“Watch out!” I shout. Emil has his finger over his mouth: “Shhhhh!” He points to the water. “Look, Mia!” A funny-looking bird is standing in the water. It has very long, thin legs. They look like stilts. It is covered in grey and white feathers. It has a small head, with a black stripe. The beak is long and pointed. And it is standing there like a statue. We watch it. Very slowly, it moves its head down to the water.
“I think it’s looking for something,” Emil says. Barely has Emil spoken these words before it all happens, at lightning speed. The bird plunges its beak into the water. Water flies everywhere. Emil and I duck, to avoid getting splashed. A fish is wriggling in its beak.
“Someone’s hungry,” Emil laughs.
Suddenly the bird is startled, and it drops its prey. It spreads its wings out and flies off. Soon, it is just a small dot in the sky. At the same moment, we hear a loud chattering and laughter. A large group op people is cycling our way. They wave as they go past: “Hello children!”
“I’m not surprised the bird was scared off,” Emil says. Bubbles are rising in the water.
“The fish had a lucky escape there,” I laugh.
