For Flynnstar (and Emily of course)

 Before you were born Daddy liked to call me his fish. Every card or email began with -‘Dear fishy’- Then this became- “my silvery fish”. When you were in my tummy Daddy called you- ‘The fish’ and when Celeste came along it was ‘fish’ plural. For your first Christmas I had the most beautiful book made for your dad. Emily J came round to the house and we sat and thought the whole thing out. I told her that we all called you Flynnstar (Daddy even had this put on some trainers; these are yours now) and that Daddy called you his fish. I also told her you were always trying to get away, even in my tummy you left abruptly, two weeks before your eviction date. So we came up with- Flynn Star the Famous Flying Fish. Emily wrote it up, did all the illustrations and even bound it herself in the most beautiful Japanese silk. I presented it to your Dad on Christmas morning, there were a few tears, what can I say; he was an easy listening kinda guy. Here is your story my Fish:

 Flynn star the famous flying fish began life as simply Flynn.

 He lived in a beautiful pond which lay in the

centre of an enchanted wood, somewhere near

Turnham Green. He lived there with his mother and father fish

who loved him endlessly. He was as precious to them as the whole world

 

All the other animals in the enchanted wood were made of newspaper.

This was useful for Flynn and his family as they could read the Elk or

The Daily Deer to keep up to date with the news.

The Sunday Hare Supplement was trickier to read as it seldom had the desire to sit still.

When the hare hopped off Flynn was always frustrated that he couldn’t chase after her.

He had to stay in the pond.

 How he wished to go further than the little pond’s limits. Although it was a lovely pond, and he was very happy there, he still dreamed of adventure: he dreamt of more. Often if you looked for Flynn he’d be somewhere day dreaming or night dreaming….. Wide-eyed Flynn loved to watch the stars. How bright they were! How golden.

One night he watched as a star shoot across the sky, and his mother said “make a wish!”

“I wish I could see the whole world,” said Flynn.

He closed his eyes and when he opened them…He was still in the pond.

‘Oh’ he thought ‘how sad, wishes don’t come true.’ But he was delightfully wrong….

“Look” said his Dad.

There was some commotion in the pond and he looked down to see what it was. To his surprise, engraved on the bottom of the pond floor was a large map .A map of the whole world.

The problem with wishing on shooting stars, you see, is that they move so quickly!

So quickly that when you make the wish you have to be very clear about what you want or they might not quite understand what you mean.

Flynn then became Flynn Star to his parents because he’d wished on a star and got the whole world.

Although it wasn’t quite the way he’d imagined, it was still his wish nonetheless.

He studied the map and soon realised that the world had oceans and lakes and rivers and seas.

He wanted to see them all, to roll in the waves and turn in the tides and dance in the ebb and the flow.

 

He had an idea.

 

He studied the Owl and read the Daily Duck, and learned when the next star would fall.

In the pond in the enchanted forest, he waited all night, collecting every single second, and examining it with hope. He watched all the stars with his wonderful bright eyes. And then in that instant he saw the shooting star fly across the night sky,

he made another wish, and this time he remembered to be as clear as he could.

“I wish I had wings so that I could fly.” He closed his eyes.

And when he opened them…. He had a pair of beautiful wings!

He couldn’t wait to test them. He raced to the surface and jumped into the air.

And sure enough….He could fly!

He was ready to explore the whole world!

“Oh look at you Flynn Star!” said his mum. “Look at your beautiful wings!”

“You’re a flying fish,” said his dad, “you’ll be famous!” “Flynn Star the famous flying fish!” They said together.

Flynn looked at his mum and looked at his dad. And he was sad. They didn’t have wings. They couldn’t come with him to see the whole world.

He hesitated

“We’ll read about you in the Elk.” said his dad.

“Or the Glossy Stag” said his mum.

“Okay” said Flynn Star the famous flying fish. “I suppose I better go and see the sea.”

“Goodbye my boy” said his dad.

“Goodbye Flynn Star the famous flying fish” said his mum.

“I’ll be back for supper anyway” said  Flynn as he flew neatly over the moon.

And so Flynn Star the famous flying fish became the most famous fish in all the world. He had adventures galore, uncovered tremendous treasures and found lifelong friends wherever he went.

But nowhere he found in the whole world was ever as lovely as being in his own pool, with his mother and father fish, who will always love Flynn Star the famous flying fish, and welcome him home with open arms from each new adventure.

And when they hold him, they will always feel like they are holding the whole world.