8

The Book

On the last day of term Ben was surprised to see Gran waiting for him at the school gates. She told him that the lady from the library had telephoned her. She’d found a very old book in the storeroom, and she thought that it might be just what Ben was looking for. They hurried into the library, and the lady said that Gran could take the book out on her library card. Ben was so excited that he hopped all the way to the bus stop.

‘Do you think this is the right book for us?’ he asked. ‘It’s really old, isn’t it? Can we look at it right away?’

Gran laughed out loud. ‘I think I deserve a cup of tea first, don’t you?’

When they were home, Ben sat at the table with Gran and opened the book. He turned the pages carefully because they were quite stiff. There were lots of pictures, but Ben found it hard to read some of the words because they were handwritten. Gran, though, seemed to be able to read them easily.

She said that the book was full of stories from a very long time ago, and some of them said things about special plants. People believed that these plants had magic powers. Ben wriggled on his seat. He hoped that Gran could find something about the fern, but after half an hour she hadn’t found anything.

‘That’s enough for now,’ she said. ‘I might have a look this evening, but otherwise we’ll start again tomorrow.’

Ben woke up early the next morning but then he remembered that he didn’t have to go to school and that he could look at the story book again. He felt a little bit sad that Jess wouldn’t be coming over to his house. He’d asked her but she said that she was going to stay at Kelly’s house for the first week of the holidays. He went downstairs and into the living room. It was very quiet, as his mum and dad had already gone into town for the day.

Ben found the story book on Gran’s chair, and as he picked it up he could see a piece of paper sticking out of it. He opened the book at that page and he nearly dropped it on the floor! There in front of him was a picture of the Fairy Wing Flower. It was growing in a circle underneath a big rowan tree. Gran had been right. He couldn’t understand what the writing said, so he put the piece of paper back and went to find his gran.

‘You found it – the flower!’ he shouted. ‘But I can’t read what it says.’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘They don’t grow under every rowan tree so we have to hope that we’re lucky with the ones in the park. I’m going to keep reading to see if there’s anything about the fern. That’s the one we really need help with. Why don’t you get your bird book out and do some drawings while I read, or you could take Scoot out into the garden?’

Ben called to Scoot. The little dog wagged his tail hard and followed him. They played ball for half an hour, and then he did some more training with Scoot’s special whistle. He looked up and saw that Gran was waving to him from the kitchen doorway, so he began to run. She must have found something!

Gran showed Ben the book again. She had found a story about some little people who lived in the woods, and how a kingfisher had helped them to chase off a water rat who was stealing their food. On the second page was a picture of the plants that the little people grew, and one of them was the Dragon’s Breath Fern.

‘What does it say?’ Ben asked Gran. ‘Does it say where it grows?’

‘It says that the fern was made from the breath of green dragons. The little people let the dragons live under the roots of the trees, and the dragons helped the little people by making the fern for them to eat.’

‘Wouldn’t the dragons have burned the plants?’ Ben asked. ‘The ones in my computer game and in my story book all breathe out fire.’

‘Well,’ Gran read from the book, ‘these were tiny dragons, and their breath was cold like frost, so the plant was silvery, and looked like snowflakes. People believe it can still be found near the part of a stream where the kingfishers dive.’

Ben opened his bird book and found a picture of a kingfisher. It had bright blue and orange feathers, and a pointed beak. He remembered seeing one when his dad had taken him out with Scoot once. They’d crossed the park and walked around the edge of the woods until they came to the stream. The path followed the stream back into the woods and that’s where they’d seen the bird, which was hunting fish, and it had flown quickly and low over the water.

‘Oh yes!’ he said. ‘I’ve seen one on the other side of the woods. Do you think it might still be there?’

Gran thought for a moment then said that it was quite likely, but she wouldn’t be able to take Ben there. Her foot was a lot better but the path in the woods was bumpy and she didn’t want to fall again. She said she would ask Ben’s dad to take him at the weekend.