Flutter & Flims
ByBenjiJanes,age 6
WINNERAGE4–6
The tree itself was beautiful, blossoming at the
moment, with big, pink flowers and soon it would
be covered in green. The leaves swayed in the wind,
just enough to make the goldfinches nesting in it
wobble gently. Emily wandered over to it. “Good
morning,” she whispered. “I have some bad news.”
The evening before, Emily had been sat down
at the table. Her parents had ‘the faces’ on. They
gave her ‘the moving speech’. They told her that
her father’s job was important, that it was the
main income and, to keep it running, they had
to move. It was their only option and they were
sorry, and, and...
But the only thought in Emily’s mind was:
she would have to leave her apple tree.
T
hefirsttimeI sawFlutterandFlims,
theywerestillintheireggs.
Whentheybecamechicks,I found
outthattheyweren’tjustbroughtupby
sparrowsbutbyothergardenbirds,too!Robins,
blackbirds,bluetits,a greattit,doves,magpies,
a crowanda pigeonallhelpedtoraisethem.
I nextsawFlutterandFlimswhenI wasonthe
swinganda flockofsparrowsflewovermyhead
andtheretheywere!
Whilealltheothersparrowskepttotheir
placesintheflock,FlutterandFlimswere
dancingaboutintheflocktowelcomeeachother.
Onmyfifthbirthday,theycametoseeme
again.AndonmyfifthChristmas,theycame
againandhoppedoutsidethekitchenwindow
toseeme.
WhenI wassix,I foundouthowtotalkto
themandI namedthemFlutterandFlims.Whenshetoldthetree,it simplysighed
andtoldherofanapple.Theapplewas
smallandgreenandquiet.Unlikeitsconfident
siblings,it hiditselfawayintothebranches.
Whenpickingdayrolledaround,it didnotwantto
go,beggingtheappletreetoletit stay.Theapple
treetoldit that,if it didnotleave,it wouldfalland
rot,andif it did,it wouldbeenjoyed.It toldthe
applethatit wasnotholdingit back.Theapple
stayedinthebranches,and,asthetreesaid,fell
androtted.
“You see?” the tree croaked, “If you refuse to
leave, how will you blossom? You will rot away if
you stay here.”
So, she made her way inside and climbed the
stairs to bed.
Emily Swift was gardening in this house for
the last time. Digging and planting, digging
and planting. Beside her, the apple tree swayed.
“Emily,” it croaked, “I have a gift for you.”
Emily wandered over, and a knobby branch
came out. On it was a brown paper parcel.
On the way to the new house, Emily opened
the package. She smiled when a handful of
brown apple seeds tumbled out. She did not
have to leave the tree, she realised. In fact, she
had it in her hands.I was on the
swing and
a ock of
sparrows ew
over my head!The leaves swayed
in the wind, just
enough to make the
gold nches nesting
in it wobble gently.