Kelti Goes To London Part 2

Hello,

My name is Jacqueline and I'm a very proud grandma.

I write stories for my grandchildren and I'm very happy to share them with you too.

So settle back,

Make yourself comfortable because my next story is about to begin.

Kelty goes to London,

Part 2 Kelty and her grandma were on a big red double decker bus in London on their way to visit Buckingham Palace and Kelty really wanted to see the Queen.

The bus stopped on the edge of St James's Park.

Come on Kelty,

Said grandma,

We'll get off here and walk through the park to Buckingham Palace.

The park was gorgeous with many different trees standing tall and strong and lots of birds singing happily in their branches.

The grass was a lush green and the flower beds filled with flowers of many colours.

Do we have to buy tickets to get into Buckingham Palace grandma?

Asked Kelty.

Yes,

Replied grandma,

But I have already bought them.

They sell out really quickly as the palace is only open from the end of July for 10 weeks.

We have a set time to go in but we have plenty of time to enjoy this park.

As they walked,

Grandma told Kelty about the park.

This is one of London's oldest parks built in 1536 for Henry VIII,

She explained.

It was named St James's Park because it is in the St James's area of London.

They followed the path and admired the beauty around them and eventually they came to a lake.

In the middle of the lake were two islands,

One of them named Duck Island for the lake's collection of waterfowl.

There are so many different birds on the water,

Said Kelty,

As they stopped by the water's edge.

I do believe there are a number of pelicans living here too,

Said grandma.

I remember reading that they have been a feature of the park since a Russian ambassador donated the first ones to Charles II in 1664.

The tradition has been kept up and over the years more than 40 pelicans have made the park their home.

I don't think I've ever seen a pelican before,

Said Kelty.

Well,

Hopefully you'll see one today,

Said grandma.

Do you fancy a hot chocolate?

Oh yes,

Please,

Said Kelty.

Well,

Stay here while I get us one from the kiosk over there,

Said grandma.

Point into what looked like a little hut with a queue of people lining up outside of it,

And you may spot one of the pelicans if you look carefully while I'm gone.

Kelty looked around the lake at all the waterfowl.

There were lots of different ducks,

Like the mallards and the tufted duck.

There were also black swans,

Geese,

Moorhens and coots.

But Kelty couldn't see a pelican.

A heron flew past and landed gracefully upon the lake,

And then a kingfisher flew out from a tree on the island and swooped down,

Grabbing a small fish from the lake and then flying back to the tree he had come from.

Kelty was amazed at the wildlife around her and was so engrossed in watching the kingfisher that she didn't see a pelican swimming towards her.

The pelican glided up to where Kelty stood at the water's edge and looked up at her.

Hello,

The pelican said,

Trying to get Kelty's attention.

Kelty looked around but couldn't see anyone.

I'm down here,

The pelican said,

In the lake.

Kelty looked down and saw the pelican looking up at her.

It was much bigger than she thought it would be,

And attractive in an odd sort of way.

It had mainly pure white plumage,

Bare pink facial skin around its eyes,

Short stout pinkish legs with large fully webbed feet,

And a long beak with a large throat pouch hanging down.

Hello,

Said Kelty,

You're a beautiful bird.

Thank you,

Said the pelican.

You're quite beautiful too.

But why are you staring at me in that strange way?

Sorry,

Said Kelty,

I didn't mean to stare,

But I was wondering why you have a large pouch hanging down from your beak.

Do you store food or something in there?

No,

Replied the pelican.

I use it for catching food.

I scoop up fish from the lake into my pouch and then drain the water before swallowing.

This way I catch multiple fish and don't waste time having to catch them one at a time.

That's very clever,

Said Kelty,

Taking a liking to this pelican.

My name's Kelty,

Do you have a name?

My name is Tiffany,

Replied the pelican.

I live over there on one of the islands and came for a quiet swim.

My friends are back on the island looking after Moon,

Who is very sad at the moment.

Oh,

I'm sorry to hear that,

Said Kelty.

Why is she sad?

Well,

Her best friend Star,

Who is also our friend,

Explained Tiffany,

Was captured by two prowlers late last night.

They tempted her with some tasty fish and then caught her in a big net and carried her away.

We are all so worried,

But Moon seems to be taking it the hardest and we don't know what to do or say to help her.

Well,

I would really like to try and help if I can,

Said Kelty.

Will you take me to her?

Okay,

Said Tiffany,

Climb on to my back and I'll swim you across to the island.

Kelty looked around and could see her grandma still queuing up at the kiosk for the hot chocolate drinks.

Hoping she would be back before her grandma could miss her,

Kelty carefully climbed onto Tiffany's back and sat upon the soft feathers in between her large wings.

Tiffany glided over to the island in the centre of the lake.

Kelty climbed off and Tiffany led the way behind some bushes where four other pelicans were standing around a sad looking pelican who was sitting huddled under a large bush.

Hey guys,

Said Tiffany to the pelicans,

Meet Kelty.

She's come to talk to Moon.

Kelty,

This is Isla,

Gargi and Son.

Moon is the one in the bush.

The three pelicans welcomed Kelty,

But Moon stayed where she was and hardly seemed to notice the stranger looking at her.

Nice to meet you all,

Said Kelty.

She walked over to where Moon was sitting and knelt down beside her.

Hello Moon,

Said Kelty gently.

I'm so sorry to hear about Star.

Moon gulped back a tear as she looked up at Kelty with sadness in her eyes.

How are you feeling?

Asked Kelty.

I'm so sad,

Said Moon.

Star is my best friend and I feel so lost without her.

I cried myself to sleep last night and I hardly feel like eating.

I can't stop thinking about her and the awful time she must be having.

Those hurried people are probably torturing her.

Oh,

It breaks my heart to think about it.

I can't bear the thought of never seeing her ever again.

I want to help you,

Said Kelty.

Moon looked at Kelty.

Are you going to go and find Star and bring her home to us?

She asked,

Hopefully.

No,

I can't do that,

Replied Kelty sadly,

But I can help you feel better.

What could possibly make me feel better when Star is not here?

Asked Moon,

Lowering her head to the ground.

Well,

You can change the way you are thinking,

Which will help you relax more,

Suggested Kelty.

But what about Star?

Insisted Moon.

Me being relaxed won't help her.

Well when you are feeling cross,

Angry,

Frustrated,

Annoyed or sad,

Said Kelty,

Does that help Star?

Moon thought for a moment and looked over at her friends who were standing watching and listening.

They all slowly shook their heads.

Moon looked back at Kelty and said,

No,

I don't suppose it does.

If you change your thoughts and put your attention on positive things,

Explained Kelty,

You will feel much more relaxed and begin to eat again.

That way,

When Star does come home,

You will be in a better mindset and health to help her.

That makes sense,

Said Isla.

I agree,

Said Sun.

She continued,

Explained him.

Whatever we think about,

We attract more of it.

So when we think negative thoughts,

We attract more negativity.

And the same goes for positive thoughts.

I think I understand what you mean,

Said Moon.

Let's give this a try,

Said Kelty.

How will you feel when Star comes home?

She asked.

I will be so happy.

My heart was sing,

Said Moon joyously.

Now that's a much nicer feeling,

Isn't it?

Asked Kelty.

Seeing Moon's mood change as she thought good thoughts.

Yes,

Said Moon.

I feel a little better now.

But it feels wrong to be happy when Star is not around.

Would Star want you to feel happy or angry?

Asked Kelty.

She always wanted us to feel happy,

Said Moon.

She always liked to make us smile.

That's why she took the fish from the horrible people.

She thought everyone was kind and friendly.

Look at it this way,

Said Kelty.

The thoughts you were thinking were what you imagined was happening to Star.

You don't really know where Star is or how she is being treated.

She may well be happy where she is and enjoying herself.

I hadn't thought of it that way,

Said Moon.

You have been guessing about Star's situation,

Explained Kelty.

And then you reacted to your thoughts and felt angry and sad.

Now if you think of Star being happy and having fun,

I feel differently,

Said Moon,

Interrupting her.

I feel happy thinking she is happy.

That's how our thoughts work,

Explained Kelty.

They create the emotions within us.

So by changing our thoughts,

We can change our emotions,

Said Moon,

Suddenly getting it.

All of a sudden there was a noise in the bushes.

The pelican stood guard,

Thinking it was the horrid people come back to get them all.

The leaves began to part and out stepped Star.

Moon was so happy to see her,

She could hardly speak.

She rushed over to Star and wrapped her enormous wings around her.

Star,

Star!

Shouted the other pelicans together.

You're home!

Tell us what happened,

They said excitedly.

Moon,

You'll have to let me go,

Said Star.

I can hardly breathe.

Moon let Star go and Star explained what had happened to her.

The people carried me off and I was really scared,

She said.

I didn't know what they were going to do with me and my imagination started thinking all sorts of nasty things.

But all that did was scare me even more and panic me.

So I changed my thinking and thought of all the nice things they could do to me,

Like feed me lots of yummy fish and give me big cuddles.

I do like cuddles,

She said,

Looking around at her friends.

So where did they take you?

Asked Isla.

They took me to another park,

Gave me some fish and let me go,

Said Star.

I knew I was still in London as I could hear the bong of Big Ben every so often,

But I didn't know exactly where I was.

Suddenly Star noticed Kelty looking at her and jumped back into the bushes.

It's okay,

Star,

Said Tiffany quickly.

This is Kelty and she's been very kind to us.

Oh,

Okay,

Said Star,

Stepping out of the bushes.

She continued with her story.

It has taken me all this time to find my way back here,

She said.

But it was a wonderful adventure.

First,

I saw some water,

Which I swam on.

It wasn't a big lake like we have here.

It was a wiggly one.

That's called the Serpentine,

Which is in Hyde Park,

Said Kelty.

It's shaped a bit like a snake,

Hence its name.

After my swim,

Continued Star,

I walked through the park,

Which is very spacious,

With more open spaces than here in our park.

Then I saw a huge white archway in the middle of the road.

That's Marble Arch,

Said Kelty.

It was designed in 1827 and used to be at Buckingham Palace before it was moved to where it is now in 1851.

It was very strange though,

Because the cars and the big red buses didn't drive through it.

They drove around it,

Said Star.

Ah,

That's because only the royal family and the king's troop are allowed to pass through the arch,

Explained Kelty.

Very strange,

Said Star.

But I walked through it,

Because not many people were there.

But then I started up a very busy road,

Which was filled with cars,

Big red buses and hundreds of people pushing and shoving with big,

Hairy bags.

Ah,

That's Oxford Street,

Said Kelty.

Lots of tourists like shopping there,

As there are so many big and grand shops selling just about anything that you can think of.

Well,

I didn't like it there,

Said Star.

So I changed direction and went down a quieter road until I came to a big square,

Which had an awful lot of pigeons there.

Well,

That sounds like Trafalgar Square,

Remarked Kelty.

There,

I saw this man standing on a gigantic column surrounded by lions,

Star said.

That's Nelson's Column,

Said Kelty.

Well,

I had a swim in the fountain next to him.

Then I saw the red road leading to this park.

So I knew I was nearly home.

Ah,

That's called the mouth,

Said Kelty.

It leads down to Buckingham Palace,

The route the royal procession takes.

Well,

I followed it.

And here I am,

Back with all of you,

Star said,

Looking around at the pelicans' faces,

Who had been in awe of her wonderful adventure.

Star unfurled her giant wings and pulled all the pelicans in for a cuddle.

We are so pleased to have you back,

Said Tiffany.

And we loved hearing about your adventure,

Said Isla.

I'm so pleased you had a happy time,

Said Moon.

My imagination had made me think nasty things were happening to you,

But now I understand it was just my imagination and not what was really happening.

Moon turned to Kelty and said,

Thank you,

Kelty,

For helping me understand my thoughts.

I will remember everything you taught me.

I am happy I could help,

Said Kelty.

You could all chat to Star,

As it sounds as if she already uses this technique.

I'm glad you're safe,

Star.

Thank you for explaining the places I visited on my adventure,

Star said.

Oh,

That was fun,

Said Kelty.

Now,

I must go.

My grandma will be wondering where I am.

Come on,

Said Tiffany,

I'll take you back across the lake.

They all said goodbye as Tiffany went into the water and Kelty climbed onto her back.

A few minutes later,

Kelty was standing at the edge of the lake where her grandma had left her.

Thank you for helping us,

Said Tiffany.

My pleasure,

Said Kelty.

Here's your hot chocolate,

Sweetheart,

Said Grandma,

Coming up to Kelty.

Are you talking to yourself?

She asked,

Seeing the pelican swim off.

Well,

Sort of,

Said Kelty,

Sipping the sweet,

Delicious,

Hot,

Creamy drink.

Sorry I took so long,

Said Grandma,

But it took a little longer because the hot water machine needed fixing.

But while I waited,

I got talking to a very nice gentleman in the queue who told me that when James I came to the throne in 1603,

He had this park landscaped and kept exotic animals here.

Oh,

What sort of animals?

Asked Kelty,

Quite excited by this.

Camels,

Crocodiles and elephants and also exotic birds were kept in avaries,

Said Grandma.

That would have been fun to see,

Said Kelty.

Well,

I'm glad you got to see the pelican,

Said Grandma.

I think there are more than one living here.

Maybe the others are hiding on the island over there.

Kelty smiled as she looked over,

Just as Tiffany climbed onto the island and smiled back at her.

They finished their hot chocolate drinks and threw the empty cups in the nearby bin.

Come on,

Said Grandma,

It's nearly time for our visit to Buckingham Palace.

Let's walk down the mall and take in the full view from there.

And so they set off,

With Kelty still hoping to see the Queen.

I hope you enjoyed listening to my story.

Before you go,

I'd like to ask you a question.

What animal would you like to have a conversation with?

Thanks again for listening and come back soon to hear another story from Grandma.

Bye for now.