ROOSTLINGS · STORY 02
Kite Says No
By Lars & Luc · Ages 3–5
Hana listens when Kite says no to flying in the wind. Together, the friends find another way to free the Ferry rope.
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Narration: OpenAI Marin (AI voice). Prerecorded for this website.
The complete story
Wind at the Roost. Leaves went past sideways. Ivy pinned a sock on the line. The wind took it. One more sock. Gone.
The sock went past Pebble's nose. Pebble turned her head. The sock stopped, on a horn. "Good catch," said Ivy. She pinned the next one.
Kite sat on the Lookout rail, wings folded tight, next to Hana. Waffle chased a leaf. Obi stood under Maple, out of the wind.
Ding-dong-DING! Ivy dropped the basket. Waffle dropped the leaf. Kite held on to the rail.
"Roostlings! The Bell!" called Fig. "Up and out!" called four kids. Fig had the big glass up. "The Ferry rope is up a tree. The Ferry pulls itself across on that rope. No one can cross the River."
Up the ladder went four kids, hats held tight. Up the trunk-path came the rest. They sang into the wind. "Ivy and Pebble, push and pull!" Hrrmph! "Hana and Kite, see and fetch!" Tik-tik!
"Dax and Waffle, run and find!" Chirrup! "Obi and Maple, reach and lift!" Hmmmm. "Little ones. Big help!"
"A rope up a tree," said Fig. "On a windy day. That's a high thing." Her hat went. Dax caught it. "Who's the one for a high thing?"
"Hana and Kite!" "Kite, you'll fetch," said Fig. "Waffle, you'll find. The rest of you, hold on to your hats." "We'll do the socks," said Ivy. Pebble caught a sock.
Down the Slide. Wheee! And go!
Kite spread his wings on the rail. The wind pushed him back a step. He shut them. He went down the Slide on his feet, behind Hana. First at the bottom was Waffle. Then Dax.
The Ferry sat tied at the bank. The rope went up out of the water, into the tree. Round a branch, high up. The end was in the leaves.
The Ferry-keeper stood under the tree, looking up. "The wind took it," he said. "I can't reach that."
Hana looked up at the rope. Kite looked at the tree, and the tree bent. "Kite, will you fetch?"
Tik. Kite folded his wings tight. He put his beak down. "That's a no."
"Ask again!" said Dax. "I asked," said Hana. "Ask first. He can say no." "Fair enough," said the Ferry-keeper. "I wouldn't fly in this wind either."
Hana looked at Kite's feet. "Kite, will you see?" Tik-tik! Kite bobbed his head. "That's a yes!"
Kite walked round the tree, head tipped up. He pointed his beak at one branch. "There," said Hana. "Wrapped round. Too high."
At the Roost, Fig had the big glass at her eye. The rope was high. Kite was walking. "One more. A tall thing. Obi and Maple, down you go. Too windy for wings."
Maple came down slow, head low into the wind. Obi rode on his neck.
Obi stood by Maple's foot and waited. The wind took his hat. He let it go. "Maple, will you reach?" Hmmmm. The neck came down. "That's a yes!"
Up went Maple's neck. The tree bent. Maple did not. His nose went under the rope and lifted. Off it came, flop, onto the grass. The wind dragged the end away, into the long grass.
"Waffle, will you find?" Chirrup! Her tail fanned. "That's a yes!" Waffle ran. She came back with Obi's hat. "The rope," said Dax. She ran again, and stood on something. The rope end.
Kite looked at the rope. Hana did not ask. She waited. Kite took the end in his beak, and walked it to the post. The Ferry-keeper looped it on. "Kite fetched," said Hana. "On his feet."
The Ferry went across. "Thank you, all of you," said the Ferry-keeper. "Have a cracker." Kite had his on the post. Hana patted Kite. "Ring the Bell, and we'll come."
Up the Lift. Creak. Clunk. Kite rode up in the basket. The line at the top was empty.
"Big Book, open." Fig found the page with the wings. "Three true things about the Pteranodon."
"One," said Hana. "He's not a dinosaur. He's a flying cousin, called a pterosaur."
"Two," said Dax. "His long name means wing with no teeth. He has none, and he eats fish."
"Three," said Obi. "When he's big, his wings will be wide. Wing to wing, longer than a car." Fig shut the book. "Written down. People found the bones, and looked, and looked."
"The wind kept taking them," said Ivy. "So I asked Pebble." Pebble turned round. Three horns, three socks. All dry.
"Ivy and Pebble, home. Hana and Kite, home. Dax and Waffle, home. Obi and Maple, home. And Fig makes nine. All home."