was pleased to see Santa jolly, but sad that the stars weren’t his shiny surprise.18
“Cheer up,” said Santa, dipping into his sack of presents. “I think you deserve something special to say thank you for helping us.” And he handed Pip a gift.
“For me?” asked Pip. It was all wrapped up in paper and ribbon. Pip tore off the wrapping with his beak, and inside was a red tin drum and two wooden drumsticks.
“You can keep the hat as well,” said the elves. “Now, you’d better go or you’re going to be tired for the Penguin Parade.”
“Thank you!” said Pip. “Thank you!”
He set off, banging the drum, and each time he banged he moved his feet and very soon he was marching! And wearing his hat he didn’t feel the snowflakes falling, plop, on his head, so he did not giggle and jump.
Just as he reached home, Pip heard a 19voice far above him. He looked up to see Santa flying through the night sky on his sleigh.
“Good luck tomorrow, little Pip!” Santa called. “You seem to be marching wonderfully.”
The following morning, all the penguins lined up for the Penguin Parade. The young penguins were at the front, but they were so excited that they were tripping over their big, webbed feet and marching too fast or too slowly.
“Oh dear,” they said, bumping into each other. “What shall we do? All the children are coming to watch us.”20
Just then, Pip arrived, marching in time to his red tin drum.
“Look at Pip!” said the little penguins. “He’s such a good marcher.”
“Pip is?” said Toots. “Are yousure?”
“So he is!” said her friends in surprise.
“Perhaps he should lead us?” said the little penguins.
“Absolutely,” said Toots. “Will you, Pip? Will you lead the Penguin Parade?”
Pip pulled his red hat on tight and marched up to the front of the group. “Follow me!” he said, banging his drum.
Soon all the penguins were marching behind him. Bouncing and skipping. And hopping and jumping. Especially when the snow began to fall.21
“Hooray!” cheered the children. “This is the best Penguin Parade ever!”
“Did you hear that?” whispered Toots.
Pip beamed. “All thanks to Santa,” he said. “Because we can march to the tin drum.”
Toots shook her head. “All thanks to you, little Pip. Santa wouldn’t have given it to you if you hadn’t helped him stuff the 22teddies. And look! All the children have their teddies!”
Pip smiled proudly.
The happy children clapped and cheered as the penguins kept bouncing and marching. “The little penguins are so cute!” they said. “Let’s give them their presents!” And they raced forwards with brimming buckets.
“Fishes!” Pip giggled.
“Shiny, silvery fishes!” Toots laughed. “Sparkling in the sun. It’s your shiny, silvery, sparkly surprise.”
“Yippee!” said Pip. “Fishes are so much tastier than stars!”
“Ho, ho, ho!” came a jolly laugh.
Pip saw Santa at the back of the crowd and waved his flipper at him excitedly. “I 23love surprises!” he cried. “Happy Christmas, Santa! Happy Christmas, Toots! Happy Christmas, everyone!”
Toots chuckled. “Happy Christmas, little Pip!”
